One of the best methods of creating a customer-centric philosophy is to create a profile of your ideal patron. Give the person a name; create a story.
Create a profile of your best customer to keep your advertising and business on track.
It’s no secret that a business needs to know its customers, and that its operations, marketing initiatives and customer service efforts should all function with that customer in mind. But what’s the best way to ensure your business is operating in your customer’s best interest?
One of the best methods of creating a customer-centric philosophy is to create a profile of your ideal patron. Give the person a name; create a story.
Take the example of a hospital that regularly advertised its two key services: heart surgery and maternity services. Through research, the hospital’s marketing agency learned that, when it came to making health care decisions, the most influential member of a family unit, was typically a woman of about 60 years of age who was a wife, mother and grandmother. Of course, that did not assume that no other family members were potential customers, only that this woman was most likely to make decisions and influence others within the average family.
With a rough sketch of their ideal customer in mind, the marketing team created “Betty.” Although she was a fictional character, the team took great pains to make Betty as real as possible, creating her profile and life history.
Betty, who is 60 years old, is married and the mother of three grown children. She has a full-time job and spends much of her free time with her two grandchildren. Her daughter is expecting a child later this year. Betty is generally pleased with the hospital, where her husband recently underwent open-heart surgery and where all of her children and grandchildren were born.
Betty came to life and soon became as real to the marketing team and the hospital administrators as a member of their own families. From that point forward the team knew who they were talking to at all times. In creating a direct mail advertising campaign, they wrote copy that Betty could understand, based on her educational background. When exploring other advertising opportunities, the team members merely asked themselves, “Will Betty read or hear the ad?” Hospital administrators even considered Betty’s tastes when replacing the furniture in the lobby waiting area.
Another example is a radio station that marketed directly to a particular type of woman—in both the music it played and the advertisers it sought. With that ideal listener in mind, the station’s sales department produced “Kathy.”
A (fictional) 36-year-old human resources manager, Kathy is married, has a combined household income of $85,000 per year, drives a Toyota Camry, has two school-aged children and listens to Top-40 radio on her way to work each morning.
The station’s staff kept Kathy in their thoughts whether they were adding a new song, developing a contest or pursuing a new restaurant as a sponsor.
Of course customer profiles take on a variety of forms—especially when businesses seek clients they have not served in the past. But the techniques described above work well for staying on track with your established customer. Remember, that Betty, Kathy or whomever you choose as your profile is already on your side. How you treat her determines whether she continues to use your services.