Most businesses spend a lot of time trying to attract customers. We send out mailing campaigns to everyone within a 100 mile radius. We advertise on the local radio station, add flyers to our local paper, or take out a print ad. We create a website and launch email campaigns in an effort to find anyone who is willing to pay for our goods or services. Our focus is getting in front of people. But not everyone we’re getting in front of is a good potential customer. What if, instead of going after all buyers, we started out by identifying the kinds of customers we don’t want and then built our messaging to weed those people out? When I first started my content writing business, I knew I only wanted to work with people who had a sense of humor. I didn’t want to waste my time chasing after prospects who didn’t like my approach. So I built a website that showcases not only my writing style, but my tone. There is a seafood restaurant along the boardwalk in Monterey Bay, California that has a large sign on the front door stating it has a “no stroller policy.” Guess who they have decided to exclude as customers? While the policy may upset starving parents of young children, you can bet this policy has made an equal number of customers very happy. Those with no children who want a quiet, romantic evening are probably big fans. You can do the same for your business. Get clear on your ideal customers and then spend time deciding on the ones that have been less than ideal to work with. Are they the price shoppers? The tire-kickers? The overly picky or the overly sloppy? The last-minute reactive types? The poor planners? The constant returners? Once you know what customer type doesn’t fit with your approach to business, design your business around attracting the right customers and avoiding the others. Spend a little extra time to make sure that everything about your business, from the design of the building to your marketing efforts, is based on the idea of attracting the right customers and repelling the wrong ones, so you can focus your resources on the very customers who most appreciate them. Geni Whitehouse
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