It’s Not Business as Usual, Anymore

In a recent conversation, a customer of mine was telling me about some bold moves she was considering in her business.  “These moves would better serve my profitable customers,” she stated.  “They would also give my staff the opportunity to give their full attention to my customers.”

“You know your customers,” I agreed.  “You also know what you and your staff need to do to give them your best efforts.”

“Remember that conference I recently attended?” she asked.

“I do.  How did that go?” I wondered.

“We had one session where we shared what we were doing that was working well,” she responded.  “When I told them about the changes I had already made in my business, they were shocked.  None of them could believe that those changes wouldn’t hurt my bottom line.  When I told them that since making the changes I have consistently had double-digit increases in sales and a stronger bottom line, they didn‘t know what to say.”

“I’m not surprised,” I offered.  “Most businesspeople have not identified their target market.  They take the customers who come in the door and don’t seek out the profitable ones.  They haven’t pinpointed their profitable customers, either.  They’ve never created a marketing plan and, thus, do not use their marketing efforts to cultivate more business with customers who will bring them profitable revenue.”

“That certainly was true with them,” she said.

We operate our businesses in such a dynamic environment today that if you are conducting your business as you always have done without stopping to take a look at what’s happening with your profitable customers, your business is likely headed for trouble.  To find out how your business fares, answer these questions:

Who are your profitable customers? 
What percentage of your customers are profitable? 
What do your profitable customers want? 
What can you do to transact more business with them?

Today knowing and catering to your profitable customers makes the difference in a business’s profit.  If you are not tailoring your business activity to your profitable customers, your business will lose profit.  Your being out of touch with your profitable customers will negatively affect your revenue and may be the demise of your enterprise.

It’s not business as usual, anymore.   

This week's marketing trivia challenge is Who are your profitable customers?  E-mail me your answer.

Profitable Opportunities

As a franchise, Harry Potter is the best example of how to grow your business that I‘ve ever seen: First books, then movies, and now a theme park. Being a Harry Potter fan, I cannot think of another series which has set up its fans to want to experience the settings in the book. Each of the distinctive stores in Diagon’s Alley, the ominous pubs of Hogsmeade, and especially the magical halls and rooms of Hogwarts established themselves in Potter fans’ imaginations from the books and were enhanced from the movies. As of June 18, fans can actually walk through these places.

They can taste a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. The advance word is that it “tastes magical. It’s frothy, butterscotchy, and incredibly yummy.” They can buy Sneakoscopes, which cost fifteen dollars at Zonko’s Joke Shop. They can take the Flight of the Hippogriff and feel the exhilaration that Harry experienced on the beast.

There are two other rides, too. Dragon Challenge is a well-executed, traditional roller coaster, and the Forbidden Journey is the park’s cutting-edge ride. These rides along with the opportunity to walk the narrow streets of Diagon’s Alley, shop the stores of Hogsmeade, and investigate Dumbledore’s office at Hogwarts, bring Harry Potter’s world to life.

When the theme park opens in June, the Harry Potter franchise will take customers from reading to viewing to experiencing. The books spark interest in the movies, and they stimulate the desire to visit the theme park, which fans will want to experience over and over again. Although fans will want to enjoy the books, movies, and theme park multiple times, only the theme park will continuously generate more revenue from each visit. That addresses the two profitable ways to grow your business: Have your customer buy more with each transaction and have your customer buy from you more frequently.

These purchases are not merely beneficial to your business but benefit your customers as well, a win-win for both. Doing more transactions with customers and having them buy more on each visit cultivates those customers. With each purchase, they become more profitable customers for your business. They also become more satisfied because their transactions with your business are easy. You know them and understand what they want. Best of all, your business gives them what they want.

Although your business may not offer your customers what they want on the grand scale that the Harry Potter franchise does, your business always has opportunities to do more business with your customers by increasing the frequency and the amount of their transactions. To do so, you need to be alert and look for the profitable opportunities that benefit both your customers and your business.

What profitable opportunities are available with your customers?