The latter is open for publication and is intended both for the administration of the enterprise and for external users of state tax authorities, stock exchanges, banks, others, suppliers, buyers, potential investors. Maintaining financial records for an economic entity is mandatory.

When modeling the situation in the Kiosk problem, it has been assumed so far that a more profitable product can only be sold by direct contact between the seller and the buyer. The potential opportunities of the seller should be aimed at achieving the goal of profit. The means for this are the choice of arguments in favor of a particular product and a more appropriate sequence of their presentation. These methods of implementing a sales strategy do not require additional costs. We are talking about more efficient coverage of already incurred costs. Profit will now increase only due to an increase in the volume of sales of products that are more profitable in terms of the amount of coverage per piece or the amount of coverage per minute.

All buyers Potentially profitable buyers

As shown in the diagram, the initial stage of pre-contract preparation for the seller and the buyer is to study the market (1). The seller during this period studies the market, actively influences it in order to arouse interest in his product, identifies demand and looks for a buyer. The potential importer, in turn, studies the offered products of the industry, tries to influence the market in order to intensify competition between exporters, activate the supply of goods, encourage sellers to reduce prices and choose the most suitable partner. The next step for the exporter is to submit an initiative proposal for the product (2). Having familiarized the future consumer of the product with this offer and making sure that the parameters of the product meet the requirements of the customer, the importer sends a request (3) to the exporter, where he asks to send a detailed commercial offer for the product (offer) containing the information necessary to make a decision on the expediency of concluding a transaction. The exporter carefully studies the request, as necessary works out (4) the possibility of satisfying it with the manufacturer of the goods, with functional services and departments (monetary and financial, transport, marketing, market conditions and prices, legal, etc.), prepares an offer (5) and send it to the buyer. Having received the offer, the importer agrees (6) with the consumer of the goods on the expediency of concluding a transaction on the proposed conditions and sends the exporter an acceptance of the offer (7), i.e. informs the exporter of his firm readiness to conclude a contract. This usually ends

Very rarely can a bond be bought in such a way as to secure a given rate of interest. In most cases, bonds are bought from a bond exchange, where they are sold through a higher bid auction. This is done through agents acting in the interests of both the seller and the buyer. The potential seller instructs his agent about the minimum selling price, while the potential buyer tells his agent the maximum price he can pay. Agents work on commission and naturally try to get the best possible price for their clients.

External clients are buyers, potential buyers, partners, journalists, suppliers.

The company actively "serves" 10% of buyers of the potential market, who have the opportunity to choose from the whole variety of products offered, including competing firms.

The consumers of this information are mainly external to the enterprise users, state tax authorities, bikes and other financial organizations, suppliers and buyers, potential investors. Financial reporting is not a commercial secret of the enterprise, it is open to information and is certified by an independent audit firm. Financial accounting is mandatory for businesses. International accounting standards, basic accounting principles are related specifically to financial accounting systems.

Sometimes the buyer is potentially ready to buy the product even at a lower discount than it is beneficial for the seller. With what it is connected Let's show on an example. Let, for example, for definiteness, the capacity of the batteries of the first type is 300 tAh h, the second type - 600 tAh h. The service life of elements of the first type is 3 years, the second - 6 years. The price of elements of the first type is 145 rubles. Let the ruble discount rate be 94% per annum for the seller, and 36% per annum for the average buyer (Sberbank's deposit rate). Under these conditions, the retail price of elements of the second type will be beneficial for the seller at a price not lower than 164.5 rubles, and for the buyer - no more than 203 rubles. As you can see, in this case, the consensus between the seller and the buyer is without any problems - for the successful sale of batteries of the second type, it is enough to set the price value between 164.5 and 203 rubles. (upper limit may be determined by competitors' prices).

IBM must become a customer-centric company, meaning that every element of its business must be related to the requirements of the customer. Every instruction to an IBM employee relates in some way to its goal of providing customers, potential customers, and sellers with the best possible service.

The action of the seller in direct interaction with a potential buyer.

Any form of communication used by a firm to inform or persuade potential buyers to purchase or remind them of its products or services.

Pt - all forms of activity aimed at informing (clarifying, reminding) potential buyers about their goods, services, ideas, public (charitable) activities, brand names, packaging, organizing exhibitions, demonstrations, holding contests, lotteries, quizzes, advertising in the media, etc.

An advertisement should be structured in such a way that a) catch the reader's eye b) make him read it to the end c) evoke positive emotions d) encourage action e) be remembered. It is necessary to make sure that the advertisement answers the possible questions of a potential buyer as much as possible. To do this, specialists of the enterprise are involved in the work on the text.

When the advertisement is ready, it is necessary to choose a distribution channel so that it falls into the hands of a potential buyer. In other words, it is necessary to publish an advertisement in a newspaper or magazine (more than once, but preferably at least 7 times), which the average buyer or potential partner likes to read.

There is also a more effective and less expensive channel - "direct mail" - direct mail advertising (see "Direct mail" [D 56]), when, after printing an advertisement in the form of a letter and multiplying it, you send it to the addresses of your potential partners or buyers.

A special section is devoted to the peculiarities of consumer behavior in relation to new products. The author introduces readers to the individual differences in people's willingness to accept innovation (Kotler uses the word perception in this situation, interpreting it as an individual's decision to become a regular user of the product), dividing all consumers into innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. In addition, the success of a novelty largely depends on such characteristics of the product itself as comparative advantage, compatibility, complexity, divisibility of the dating process and communicative visibility. It seems that such an assessment of a new product can clarify a lot in the behavior of potential buyers.

Market - a set of existing and potential buyers of goods.

The concept of intensification of commercial efforts is used especially aggressively in relation to goods of passive demand, i.e. goods that the buyer does not usually think about purchasing, such as insurance, encyclopedic dictionaries, grave plots. In these branches of activity, various methods have been developed and perfected to identify potential buyers and hard sell goods to them.

And now we will look at how buyers approach the purchase of new products. By novelty, we mean a product, service, or idea that some potential customers perceive as something new. A novelty product may have been on the market for some time, but you and I are interested in how consumers first learn about it and decide whether it is worth adopting. In this case, we mean by perception the thought process that an individual goes through from the moment he first hears about a new product to the moment he finally adopts it. 25 We define perception as an individual's decision to become a regular user of a product.

Suppose the firm learns that buyers of the target segment are primarily interested in two parameters of snowmobiles: size and speed. Potential customers and dealers can be asked how they perceive competitors' snowmobiles in terms of these parameters. The results of the survey are presented in the product positioning scheme in fig. 48. Competitor A is considered a manufacturer of small, fast snowmobiles, Competitor B is a manufacturer of medium-sized and medium-speed snowmobiles, Competitor C is a manufacturer of small and medium-sized slow-moving snowmobiles, and Competitor D is a manufacturer of large, slow-moving snowmobiles. The areas of the circles in the diagram are proportional to the sales volumes of each of these competitors 16.

Suppose, however, that management believes that the potential profit is higher and the risk is lower if the firm takes on the production of small, fast cars that compete with those of manufacturer A. In this case, the firm will need to study competitor A’s snowmobile and find a way to differentiate its offer in the eyes of potential buyers. Competitive positioning can be ensured based on the properties of the product, its design, quality, price and other characteristics.

This is a kind of "language" with which the company (enterprise) designates its products, as well as everything that is somehow related to them. Problem S.f. is that the widest masses of people (and not just potential buyers) from a distance, at a great distance, recognize the machines, equipment, devices, vehicles of the enterprise, as well as buildings, factories, etc. belonging to the company, clearly distinguishing them from similar facilities of competing firms. In S.'s system f. includes the following elements 1.

Sales Generator

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In the theory and practice of sales, communication with potential customers is one of the most important and frequently raised topics. However, few people understand why they should be defined at all by an ordinary businessman.

Knowing your potential customers, you will be able to accurately determine the needs of your target audience, predict their questions and objections, offer the most optimal conditions for cooperation and promotional offers. As a result: the number of customers will grow, sales figures will increase.

From this article you will learn:

1. Criteria indicating who the potential customers are
2. How can you search for potential clients?
3. How to call potential customers the right way
4. How to work with potential clients
5. The role of Internet marketing in communication with a potential client

4 criteria for identifying potential customers

Criterion 1. The client must need your product

If you want a potential buyer to one day leave this category and turn into a real one, it is important for him to fit this condition. It makes no sense to waste your energy, nerves, time on a person who does not and may not have a need for your product. So why put up a cigarette stand in a kids café? Or offer the freshest tenderloin to a vegetarian?

But there is also another situation. When a potential client is not yet aware of his own need for a service. Then it is important for the seller to politely tell him.

Let’s say it didn’t occur to a bank executive how much the productivity of his loan officers would improve if they learned how to touch ten-finger typing on a keyboard. Imagine for yourself how in this case the proportion of nervous clients who get tired of the mere sight of a girl slowly typing documents with two fingers will decrease.

However, if we are trying to sell a product in which a person definitely cannot be interested, then we have pure imposition. And it is extremely important for the seller to remain persistent, not turning into obsession during negotiations with potential customers.

Criterion 2. He must have a desire to buy your product

Do you think that need alone can be the basis for a deal? If you think about it, almost every one of us tends to ignore many of our needs all our lives. And desires seriously contribute to this.

A simple situation: it's time to change your winter jacket, but a person wants to go to Turkey, and he spends all the remaining money on his desire.

The company needs new equipment, but a brand new Lexus is bought for the chief accountant.

Or even more absurd: the staff does not receive a salary, they begin to demand it, but the owners of the company lost money on roulette.

All of the above takes place on an impulsive level, familiar to all new parents. So up to four years, many children scream: “I want!”, - and it is difficult to stop them.

But back to our serious conversation. When should a direct sale occur, who should act as the lead initiator? You come to a person who you think fits the image of a potential customer and you want them to buy your product. The desire to receive this thing should be in him from the very beginning, or will you cause this feeling?

Criterion 3. The customer must have the funds to buy your product

The most modern, functional, beautiful Apple laptops would certainly look great in the premises of any company. But to offer such a product to the editor of a regional newspaper is absurd. And not for the reason that he himself would not like to sit at one, and journalists cannot work on such a keyboard. Everything is much simpler - there are no funds for such things.

When going to a business meeting with a person, several people who fit the first two indicators, consider whether these potential customers are wealthy enough to pay for your offer. But, here it is necessary to make a reservation, it has been verified more than once: in the presence of a strong desire, a person in almost any situation will find an opportunity to realize it.

Criterion 4: The customer must have the authority to decide whether to buy your product

It may well be a very ambiguous situation in which you will build a dialogue with a potential client for a long time and persistently, and later you will find out that he cannot make a decision on this issue at all. Where the deputy head of security has several assistants and his own deputies, this is quite possible.

Typically, such situations develop when working with corporate clients. You communicate with people, organize truly impressive presentations, and you are only promised to call back, think, consult. This means that these persons do not have all the necessary authority to give you an answer regarding the purchase of your services / products. But how can you admit this to a simple sales manager?

How to write a profile of a potential client

The client's portrait is a figurative description of the consumer. In marketing, the concept of "portrait of an ideal client" hides the target audience interested in your offer. When deriving this image, a large amount of information about demand is used.

By analyzing the portrait of potential customers, you will be able to attract visitors. Without such a tool, all your marketing activities will be of little effect.

The portrait you need should display: goals, problems, interests, demographic characteristics, desires of a small group of people.

Before compiling such a portrait, it is important to know who your target audience is. Here is a clear example of buyers of an educational site:

• Age. 18 - 42 years; 43 - 65 years old. The second group includes the most purposeful consumers, they have already realized that it is time to earn their income, and not work for someone. In the first - people for whom personal growth is important, who want to learn more, earn extra money to support their families.
• Floor. Men and women are almost the same number.
• Position in society- social. The class is average or slightly higher.
• Financial position. Family income is average, but preferably more.
• position in the family. 65% are married couples, the remaining 35% are single, single or unmarried.
• Education. Secondary special, higher - 80%.
• Place of residence. Urban residents - 85%, rural - 15%.
• Client problem. Low wages, delays or desire to earn more.
• Client fears. Diffidence. However, in any case, it is important to understand that everyone has a desire to develop and grow. To conquer fear, we have pride, the desire for knowledge.

When evaluating a potential client, one can consider not only behavioral, socio-demographic, but also sociological, psychological indicators, religious views, nationality, etc. The more detailed the data in the portrait of a potential client, the easier and more productive it will be to conduct a subsequent PR campaign.

Start by analyzing the information, generating ideas, listing the needs of the potential buyer.

There are sources where you can take data to describe the portrait:

• expert survey;
• research of current clients;
• research of search queries from Yandex.Wordstat;
• study of existing statistics in areas;
• studying the behavior of visitors to your resource on the Web based on Yandex.Metrica;
• consideration of the social sphere.

As you build your prospect's image, ask yourself these four questions:

• What “problem” does the product solve when buying?

Example: when buying a puncher, people want to get not a device as such, but holes in the wall. Then the hole is the solution, and the perforator is the service. Thus, it is necessary to offer a specific solution, not a service. The consumer is usually not so important about the name of the product, he needs to understand which of the problems you will save him from.

• Who is the buyer of your product or service?

Suppose a novice IP manager needs accounting services. In order not to spend money on the salary of a permanent accountant, tax payments, furniture for a person’s workplace, he goes to a contractor. In case of incorrect reporting, the businessman can make a claim.

Submit your application

• Where is the client located?

In order for the placed ads, a specific trading platform to generate income, it is important to choose a suitable location for them. For example, through such advertising platforms as Yandex.Direct, targeted advertising on VKontakte, you will be able to promote your info product.

• What problematic issues does the client face most often?

Usually this question is: "Where to buy?". Of course, it is possible to sell "on the forehead" directly through the selling site. But another way is best: it is more comfortable for a person to buy, having read useful content, going to the article page, to the site with a link to the selling page.

The most simplified method of forming the image of a group of potential customers consists of three points:

• Define the customer category. Suppose we take those who want to learn how to make money on the Web. Evaluate this in terms of the economic effect achieved. To do this, answer the following questions: “Are there enough customers who can pay for your offers?”, “Can you meet their needs?”. At the first stage of e-mail marketing, work on one group of consumers, and then add others.
• Gather available customer information.
• In the map of needs, describe the portrait of the consumer. Let's dwell on this point in more detail.

Steps to map a potential buyer:

1. Describing the client(its location, economic situation, behavior, etc.).
2. We consider his tasks, aspirations - internal factors. Let's take an entrepreneur as an example. Such a person has the following goals: increasing profitability and developing his company. Then it is important to consider how many competitors he has, what their actions are, what difficulties there are with consumers, suppliers and others.
3. Incentives, goals - external factors. The goal of a businessman is to increase sales by 15% in a year, by 20% in two years, and after 5 years to sell the business in order to delve into a more promising direction. Here, a person's own aspirations act as an incentive to achieve their goals.
4. His feelings, knowledge. What problems does the client face in their work? What options for getting rid of them are you ready to provide him? How will the consumer feel when they achieve their goals? What information should he have in order to opt for your offer, and not go to competitors?

Where to get leads data

To begin with, let's analyze where to get information from to form a database of potential customers:

1. List of sites issued by search engines(Yandex, Google, Rambler). The TOP-30 search engines for various queries include those resources where information is frequently updated.

2. Advertising. Think of a list of advertising media that potential clients of the company use for their own promotion, as this will help us answer the question "How to find potential clients." The easiest way to work with contextual advertising, a variety of catalogs, advertising, trade newspapers and magazines. Also, radio, television, outdoor advertising will help you.

3. Electronic trading platforms. They are universal (diversified), sectoral, grocery. Here companies post their real requests, but to see them, you have to register or pay for access.

Here are some options for such resources: UseTender.com, Tender.su (universal), www.tradecable.ru (cable, electrical products), www.nge.ru (petroleum products), www.lke.ru (paints and varnishes), www. polypipe.ru (polymer pipes), www.cislink.ru (foodstuffs and other consumer goods), eMatrix.ru (computer equipment, components), b2b-energo.ru (power industry).

4. Information business directories. We should be most interested in directories containing data across the country and in all areas. Namely:

• Yellow Pages;
• Business address;
• Business Card;
• Allinform.ru;
• Compass Russia;
• Biz-Info.Ru;

5. Regional Internet resources. Examples include the information and business portal of the city of Izhevsk, the ALL-BIZ.INFO: Russia server, the Internet Capital advertising center. This list is almost endless, because our country is not small!

6. Bulletin boards. For example, "Avito", "From hand to hand", "Yula", etc.

What other methods can be used to search for potential customers

Once you've mapped out your potential customer profile, it becomes clear who to look for. Below we will talk about the methods by which it is possible to search for consumers.

There are several options for identifying potential customers that can reduce the time spent quite well. However, we note that one method alone will not be able to provide you with a large number of potential buyers. Only their combination will be effective. Try to put into work each of the presented methods, then you will find a suitable combination.

• cold selection

This method is the most widely applicable and effective. Its use suggests that you have very little data. Some salespeople eschew cold screening because they are afraid of being intrusive and consider it a waste of time. Therefore, you need to look for real masters.

Let's say you sell an advertising platform and come to a large business center for a meeting. Just think, many companies you don't know work in this building. Why not go to some and offer your services? You can kill two birds with one stone: identify the need, and if you're lucky, negotiate a deal.

But do not tell the consumer that you were just passing by and decided to meet. Then you will receive an answer from the interlocutor that he is busy, cannot communicate with you now and will be right. He has a full day scheduled, and you interfere with his plans, why should he want to work with you?

The task of "cold selection" is to make it clear to a potential client that his business is very important to you, that is, you came here only for his sake. You can say that you have heard only the best reviews about his company and will be glad to cooperate.

• word of mouth

A long-established method. You just need to ask buyers if there are other potential customers in the market. Just ask if anyone else would like to buy your product. So you will be able to increase the number of potential customers exponentially.

Remember that word of mouth will be more productive if you focus your efforts on finding new options with the help of those who have bought from you. And only then turn to the category that is not yet familiar with your offer so closely.

If the client was satisfied with what he received from you, he will list his friends and acquaintances for you without any problems. Although there are those who refuse to share such information, since such behavior can be assessed by acquaintances as an invasion. When you hear: “But don’t say that I gave you the phone”, know that the person does not trust you. If his friends are unhappy, he will feel guilty.

• Public opinion

This method is also called "center of influence". Public opinion is built by specialists, people with authority. They themselves do not invest in your offer, but they are able to advise you, your company to their friends. Let's say you sell computers, then a good programmer can tell those he serves about you, and with his help, a real increase in the number of potential customers is possible.

In this way, potential customers learn about your product, while they are not personally acquainted with you. Trust in you will arise, as an authoritative person spoke well of you. True, such people are not easy to find, but if you succeeded, do not miss your chance! Tell us about the benefits, advantages of your product, be sure to keep in touch in the future.

• Direct mail

This option has a low level of performance and is not suitable for everyone. Perhaps the main plus here is that it is possible to convey information about yourself to such a number of potential customers that it is impossible in person.

Another advantage of the method is that direct mail does not interfere with the recipient at an inconvenient time. In addition, it is many times more accessible than cold calls or PR. If you get a response, then you have managed to interest your potential client. But, unfortunately, such advertising annoys many, and not everyone responds.

• Finding potential customers by phone

This method has many advantages. For example, telephone communication makes it possible to act flexibly, responses to objections can be adjusted to a particular interlocutor. Moreover, at the end of a telephone conversation, the transaction can be completed, which will save you a lot of time.

• Former and current clients

“People are interesting to us when we see that they are interested in us,” said Publius Syr. Based on this opinion, remember that it is important to keep in touch with former buyers from time to time, even if at the moment your offer is not in demand by them. While you are thinking about how to attract new potential customers, competitors are processing your past and present.

With just one phone call, you can find out about the needs of your old buyer, let him know that you remember him, and, of course, remind you of yourself. Since if the consumer feels that he has been forgotten, he easily leaves for another company, which, in his opinion, treats him more attentively.

It doesn't matter what product you offer. In any case, it is necessary to keep a detailed record of information for each buyer. Write down when the person bought the product, how much. All the data collected is necessary to represent when a current buyer will need your services again, and when you should call him.

• Search for clients on the Internet

It is easy to find new consumers and information about potential customers on the Web. After all, they, like you, have sites on the Internet (official website, pages on social networks), so you only need to type a key phrase in the search engine. Then feel free to send your offer to the client's e-mail, but it's even better to call in person.

• Seminars

Conducting a seminar is an opportunity to tell the audience about your product. But remember that such an event is not intended for transactions. Once completed, hand out a short questionnaire (for you, it will be a prospective client questionnaire) to visitors, where they can describe how they benefited from discussing your proposal. Having received such data, you will be able to identify a group of potential buyers and build further communication with them.

• News

The media is a great way to find potential buyers, you just need to learn how to use this resource. Here you get data that allows you to reach a future client. Thanks to the media, it will be easier for you to communicate with him, because you are already indirectly familiar from articles in newspapers, interviews on local TV channels.

• Business connections

This technology works according to a very simple scheme: "My friend's friend is my friend." In the process of searching for potential buyers, try to remember all your friends and acquaintances. They will share reliable data about your likely customers with you.

How to create a database of potential customers

Now let's talk about how to collect the received data directly into the database of potential customers.

Create a table form for the customer base

First you need to understand what kind of information about a potential client you need in the database. Usually everything starts with a serial number ("No. p / p"). Further columns under the name of the company, full name of the head, his contacts. After that, there are columns with marks about paid orders / completed projects, pre-orders (which are under discussion).

Make the "Comments" field to mark the name of the person responsible for interaction and the difficulties of working with a particular client: what should be paid attention to, how best to communicate with him. That is, the table can have all the columns that you find useful.

Give a task to managers

So, you have found all the necessary data. Now all the information needs to be brought into a single form. To simplify your task, distribute the spreadsheet form to managers and tell them how to fill it out.

Consolidate documents received from managers into a single database

In this case, a very simple copy-paste operation awaits you, after which you will receive a ready-made database of all potential customers of your company. It is necessary to put the resulting table on the server, open access to all managers so that changes are made without delay. So you will be able to constantly monitor the quality of work of subordinates.

How to attract potential customers

• Direct mail.

We emphasize that you should not flatter yourself, this is not the most reliable method for finding potential customers. Although with a certain effort, it can also be useful. The best strategy is to send about 10 emails a day and call the same people a couple of days later.

• Through advertising.

Advertising in your area will be useful to attract potential customers, but it is important to present it correctly. To do this, first of all, find out what problems your potential buyer is worried about and offer him a solution. Don't forget to include your company's contact information in these ads.

• Exhibitions, conferences, fairs.

Such events allow you to collect a whole database of potential customers in a day and work productively on attracting. In fact, it is not necessary to become a participant in events, you can go as a guest.

• classic interaction.

Here you will have to follow several steps. First, sales managers form a list of potential customers and pay visits to all of them in order to establish communication and persuade them to sign contracts. This method can be called very productive, it is only important that work on it be carried out systematically.

How to write your first letter to a potential client

The first e-mail to your potential customer should be short, yet in an easy way to lead to subsequent communication. Remember that sales emails are necessary to build communication with potential customers, they are not like a regular mailing list. The bottom line is that the relationship with the addressee has not yet been built, which means that you cannot demand undivided attention from him.

Leaders often complain that letters go unanswered. There is nothing unusual in this, because most often such messages are unnecessarily complex, incomprehensible. As experience shows, almost any e-mail is built around this topic:

• subject: ABC (so we will designate the company for example);
• appeal: greeting + name + classic how are you?
• paragraph on merit ABC companies;
• description of goods and offers ABC companies;
• clients ABC companies (list of well-known names);
• interaction attempt under the pretext of a 20-minute phone conversation: “We would like to talk to you to tell you more about our services”;
• Contact details:“If you have any questions, we will be happy to answer this number (tel.) + link to the site;
• Regards + contact information.

Now let's look at why such emails are usually sent to spam. To do this, we will try to consider the newsletter through the eyes of a potential client:

1. The subject line doesn't tell me anything - why should I open it?
2. We do not know each other, so concern about my condition seems feigned.
3. I'm not interested in your company, why should I read this?
4. Which of the above should seem interesting to me?
5. If you cooperate with such serious organizations, you will treat me with disdain.
6. Do you really think I have time to listen to you for 20 minutes?
7. You seem to think that I am an idiot, unable to find your phone number and website at the end of the letter if necessary. And you really believe that I dream of meeting you, having already spent three minutes of my free time writing this letter.
8. The last one is a lie. What is respectful in your letter?

In general, the very fact that sometimes sales managers get at least some kind of answer is surprising. Such a letter is akin to a request to be blacklisted.

Now let's talk about the sales email scheme, which you are more likely to get a response to and which can lead to a meeting with potential customers:

• subject: something that can interest a potential consumer;
• appeal: Dear + name;
• enumeration of benefits:“I am writing to you because ...” (name all the useful things that you can offer the client);
• “Here is a list of companies similar to yours (list) that we have already helped” (complete with numbers of potential benefits);
• “As soon as you reply to this letter, I will send you all the necessary details so that you can decide whether our offer is worth your time”;
• your name, contacts.

Now let's explain why the modified canvas works much better:

1. The subject line encourages the recipient to open it. A good option to start communication may be to mention recent changes in the field of activity of a potential client of your service, etc.
2. Of course, most firms today use an informal style of communication, but the letter is still better to start respectfully. Formality offends few people.
3. People always appreciate if you can get to the point quickly enough.. For a potential client, the essence is the benefit that he can derive from cooperation with you. So let him know about it.
4. This is your sales letter that starts with a profit for the buyer. The listed firms must correspond in terms of the level of the company of the potential consumer. But it happens that there is no such list, then start with the phrase: "our clients hired us in order to ...".
5. It is foolish to expect that the first e-mail will force the client to agree on a meeting time with you. Therefore, you bring him to the next step, which will be an indicator of a person’s interest in communication.
6. A potential client is smart enough to call you or visit your website, if he needs it.

How to make the first call to a potential client

If you just decide to call potential customers, remember: the first call is made only according to a clear plan. Structured, unobtrusive communication will allow you to immediately win over the interlocutor. The main goal is to say why it is better to cooperate with you. What is so difficult about this? Just in case, remember a few basic principles of work during cold calls:

1. You need to learn how to instantly reincarnate.

Many sales managers will say: "But I'm not an artist!". If you care about selling, you have to become one! Turn on the TV, where most of the show cannot find real characters, so they use the services of professional actors, and the viewer believes them. Such tricks increase the ratings with incredible speed. Always remember this, because your consumers are the same people.

2. Be able to fully capture the attention of your interlocutor.

Learn to use the right (rhetorical) questions. Work on the correct wording that can direct the client in a certain direction. Get him to say the first "Yes." Ease, ease - the key to your success in communicating with potential customers.

3. Explain the purpose of your cold call.

Let the person know why you picked them. Briefly but succinctly introduce your organization. It is important to dwell on the key provisions, there is no need to “pour water”, as a person is tired and can hang up.

4. Do your best and get the first business meeting (acquaintance).

• It is important to learn how to formulate exhaustive answers to all questions voiced during negotiations with potential clients. You are limited in time, and you need to have time to convey a large amount of information. In this case, strategic business planning will become your lifesaver, that is, you need to think over a conversation plan with a potential client in advance.
• If you want to convince the interlocutor, create such an emotional environment in which he will feel complete confidence in how important it is for him to resort to your help.
• Most often, refusals are explained in a trite way: the question was constructed incorrectly, so a negative answer was the most logical. Imagine that you are an insurance agent. You say to a stranger: “Hello! Would you like to insure your life against unforeseen situations? Be sure that in 90% of cases you will hear: “No, we would not want to.” The reason is that your categorical question begs an equally categorical answer.

Correct Business Speech: Hello! We offer you to insure your own life against all kinds of accidents by obtaining an insurance policy from our insurance company (hereinafter a brief description of your benefits).

• The next question of a specialist depends on the reaction of a potential client to the service offer. If you suddenly come across a complete denial, you should not be intrusive - this can become a reason for forming an opinion about the low level of professionalism among the employees of your company. Remember, it is unlikely that anyone will remember the name of the caller, and the brand will remain at the hearing.
• Everything that you tell your potential consumers should be as truthful and realistic as possible. The client should have a picture about who he will be dealing with. Your brilliant reputation is a guarantee of the company's success!
• Do not forget about a simple rule: everything ingenious is simple. A person can feel affection for you when he hears his name: “Hello, Irina Nikolaevna (Irina)!”. In this case, a psychological mechanism operates, which implies the fact of acquaintance, a positive attitude, despite the fact that you are hearing each other for the first time.
• Maintaining a friendly tone during a conversation is an additional opportunity to avoid rudeness on the part of the interlocutor. It is unlikely that a person will hang up without listening to you. But even if he did so, there is no reason to despair: such a reaction is also a reaction.
• The result of all work will depend on how you present yourself while communicating with a potential client on the phone. Just imagine, a complete stranger calls you and talks about nothing for more than half an hour. How will you react? Most likely, hang up, and if you listen to the end, you will not fully understand what the essence of his words is. Don't want to be in this speaker's situation? Then learn to introduce yourself:

"Hello Irina! I am a representative of corporation "X". Our company is located in the city "U" and is the leader ... ". So you at least give the potential client the opportunity to understand what your company does. Thanks to this simple move, the rest of the communication will be easier.

• Another important condition for success is a well-defined subject of discussion. It should appear throughout your communication with a potential client so that a connection can be traced to the first phone conversation.
• Keep in mind that every phone call brings you one step closer to closing the deal. Constantly focus on the observance of all agreements and compromises reached in the process of negotiations.

5 ways to call potential customers the right way

Method #1. We know you, dear customer.

The meaning here is very simple: show the person that you are familiar with him, his brand, type of activity. If you have experience using his products, tell him about it, let him know that you are happy with the purchase. Such a description will be pleasant to any potential client! In this case, it is highly likely that everything will happen with this person as you want. No wonder they say: "The cuckoo praises the rooster because he praises the cuckoo!". Do you agree?

Your task is to focus on the positive and your awareness. What is needed for this? That's right, prepare for communication, find out about its activities and its features.

Let's give an example from real life - a call to an elite women's cosmetics store:

The manager promised to visit the store and then call back. This dialogue ended.

The conclusion is simple: the manager must know the basics of his clients, otherwise he will not be able to help them in any way.

Having gone to this store, we call back and build a conversation a little differently:

- Nadezhda Ivanovna?

- Greetings! This is Marina calling from the Courier agency. Remember me?

Yes, yes, Marina. I'm hearing you.

- I visited your store!

- And what is your impression?

- Impression? Yes, just a sea of ​​​​emotions! You know, I couldn't decide which perfume to choose: Dolche and Cabbana or Marina de Burbon. Both have such a smell that it was difficult for me to stop at any one. What would you recommend to me?

After that, the discussion of perfumes, manufacturers, preferences began.

"Have you thought about my proposal?"

“Oh, can you remind me?

- Nadezhda Ivanovna! Let me not bore you with long explanations. Maybe we'll meet, I'll tell you everything in detail and show you!? When are you free?

The result of this communication was a meeting and (don't be surprised!) the signing of a long-term contract. In addition, the manager was given a boutique discount card. Nice bonus, right?

Method number 2. And I know that you have news for me!

The very name of the technology suggests that the essence here is to constantly monitor what is happening. Is your client offering a seasonal discount? Call him immediately! Does he act as a sponsor of the exhibition? Run and don't miss the moment! You need to always stay abreast of changes, requirements, tastes of your client.

That is, even before the call, try to find all the available information about the person and the company. Where? For this, you do not need to conduct a survey of a potential client at all. Start with a website, see how your client is advertised, and you will understand a lot.

You probably thought: “To create an author's idea, you need to work for some time. How can this be discussed at the first call to a person? But you are only partly right. To make it clear, let's give an example again - a call to a dental clinic:

- Good afternoon, Ella Petrovna! My name is Marina, I represent the Courier agency.

- Hello!

Are these flyers in the mailboxes?

– Well... yes, partly.

- Yes, they are always thrown out, they don’t even carry them to the apartment.

The manager got into a difficult situation because she was not ready for such a scenario.

But not everyone throws them out!

Sorry, this doesn't work for us.

- Sorry, goodbye, Ella Petrovna!

The manager thought for a long time how to fix the situation, and this is what happened in the end:

Hello, Ella Petrovna! This is Marina again, the Courier agency. Remember me? We are in the distribution business.

- Yes, Marina, of course, I remember.

– I have an exclusive offer for you, I am sure you will like it! Let's meet?

- Well, I'm here until six, drive up!

The idea was accepted with pleasure, and face-to-face communication with a potential client ended with the signing of an agreement.

Method number 4. You are cool peppers, but we are also peppers.

Sounds funny? The technique itself is much more serious. The point is: to let the consumer understand the importance of their company. Let's go straight to the examples:

- Good morning, Viktor Alexandrovich! My name is Oksana, I represent Beijing, we are the largest supplier of Chinese tea in the city.

Hello, Peter Mikhailovich! My name is Aleksey. Our company has been in the chemical industry market for eight years. We want to offer you a joint commercial project.

As soon as the client realizes how important you are, his attitude towards you, the representative of the organization, will be more respectful, that is, you have more chances that they will listen to you and agree to consider the project.

Method number 5. Do you know? Well, of course you know!

Here you need to present in a conversation with a potential client for granted facts that the person will agree with. After that, you lead to the equally obvious statement that he simply cannot do without your services. For example:

This way you can connect with people who are not yet your customers.

How to work with potential customers on the Internet

In some cases, aggressive product promotion ruins the conversion, or the reason may be the seller's excessive intrusiveness. People can drop in to “just look”, and they are immediately offered to register / buy right now.

It so happened that not every client is psychologically ready to immediately spend money, while the owners of Internet resources do not always understand what is the right thing to do in this case. The more expensive, more complex your offer, the longer it will take a person to morally prepare for investing.

In the case of software products of various specifics, prices, and functionality, do not try to sell a "pig in a poke" at all. Create a limited trial so users can experience the real value of the offer.

Here you should not enter a long registration, a couple of simple steps will suffice. Otherwise, a potential client may get confused and lose the remnants of loyalty to the service and the company. After all, she sells what she can’t even try out before buying.

For this reason, it is necessary to approach the sales funnel wisely, work not only on conversion, but also stimulate a loyal user attitude in order to keep your communication going.

Let's say we sell a popular information product about do-it-yourself repairs. Here is how the work with a potential client should be built:

1. What does the person want? - Learn all about home renovation.

2. What do you want? - Get a client.

3. How to do it?

• Offer a free consultation, and as a bonus to your product, add an original video, make free reports, provide official papers.
• Your goal is to make the user regard you as a wise adviser, whose opinion is worth relying on.
• Give your consumers a few good reasons to subscribe to your newsletter.
• Offer a free "trial" video course on one type of repair.

Among professional marketers, there is an opinion that the user needs to contact the resource 10 times in order to agree to a purchase. True, these figures are not supported by the results of studies. However, this indicator highlights the fact that the longer and deeper the communication with a potential client is built, the higher the likelihood of a purchase.

At the same time, there are always tools for establishing warm and trusting relationships. It is only necessary to find ways to influence a specific group of users and start working with them.

What role does online marketing play in communicating with a potential client?

Internet marketing (online marketing) is a set of actions, the task of which is to promote a resource, a product on the Web, as well as in interaction with potential customers. This kind of PR, like offline marketing, can increase the popularity of the company, customer loyalty to its activities and offer.

What is the meaning and advantages of this type of marketing? Like other types, it includes the following main components:

• Product / service promoted on the Internet through certain tools.
• Offer- a unique characteristic of your product, a promotion, a discount, a bonus, a free service - everything that may be of interest to a group of potential customers.
• - people to whom you offer your product. The bottom line is that they are all looking for information about your product on the Web. First of all, you will have to attract them to your site, only after that they will be able to become your customers.
• Conversion– Turning site visitors into real customers.
• Promotion- those techniques that you use to attract the target audience, get the best possible result.

This work with potential clients lends itself to very precise measurement. It is easy to check the statistics of impressions, clicks on links or banners, purchases. The latest tools for maintaining statistical data make it possible to see which links from search, contextual, media advertising bring more people to the site. That is, you can track all the processes of your advertising campaign.

The main feature is the specificity of the audience on the Internet. It is fundamentally different from the existing one offline, therefore it requires a separate approach. This is where you encounter active, engaged users. They purposefully conduct a search for specific information and at any time can protect themselves from annoying advertising.

A look at an ad can last no more than a second. In such a short time, you need to express your offer as clearly as possible, interest, and encourage a group of potential customers to continue exploring the site. It is simply necessary to communicate directly with such an audience: encourage them to click on banners, links, take part in surveys, comment, rate, and then place an order or contact you.

What Internet marketing tools can be used to build communication with potential customers:

Search Engine Optimization and Promotion (SEO)

An example of the search promotion of our client of the company "De Jure De Facto"

This is a set of measures aimed at promoting a resource in search engines for certain queries. First of all, this is site optimization - changing the structure, HTML code, navigation, content, which will allow the resource to become more convenient, carry more information for potential customers, and be well indexed by search engines.

The promotion itself consists in increasing the external link mass, constant analysis, revision of key queries, with the help of which optimization is carried out. Thus, SEO is financially low-cost, provides a long-term, stable positive result, although it requires serious time resources and effort.

A special kind of ad that appears near or above the search results if the corresponding keyword has been entered. All impressions are configured according to a number of characteristics: keywords, region, time, days of the week. This type of advertising is a win-win option when you need to attract the attention of a specific group of potential customers for a set period of time.

Compared to SEO, contextual advertising starts very quickly, is easy to control, but stops working immediately after being disabled. It is best to try to evenly distribute the available funds between this option and search promotion.

It can be displayed on any sites, looks like banners, teasers, informers, etc. The main goal is to initially inform about an existing product, create a favorable image of a product or company. Clickable banners are able to lure potential customers to your resource, a page containing a specific product, which further stimulates the purchase.

The launch of “medical” will bring the best result during the period of the highest level of demand or during discounts and promotions. But this type of promotion on the Internet is quite expensive.

E-mail newsletter

This is a variety of e-mail mailings, including an appeal to a specific person or company for any informational occasion. So you can tell potential and real customers about a promotion, a new product, an offer, a new store opening. Here you will need the accumulated client base and contacts of people who subscribed to the site's mailing list.

PR campaign

This is the only free option that involves posting articles, releases on news and entertainment sites. The best result is possible if you do not pay for it, but negotiate free accommodation, providing an interesting informational occasion.

Ice Bucket Challenge Example

We are talking about posting video clips, flash games, applications, photos, stories on social networks that do not contain open advertising, but there is an indirect mention of your product or company. It must be something really attractive. Viral marketing works thanks to mass coverage: readers themselves are ready to like / repost a video, photo, application.

An example in the photo is a Zhdun meme that blew up the Internet in 2017.

The choice of an Internet marketing tool should be related to the type of product being promoted and the tasks that you set for yourself. It happens that 1-2 channels are enough, but most often the best result is achieved with their complex use. And we offer to start work on the comprehensive promotion of your site from the main thing - a professional audit.

Salesmanship Michel Zawadzki

Who is a potential client?

The word client appears dozens of times in this book. But who really is? Let's figure it out.

In order for an individual (retail client) or organization (corporate client) to be considered our potential client, he/she must meet four requirements.

The need for the proposed product.

This is the first condition for starting work on "hilling up" a specific potential client. Why waste time on an object that does not and cannot experience the need for our product/service? For example: why offer furniture production equipment to an advertising agency?

As already noted, quite often the seller creates (opens) the need for the product to the client. This means that the need exists, but the client does not know about it, since he never thought about it or did not know about the existence of a solution to his problem.

For example, a person all his life used for drinking and cooking water taken from a water tap (very dubious quality). The questions asked by the seller of bottled drinking water to the client and the statistics of diseases caused by dirty water given by him “reveal” to the client that he needs clean water.

If we are trying to sell a product to a client that he does not need, then our actions are called the imposition of the unnecessary. This text is an introductory piece.

From the book Marketing. And now the questions! author Mann Igor Borisovich

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Rule #38 The Problem A Potential Buyer Says Is Never True Have you ever taken at face value a "diagnosis" a potential buyer has given you? Don't build the work on the wrong foundations. Be

From the book Show me the money! [The Definitive Guide to Business Management for the Entrepreneur Leader] author Ramsey Dave

Who is a guru As mentioned earlier, in any field there are people who are considered to be experts No. 1. They earn inadequately large (by the standards of colleagues) money. They are famous and popular. They get the best clients without any effort. And they set prices

From the book Break the Rules! And 45 more rules of genius by Newmeyer Marty

What is an expert? Expert In this book, the word "expert" will be used as a synonym for the word "guru". But still, let's delve into this concept a little deeper. This is necessary in order for you to have the right inner attitude. What is an expert? The person who can

From the book Turbostrategy. 21 ways to improve business efficiency by Tracey Brian

From the book Goldratt's Theory of Constraints. A systematic approach to continuous improvement author Detmer William

From the book The Big Book of the Store Manager 2.0. New technologies the author Krok Gulfira

From the book Take it and do it! 77 Most Useful Marketing Tools author Newman David

The group of people on which the company spends all marketing efforts is called the target audience (from the English target audience, target group). At the same time, it includes not only those people who have already bought a product or used the company's service, but also potential consumers, whose involvement is necessary for the development of any business.

Potential consumers - representatives of the target audience

A very important aspect of any company's marketing is the target audience. By defining it for each product, you can direct efforts to a specific segment of consumers, creating for them the ideal product that will be sold to them in the right place. Among other things, the target audience forms the boundaries of the target market for the company. To determine it, it is necessary to carry out special. Ultimately, this cohort will include those people who have a need for your product or service and who are interested in its benefits.

Since the target audience is a segment (or group of segments) of the consumer market, it has a number of features and characteristics that any of its representatives will meet. And the set of these parameters depends on who defines the target audience. For example, characteristics such as:

Geographic (for example, residents of Eastern Europe);

Socio-demographic - men aged 25-35, with an income above the average, working as heads of departments and above;

Psychographic - people seeking self-expression in society;

Behavioral - people who bought the product once or less.

When determining the target audience, you need to monitor its size and population dynamics, since it is precisely its scale that allows you to assess the volume of sales and the size of the market as a whole. Such an analysis, in turn, allows you to predict the profitability of the business and the payback of advertising.

Every target audience has a core, which is a group of the most important and active consumers of the company's product. As a rule, it includes real customers who already provide a large profit or a significant share of sales. These people use the service or product the most, and also have a serious need for the product and are ready to purchase it by any means. It also includes potential consumers of products that can bring profit in the future.

Modern marketing defines two types of target audience:

The main one (it is also called primary), to which brand communication will be directed. These people decide on the expediency of purchasing goods and are the initiators of the purchase;

Indirect (or secondary), which is not an active participant in the purchase or is not its initiator. For brand communication, this type of audience is not a priority.

What is the difference between these types can be seen in a simple example of selling children's toys. In this market segment, the target audience is represented by kids who use toys and parents who buy them. Children do not buy toys, but usually initiate their purchase by contacting their parents. Thus, it is the kids who will be the primary target audience, while the parents will be the secondary one.

How to identify potential customers

An illustration of the ladder of customer loyalty is the process of developing relationships between the firm and the consumer.

The first step is the potential consumer. This type includes all people who, under certain circumstances, will buy your company's product.

The second step is for the real buyer. Here are all those who at least once bought a product of your company.

The third step is clients. These are the people who buy a similar product not only from your company, but also from competitors.

Supporters are on the fourth step. This type is similar to a customer, but only buys your product.

The fifth step is propagandist. This type of consumer not only regularly buys your company's products, but also actively advertises them among his surroundings.

The last (sixth) step is the partner. This category is more than just a consumer. Partners do not just buy your product, they work together with you - they give feedback, help make the product better, and also attract additional customers.

In fact, such a ladder is a segmentation of consumer loyalty to your company. Therefore, by identifying and placing its customers at specific levels, the company can find an individual approach to each of them.

For a business, there is no task more important and more difficult than determining who potential consumers are. This is what your company's marketing campaign will be based on. There are two ways to identify a potential client:

Based on the product being sold;

Based on the volume of the captured market.

In both cases, you will have to answer six basic questions.

What is the socio-demographic portrait of the client (age, income, gender, etc.)?

What are the psychographic features of the target audience?

What are the requirements for the product by the consumer?

What problems does the buyer solve by purchasing the product?

What influences the choice of the target consumer and how does he shop?

How does the client learn about the product, with what means of communication does he interact?

If your product has such characteristics that are difficult to change, then it is better to choose the target audience based on the capabilities of your product. In this case, the definition of this group will go according to the following scheme.

Conduct the most complete comparative analysis of the product, in which note the strengths and characteristics of the product. Ideally, there will be 2-3 such key features (for example, design, price, working conditions, etc.).

In addition to analyzing the product, you need to evaluate real buyers. This can be done (on the six questions presented above). After that, you will be able to understand what your product is valued for, what reasons people have to buy it, and how it differs from competitors' products.

After that, a SWOT analysis of the product is compiled. Determine the properties of the product that provide its sales. Also identify its weaknesses that cannot be improved in the short term. Based on this analysis, you will be able to determine your market and target audience.

Next, the market is segmented according to the key properties of its product. You need to define a number of parameters: current customers, potential customers, those people who will never buy your product. These groups are also described in six questions. After that, you will get a portrait of the target audience.

Now you need to draw up a plan for working with the target market, which will spell out marketing moves aimed at retaining current and attracting potential consumers. Make a plan for expanding the range and improving the product, as well as a pricing strategy for the product and a plan for its promotion.

If your goal is to launch a new product in a new market, then you are not limited by your existing product and image. In this case, four steps will help determine the target audience.

Analyze and segment the market.

Identify segments that are most interesting in terms of profit and operating principles.

Based on the six questions above, describe the most likely customers.

At the end, draw up a plan of work with the target market.

How to draw up a portrait of a potential consumer

In order for an advertising campaign to be effective, it is necessary to analyze potential consumers before it starts and have a clear portrait of them: tastes and habits, in a word, to know the needs of potential customers. If the advertiser does not put himself in the place of the future buyer and does not speak his language, then advertising money can be considered lost.

Competent specialists concentrate their efforts on the most promising potential consumers. To do this, you need to carefully study this group of people so that the selected texts, illustrations and advertising messages are most effective.

If the target audience has not been defined, then the advertising campaign will be directed to a very wide range of consumers. This approach has two problems: the high cost of such activities and the risk of “missing” or only partially reaching the target audience. Thus, in order not to waste the company's resources, it is necessary to represent the group of potential consumers well.

If you want to have a characteristic of a potential consumer, then you should try to find out his needs, desires, goals, relationships with other people, etc. The values ​​and character of a person are largely shaped by the surrounding society in which people were brought up and lived.

As a rule, consumers adhere to accepted norms in their environment or try to imitate people standing on a higher rung of the social ladder. Thus, the place of residence, housing, furniture, food and places of recreation correspond to the general ideas of a person's social circle.

Educated people are more picky and picky, their acquisitions are usually more rational. They are not particularly suggestible and practically unaffected by unreasonable motives, they are more difficult to persuade. Uneducated people, on the contrary, are more easily emotional when buying and have greater suggestibility. Do not forget about the relationship of intelligence with age, occupation and income level.

The business in which a person is occupied most of his time undoubtedly leaves an imprint on him. People adopt the habits of their colleagues, try to imitate superiors or more successful colleagues. Also, the type of activity indicates the solvency of a person.

The level of security of a potential consumer can be attributed to the key factors. Naturally, high-income people buy more expensive goods, while low-income families buy lower-quality ones. It should be noted that when moving from a group with a low income to a group with a higher one, a potential consumer does not immediately change his habits and is in no hurry to adapt to the characteristics of the new environment. The inertia of thinking preserves the former predilections of people.

Potential consumers can be segmented by their buying behavior. The criteria here will be their activity, devotion to any brand, experience, etc.

Summing up all of the above, you can get a vivid portrait of a potential consumer of services and various kinds of goods. It will be advertised. Accordingly, the more accurate the portrait of a potential client, the easier it is to outline the circle of media and other parameters of a future information campaign. Effective advertising of a product will be based on the needs of the potential consumer of this product. Therefore, “for everyone” information will not be very effective, in contrast to campaigns aimed at potential buyers of your company.

Groups of potential consumers

As we have already said, when researching potential consumers, they can be divided by age, income, gender, and other characteristics. Future buyers delimited by such parameters form target audiences.

Accordingly, in order to achieve success in each target group, it is necessary to conduct marketing and advertising campaigns aimed at it. To get detailed information about these audiences, you need to conduct a comprehensive market research.

In general, two methods can be used to develop a segmentation strategy.

A priori method

This method proposes to segment according to real mandatory differences (for example, between young and old people, active and passive, etc.).

Thus, only one variable is used to analyze the data - they compare men and women, young and older people, or even buyers in Moscow and Kazan.

The prior variable will be age. It is this characteristic that is responsible for the preferences of a particular product.

It is also necessary to note the gender of the potential consumer. Advertising information is perceived differently by women and men. Ladies are more discerning shoppers. Below in the table we give examples of the features of advertising for men and women.

Prone to bonding (we are similar, we are close)	Aimed at building a hierarchy (we are free and not subject)
Tend to talk at home about their experiences	At home relax, don't try to assert themselves
Stretch in public, gotta look good	Tend to assert themselves in public
Show interest in nuances	Focused on getting to the point
emotional	Listen, trying not to show emotions; may not seem to be listening
As a rule, they ask relatives for advice.	Make decisions on their own
Eager to tell others about their experiences	Don't let your emotions influence the experience

Income is also a variable for analysis. Wealthier people buy expensive products and are less affected by price fluctuations.

Geographic location will be an important metric for developing an effective segmentation strategy. A small firm may be a leader in some area, but not in the whole country. Some regions need an individual advertising campaign. To conduct effective promotional activities in any region, you need to compare the per capita brand consumption rate in each region with the national average.

Consumption can be considered a universal variable, since segmentation by it will affect a very wide range of consumers. This scheme is indispensable if there is a goal in the overall development of the market. In this case, it is necessary to develop a program aimed at increasing the consumption of a particular product.

The basis of a priori segmentation will be consumer loyalty to the brand. Real data can be obtained after the study. Advertising coupons and demonstrations of this product in stores can help in persuading the client to use this product.

empirical method

It is also called the empirical segmentation method. It uses concepts such as “relationships”, “preferences”, “motivation”, “faith”, “benefit” and other psychological concepts to separate.

Segmentation by "attitude and benefit" is a search for key product features. In this type of splitting, you start by asking consumers about what attracts them to the product category in terms of benefits. After its definition, segmentation is performed.

Psychographics. Segmentation by way of life, which includes the interests, opinions, actions of a potential consumer. If you know the lifestyle of a future buyer, you can understand what he might be interested in: sports, reading, cultural events, etc. For example, if you segment consumers by psychographic metrics for a perfume line, then a potential buyer of this product can be described as a bit of a scandalous nonconformist who is bored with the usual fragrance advertising.

You can segment by culture or ethnic subculture. This division is indispensable if the product is targeted at different markets. The advertising campaign is planned for countries with a similar culture and value system. It is also worth considering cultural differences in one country, for example, in Russia or the USA, where there is a significant proportion of ethnic subcultures.

Thus, it is clear that knowledge of the potential consumer's value system and his lifestyle greatly facilitates the work in determining the target market and developing advertising actions.

Potential customers for a business plan

When a business plan for any project is created, it must have a section on consumer analysis. Based on this research, potential buyers and their segments will be identified, which will be the focus of the company's marketing efforts. This section should have the following information.

Identify potential customers as accurately as possible

The first thing to start with is to describe a clear portrait of a potential consumer of the company's products. The accuracy of such an image should be high, since it is not enough to say that the target market of the company is individual entrepreneurs, because there are millions of such people. In the business plan, potential customers should be clearly described. For example, not just small businesses, but those with up to 50 employees are located in the district centers of a particular region. Or, for example, a potential buyer of our product is a man of 30–40 years old, married, with a higher education, with an income above the average, holding a managerial position. He lives in the regional center, reads professional literature, spends little time on TV and is an active Internet user.

After clarifying and describing the target audience, you need to determine the demographic situation of your potential consumers. To do this, you need to answer a few questions.

What is the volume of potential customers that fit the description? Will the composition of this client base increase or decrease?

What is the average income of these potential consumers?

What is their geographical location?

Describe the needs of your customers and how your products can meet those needs

When the demographics of potential customers are clear, their needs should be described in the business plan. At the same time, information about the needs of future buyers can be presented in the form:

Past actions - a certain percentage of potential consumers purchased a similar product a year ago;

Forecast - a certain number of future customers indicated in the survey that they are ready to purchase the product in the next year;

Conclusion - since some potential consumers use a service or product that is worse than ours, the possible sales volume will be ...

The business plan also needs to list the factors that will influence a potential consumer in favor of buying your product. Here are the questions to be answered:

Is the price or quality of the product more important for a potential consumer?

What level of attitude do your potential customers expect, do they require ongoing support or will basic service be sufficient?

One of the key points in identifying potential customers is to evaluate potential customers in terms of their decision-making mechanism. To do this, you need to ask certain questions.

Will your potential customers turn to friends or relatives for advice before making a purchase?

Do prospective buyers research other offerings on the market before buying?

If a potential consumer makes a purchase of a product or service, how much will this affect his operations (i.e. will he spend additional resources on learning new technology, etc.)?

So, in order for your business to be successful, and for marketing campaigns to not just waste your money, it is important to have the right idea about your current and potential customers. The time spent on studying and analyzing them will not be wasted - this way you will not only improve your promotion strategy, but also be able to find additional investors in your business.

In order to identify a potential customer, an organization needs a large amount of information about the market, which is often not available. Therefore, it is worth turning to professionals. For example, the information and analytical company VVS is one of those that stood at the origins of the business of processing and adapting market statistics collected by federal agencies. The company has 19 years of experience in providing commodity market statistics as information for strategic decisions that reveal market demand. Main client categories: exporters, importers, manufacturers, participants in commodity markets and B2B business services.

Commercial vehicles and special equipment;

glass industry;

Chemical and petrochemical industry;

Construction Materials;

Medical equipment;

food industry;

Animal feed production;

Electrical engineering and others.

Quality in our business is, first of all, the accuracy and completeness of information. When you challenge yourself with data that is, to put it mildly, wrong, how much will your loss be worth? When making important strategic decisions, it is necessary to rely only on reliable statistical information. But how can you be sure that they are true? It can be checked! And we will give you such an opportunity.

The company "VVS" works with a large number of domestic and foreign clients, each of which receives not only high-quality service, but also an individual approach. Thus, the company organizes operational activities aimed at ensuring that the customer achieves maximum success in his business.

The main competitive advantages of our company are

Accuracy of data provision. The pre-selection of foreign trade deliveries, which are analyzed in the report, clearly coincides with the subject of the customer's request. Nothing extra and nothing missed. As a result, at the output we get accurate calculations of market indicators and market shares of participants.

Preparation of reports on a turnkey basis and the convenience of working with them. Information is quickly perceived, as tables and graphs are simple and understandable. Aggregated data on market participants are summarized in the ratings of participants, market shares are calculated. As a result, the time for studying information is reduced and it is possible to immediately proceed to making decisions that are “on the surface”.

The customer has the opportunity to receive some of the data for free in the form of a preliminary express assessment of the market niche. This helps to navigate the situation and decide whether to study deeper.

We not only talk about the customer's market niche, but also suggest which niches are close. We give you the opportunity to find a solution in time - not to focus on your product, but to discover profitable new niches.

Professional consultation with our industry managers at all stages of the transaction. We are the creators of this niche of export-import analysis based on customs statistics, our almost 20 years of experience is the key to effective cooperation.

If you want to consult about the services provided by the company specifically for your enterprise, you can make a free phone call 8-800-555-34-20 or just leave a request for a call.

The phrase "prospect" is used as often in sales as "Armageddon" is used at conventions of Jehovah's Witnesses. But who can really be called that? Let's try to figure it out so that this phrase does not turn into a common senseless cliché.

After all, a potential client is not just any person who, passing by a plumbing store, looks at the toilet bowl in the window. To be considered a potential customer, a particular person (or organization) must meet four requirements.

Requirement 1: He must have a need for the proposed product

Your potential consumer must certainly meet this condition, if only you want him to "grow" from a possible into a real client. There is no point in wasting your own efforts, nerves and precious time on a subject who does not feel and probably never will feel the need to purchase your service/product. For example, why offer a stand with cigarettes to a children's cafe? Or fresh beef for a vegetarian?

It also happens a little differently. When the client himself does not know about some of his needs, until the seller tactfully points it out to him. For example, a bank director may not think about how the productivity and labor efficiency of credit managers will increase if they are taught to blind ten-finger typing on the keyboard.

How much the percentage of embittered visitors will decrease, who simply cannot stand the spectacle, how the creditor beats out a leisurely fraction with two manicured fingers and delays the agonizing wait.

But when we try to sell a product in which he is obviously not interested, then this can be summed up in one word: imposition. And the seller… he's like a Casanova - it's important to be persistent, but not intrusive.

Requirement 2: He must want to buy your product

Do you think that it is possible to build a deal on just one need?

To put it bluntly, the vast majority of us have to learn to ignore our needs throughout our lives. And desires in this case play an important role.

You need to buy a winter jacket - but a person spends the last money on a trip to Turkey.

The company needs to buy new equipment - but a brand new Range Rover is being purchased for the chief accountant.

Employees demand wages - but the owners of the corporation lost it in poker ...

All these things happen because of impulses that all moms (and many dads) who last until the fourth birthday of their child immediately recognize, and they look like this: “Hacchu!”

Now seriously. If we are talking about a personal, direct sale, who do you think should initiate the interest? You come to a person and you want him to buy something from you. Should it have a desire to take possession of your product from the very beginning, or does it fall on your shoulders to provoke this desire?

Of course, yours. A near-potential-client has never heard of you, and therefore could not be interested in you. But you called and sold this interest to him. It remains only to properly prepare for and show him how he wants to have what you offer.

If we talk about retail, then everything is even simpler: since a potential buyer has wandered into your salon / store, then some kind, tiny and ghostly, but he already has an interest. It remains only to take the bull by the horns ... and sell this bull to the client.

Requirement 3: He must have the financial ability to purchase your product

Surely the latest Apple laptops, which are so functional that unless they are fried eggs, would fit well into the interior of any office. But if you go to the waiting room of a "fading" newspaper and offer them a similar solution, you are unlikely to become good friends. Not at all because the editor-in-chief has no desire or the correspondents have no needs. Just because they don't have the money for it.

Before you go with any offer to a new person or group of people who meet the above two requirements, make sure that they are wealthy enough to pay for your services or products.

True, there is a small exception to the rule, which borders on fantasy, but it has been repeatedly proven: if a person has a strong enough desire, in almost all cases he finds the means as if by magic.

Requirement 4: He must have decision-making authority

You can find yourself in an extremely awkward situation if you court your potential client for a long period, only to find out that he is not at all competent in decision making. In a world where even the deputy chief of security has five assistants and three deputies, this happens.

Most often, the situation described above occurs when “cooperating” with corporate clients. You run after people, arrange ingenious colorful presentations, but all the time you are promised to call back, or think, or “consult” ... The fact is that they do not have the necessary authority to decide on the purchase of your services / products, but they cannot openly admit to this "someone".

Now you can definitely answer the question of who your potential client is, and who can be called that and who is not. It remains only to figure out how to determine the role of this or that person in the organization in order to evaluate the effectiveness of your strategy when working with them. If you are not tired and are willing to spend a few more minutes, then you