Steve CurleyBusinesses like to focus on marketing and what they can do to increase their customer base. If they could only unlock the magic box of marketing, then new and profitable customers would start showing up at all hours of the day, buying products and services that would grow their business and then they could sit back and count the money. But, it rarely seems to work that simply in the real world. So if it doesn’t work that way, then how do you use marketing to grow a business? Let’s look at five keys:

The first key is to understand your current customers very well. Who are they? What is it about your product or service that they like? Why do they choose your particular product or service over another? Is there something unique about what you do or what you offer that keeps them coming back? In reality, your customers have a need that you are meeting. Understand what that is and you will be able to find other people with the same need.

The second key is to identify your target market segments. Based on who is already doing business with you, you can target specific markets that would be good candidates. You can use demographics, geographic area and psychographic information (attitudes, aspirations, and other psychological criteria) to create these segments. If you sell to other businesses, then it would be important to include size of company based on revenue or employees and industry sector. For instance, you may be targeting green builders in the states of Oregon and Washington that have designed or built LEED certified projects. If you are introducing a new product or service, you will want to consider early adapters vs. laggards. Keep in mind that you should come up with multiple segments that could be possibilities.

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