Be Different or be dead

August 20, 2010

Why the right customers to target should not be a marketing decision

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Why the right customers to target should not be a marketing decision.

An interesting Seth Godin blog postulates that the marketer’s choice of which customers to target is determined by the marketing toolset.

“Yes, you get to choose them, not the other way around. You choose them with your pricing, your content, your promotion, your outreach and your product line.”

The implication is that the the marketing toolset determines where the organization invests its scarce resources, and I have a different perspective.

In my view Seth doesn’t go far enough.

Customer selection is much more than a marketing task. It is a fundamental element of an organization’s overall business plan. And the targeting selection decision needs to be integrated with the overall direction the company intends to take.

My strategic game plan process is the way organizations can make the decision on which customer segments to target.

The process involves answering these two questions which are inextricably linked and work hand in hand to decide who you choose to serve.

1. HOW BIG do you want to be?

Start with your overall growth goals. Do you want to grow top line revenue by 10% over the next 12 months or 25%? It makes a difference. A 25% growth target is more aggressive and more risky and will require a different strategy than a 10% growth goal.

2. WHO do you want to serve?

This is the customer selection decision. And it needs to b made within the context of the HOW BIG question. This is where Seth oversimplifies the issue.
The customer choice needs to be made within the context of HOW BIG. It can’t be made on its own using micro-marketing tools. A 25% growth goal requires a customer group that has the latent potential to deliver that type of growth.

Selecting a group of customers based on any other criteria will result in missed financial targets.

Choose a group of customers that has the inherent capability to satisfy your growth goals

THEN use marketing tools to attract and keep them.

Cheers,
Roy
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• Posted 8.20.10 at 12:00 pm by Roy Osing
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