Do You Know Who Your Best Customers Are?

If you're in business then you have customers. You might have a few, or a few thousand, but understanding who your customers are is absolutely vital for the survival of your business. So who are:Who Are Your Best and Worst Customer?
Who Are Your Best and Worst Customer?- and especially who your *best* customers are - is absolutely essential and allows you to target new business too. Think about your ideal customers and even make up an avatar for them. Think about where they live, what type of house, do they have a garden, what they read, what kind of hobbies do they have, do they have children, how old are they, what sports do they watch, where they shop, what other businesses do they use, is there anyone you can build a strategic alliance with for your mutual benefit and what frustrations they have.I heard a story of a wedding photographer who built up a Avatar of his ideal client, from this he realised that they would purchase expensive engagement ring at top end jewelers, so he contact a jeweler that he'd identified, offered to do free engagement photo;s for any couple spending over a thousand pounds, guess who the couples came too when it was time for the wedding.Once you have done this start thinking about who your current customers are, do you have customers that you love working with, they're easy to get on with, pay on time, really appreciate everything you do for them. Then at the opposite end of the scale do you have customers where you heart sinks when they get in touch, they seem to be constantly getting you to work for less money and take up more of you precious time.


Break your customers up into Grade A, B, C and D customers. A's pay the most and take the least time, D's pay the least and take up the most time. The idea is to educate all of your customers to be As! Do they fully understand how good you are or all of the benefits of being with you in comparison to your competitors? A lot of this education moving forward can be done in the initial meetings with the client even before you take them on as a client.However if you have a D client who seems impossible to educate, look at the time and what returns you're getting and then maybe think about recommending they do go to a competitor as you feel that they would better match their requirements, plus they'll end up sucking time and money away from your competitor, which is good for you.Have a great weekBy Alan Adams