Sam Caron

Sam Caron

The most common B2B audience targeting mistake

So, I’ve seen countless businesses and individuals make this mistake, and few have learnt from it.
A prime example is this:

A B2B business is trying to sell it’s premium marketing consultancy service. great, right?
The problem is their target audience are:

  • Startups
  • Small Businesses
  • Less than 20 employees

Okay so aside from the fact that the customer avatar is far too broad, there’s an even greater issue at hand.
You’re not selling to an organisation!

The business itself is not going to employ you, the person at the top, calling the shots is. They’re the person you need to appeal to, not the entire company.

Is the intern going to hire you? Nope. What about the assistant? Nope again.

See, the person who calls the shots is the CEO; The founder; The Big Shot! They’re the person who’s going to make the decision whether to hire your firm, so talk to them.

Create your entire business model revolving around that person. After all, they’re the customer!
So, how can you target the “Big Shot?” 

I’ll explain.

Figure out the person’s needs

Senior and young gentlemen having conversation.

What drives this person to make the decisions they do. What ulterior motive do they have for all the businesses decisions they make, and why is that?Understanding your ideal customer is a tricky concept, but it’s made even harder if you’re looking in the wrong place.

Take the time to understand exactly what your customer needs, what they want, and why. You’ll see much higher success when trying to find clients.

Who they are

As a person, what is your ideal customer like? What characteristics do they hold, and what are their interests?

These questions may seem a little unrelated at first, but they’re actually crucial to effective audience targeting. 
Knowing your customer on a personal level is the best way to connect with them BY FAR! 

There’s an old saying that “people take an interest in you, when you take an interest in them” and it reigns true to this day. Take the time to understand who your customer is.

Demographics

Senior and young gentlemen having conversation.

These can be rather general, but they’re still very useful. Knowing your customers family size, rough income level, where they live, etc is very important when trying to create pitches and adverts that will work.

If you’re trying to find clients then starting with your customers demographics is the perfect base point. It helps you understand why they may behave in certain ways. 

Example: They may be risk-averse if they have a new child, so offering them a more secure, less expensive package will probably yield better results because the risk is lower.

Pain Points

What keeps your customer up at night? This is the all important question.

Why?

If you can solve someone’s problem, they will pay you. Simple. Nobody likes being burdened with problems, so sell a solution. understand exactly what the customer is having issues with and target them.

Talk about them, and how you can solve the issue at hand. Your customer’s eyes will light up. 

Trust me!

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