Where are your customers?

Business people have been asking themselves this question throughout the recession and will continue to do so till business recovers enough for steady customer traffic and sales again.

But this question isn’t just appropriate to recessionary times.

It’s a question, as business people, we should be asking ourselves in good business times as well as in bad business times.

Don’t assume you know where your customers are.

And if you do know precisely where they are, how does your company effectively market and sell to the customer?

For example, your company may have a website and a presence on the internet through such social marketing sites as Twitter, Linked In or Facebook and videos on You Tube.  But is that where your customer is in order to really pull in sales on a consistent basis? Or is this just where the tire-kickers are? Ask yourself: Are these marketing tools best to be considered relationship building techniques rather than direct routes to immediate sales?

Before starting any marketing campaign you need to ask who is the customer or client that will make this successful.  Then ask, how to best target the campaign in order to find them and get them to respond.  And what type of response do you expect, for example, a prospect or a direct sale? If your customer is to be found on the internet, how best to find them?  If they read publications or trade journals, which ones?

Most important, are your sales people.  Are they talking to the right people and making the most of each contact?

Thinking about who your customer actually is and where best to find them may seem rather obvious.  But it’s not.  Too many business people are taking a shot gun approach in this economy in the hope of bringing in business.  This hit and miss philosophy will only lessen your sales results but increase your marketing costs at a time when profits are critical.