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5 Key Tips to Learning More
About "Ideal Customer Profile's"
Learn More About Using
‘Ideal Customer Profiles' in
The Cleaning & Restoration Field
ICP Post #2:
Does your cleaning or restoration business have at least one ‘ideal customer profile'? Your ideal customer profile (ICP) should describe your target market as if it was "one" individual customer!
This 'Profile' tells you where you should focus your sales and marketing efforts for the best results. A well done ICP incorporates objective data that will help you develop a clear picture of your ideal customer and help streamline your marketing efforts.
With all the resources available online, creating at least one effective ICP is easier than it's been in past years. Following are some tips to help you source the data you need to develop your company's individual ICP's.
Social media offers you a wealth of opportunities to learn about specific markets. You can look at your current customers to gain insight into their demographic information and attitudes. Check out their profiles and listen in on their conversations. You can also post questions to generate conversations for marketing purposes.
I suggest that you go beyond your own customers and learn even more. Follow the competition and see how they're communicating with your shared markets.
** #2 - Check Customer Reviews Where Available
Check out customer reviews of your own as well as similar services.
Often, people will explain in the reviews why they liked or didn't like a recently purchased service.
This is valuable feedback you can use to learn about their tastes and attitudes. Respond to comments with further questions and you can start a dialogue that can yield even more insights.
** #3 - Ask Questions Where Possible
At every touch point with your customers, ask questions and take note of their answers. Social media listening and other passive forms of data gathering are quite valuable, but the opportunity to directly ask your market questions is priceless! Through these kinds of interactions, you will uncover their needs more efficiently and effectively.
** #4 – Use as Few Assumptions as Possible
Believe it or not, "Assumptions" are the weakness of a good ICP!
Each piece of information in your profile should be backed as possible by verified data. You may be surprised by some of the discoveries you make when researching your market. Keep an open mind and you'll reap the rewards.
** #5 - Check Out Your Competitors
Your competitors offer a great deal of insight into your target markets.
Follow them, and see . . . .
** How they communicate to their market.
** What's their position in the market?
** Why do people buy from them?
** How much do they charge
** How much are people buying?
** What do their customers say about them?
Getting Started with Your ICP
The first step is to look at the “packaged specialty services” that you offer and decide who's the perfect customer for them. Then, you can start researching and focus your Ideal Customer Profile.
Important Note:
*** Use Objective Data as Possible, Not Just Generalized Assumptions!
Data collected in your ICP needs to be based as much as possible on objective feedback from the market itself, not just your assumptions! (** however, some will obviously be required, due to consumer privacy issues!)
You probably already have a gut feeling about who your target market is. You can tell some things about them by looking at your services and the problems they solve.
However, you need to research and use as much objective data as much as possible. As you discover more about your market, there will be some surprises along the way.
However, if it's at all based on assumptions, you might easily miss the mark!
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Hi, Jim Pemberton here:
I've spent the nearly three years of the pandemic studying the effect that the explosion of pet ownership has done to the marketplace, and how you can profit from it (if you are committed to doing the job right!)
In my all new hands on class, the “Pet Friendly Cleaning and Odor Treatment Workshop”, you'll learn the following secrets to success in this field:
- Why Today's Pet Focused Consumer Buys Cleaning Differently, and May No Longer Buy it From You!
- How Pets Have Transformed Society
- What Opportunities Pet Friendly Cleaning and Odor Treatment Have for Your Business
- Your Two Biggest Pet Odor Treatment Challenges
- Why Pet Odor Treatment Involves So Much More Than Urine Odor
- Inspection Tools You'll Need
- Cleaning and Odor Treatment Products You'll Need
- Pet Friendly Inspection, Cleaning and Odor Control Processes
I'm planning to offer just one of these courses this summer, and have scheduled it far enough ahead so that you can make plans to be here.
I'll be offering this class at our training center on August 9, 2024 here in McKeesport, PA for $199.00
Class size is limited, so sign up right away!
I'm looking forward to sharing all of this exciting information with you.
