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In this issue:
Marketing Article: Identify New Prospects: Your Ideal Customer Questionnaire
Marketing Article: Capture More Clients: 4 Secrets to Staying Ahead

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Who's your ideal customer? Ask yourself these 10 key questions about your current customer base and your answers will spell success.

Once you start to examine what your most profitable customers really “look like,” you'll find it easier and easier to request a highly targeted list containing the most valuable leads. These days, businesses can create direct mail lists based on everything from income to geography to hobbies and interests. Once you know which segments to target, getting your message to the right audience will be a piece of cake.

10 Key Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Current Customer Base

For B-to-B Marketers

   1. What position do the majority of your current customers hold?
   2. What industries do you typically sell to?
   3. What size is the typical business you sell to—mom and pop businesses or national corporations?
   4. What markets do your customers serve?
   5. Where do they buy? Sell? Manufacture their products?
   6. Who do they compete with?
   7. What is the current state of their market? Industry?
   8. What do they think is important in business?
   9. How do the majority of your customers do business with you? (phone/in person/on the Web; quick transactions/takes time to negotiate; pays early/on-time/at 30 days; and so on.)
  10. How often do your current customers purchase your goods or services?

For B-to-C Marketers

   1. What demographics do your customers share? (Think about age, race, income, gender and other identifying “group” characteristics.)
   2. Where do they live?
   3. What is their income range?
   4. What do they like most about you and your business, products and services?
   5. Do they currently do business with any of your competitors? Why?
   6. What are their priorities as shoppers—convenience, location, selection, price?
   7. Have a significant number of your customers just experienced an event: moving to a new home, having a baby, retiring?
   8. When do your customers buy your goods or services—what time of year, season, month or even day is the busiest part of your business cycle?
   9. Do your customers live close to your business, work close to your business, or both?
  10. What is your customer's communication method of choice: in person, telephone, e-mail or even fax?

Use all your resources to find your answers, from your current customer files to the anecdotal information your employees gather every day on the job. Then, boil the answers down in to the five most important characteristics that your best customers share. Once you've identified your ideal prospects, the right list professional can help you reap a higher ROI for your marketing dollars, and your customer base is sure to grow.

You've targeted some great new prospects. So now what? Keep this quartet of golden rules in mind to make sure you connect with more customers, and keep them happy in the long run.

You've done your homework, examined your files, and uncovered the ideal target for your business. So now it's time to take your marketing to the next level. Analyze your profitability. Predict the future of your industry. In short, it's time to start thinking the way your best competitors do.

Here's the way to do it.

1.  Network with your current customers.
Do everything you can to use the clients you have as a goldmine of leads for new business.

* Establish a referral program for your customers and reward them for steering business your way.
* Give newly referred customers a break-even rate to try your products or services, then make your profit on the back end.
* Run special events and loyalty programs that will get people talking.
* Never underestimate the power of small marketing and advertising campaigns. Inexpensive ads in neighborhood newspapers often bring in a higher return than those in bigger metropolitan newspapers. A simple mailed postcard, when targeted to a small number of well-chosen prospects, can bring in far more business than an expensive brochure or printed piece.

2.  Identify your best products and services.
Knowing your best customers–and making them multiply—certainly adds to your success. But identifying your most profitable products and services is just as important. There's an old saying in business: 20 percent of your customers are usually responsible for 80 percent of your profits. It's often true of your business offerings, as well. Figure out which 20 percent of your products add the most to your bottom line, and start marketing them heavily to the top 20 percent of your customers. That's the power of 20/20 foresight!

3.  Keep asking the right questions.
As you bring in more customers, it's important to keep complete files. Transaction dates, products and services purchased, and customer contacts are the key to planning great marketing campaigns in the future.

But it's important to stay on top of other information too. For example, why are your customers choosing to do business with you? And what drives them to continue choosing you?

Don't just look at the past when you're considering the best move for your business. Think ahead, too. Keep talking to your existing customers so that you can see how their needs are changing.

Remember, running a successful business involves some specific formulas—but there's also an art to it. By connecting with your customers and tuning in to their needs, you'll be able to anticipate your next best move.

4. Keep abreast of change.
Everything in business, and in life, is always changing. Costs rise, your competition makes an unexpected move, and new products, services and technologies pop up quicker than blossoms in springtime. Make sure you stay educated about your market, your industry, and the changing marketing tools at your disposal. Read everything you can, network with other professionals in your industry, and remember, your best customers can be your best friends in business. Knowledge is power. Use it to your advantage.