Our last article was a masterclass on how to generate meaningful business with less prospecting by identifying your ideal customer. This customer deals with the problem you are solving AND connects with you and your business on a personal level, the foundation of creating a community and repeat & referral business.
These ideal customers develop into your evangelists in everyday conversation. They are more than likely to work with or be friends with other ideal clients simply because as the adage goes, “like attracts like”. There will be a natural community that shares interests.
Here is why it is important:
Speaking directly to the people that understand your business and the solution you provide allows you to cut through the noise effectively – they stop looking for alternatives. They become your people and you become theirs. There is reciprocity in loyalty.
One study confirmed it is 5-25x more expensive to acquire a new customer than keep an existing customer. Another states the probability of successfully selling to an existing customer is 60-70% versus 5-20% to a new customer.
The idea is to work smarter not harder!
It might be that companies are finding their funny bones and wanting to share it with the world through entertaining, happy engagements, or the fact that 49% of U.S. consumers say friends and family are their top sources of brand awareness. (Apptentive) Communities share awareness of events, services and product offerings in order to validate and be validated.
It is within these conversations that you can learn things you should know about your clients from the worksheet in our last article.
Keeping an ear to the ground on the communities’ conversations can help you:
Your ideal customers are talking about products or services constantly, it’s a part of their lives and/or hobbies and things that pertain to it. Listening is gold!
How exactly do you contribute to your community? Be genuine and offer value that is solely theirs.
Let’s say you’re a financial advisor and your ideal client is a family man, loves the outdoors, and exercises regularly. Don’t send company branded gifts. Rather personalize it and hit their sweet spot. Generate a connection with an understanding of who they are.
Send something that relates to their life, that will make their day. Guaranteed you will stand out from the competition and it will stimulate chatter in their circle of influence.
On your social media channels, be sure to follow your customers and sincerely engage on their posts. They’ll love this, you will discover more things that are important to them, and it will encourage them to engage with your content – increasing live conversations and how many times your business will show up in social media channels.
Branded items are a dime a dozen and usually end up forgotten or accompanying the spam mail to the trash can. It’s more organic and efficient to stay top of mind with thoughtfulness than branded swag.
Companies such as Nike, Chick Fil-A, Ben & Jerry’s, Adobe, Apple, Honda, and Wendy’s have all cultivated a community outside of their product and provide something to talk about other than themselves, creating a sense of belonging and customer loyalty. They position themselves as community giants in their industries.
Since you know how your ideal customers feel, think, and what interests them, creating this magic outside of your product and services will flow naturally.
The magic is connection, and if your community is well taken care of, you will see it in your business.
Create that magic and future-proof your business.