At one time or another, every business has trouble finding customers. Customers aren’t just a small business problem. Every business must step back every so often and figure out two things:
- Where do I find more customers?
- Are the people we attract the right customers?
Pick Your Lane
Think about the biggest brands, you know. They are not throwing up website content, posting on Instagram, and then waiting for their shops to fill up with paying customers. They have a plan.
The difference is that their brands are BIG, and it appears that they have unlimited marketing budgets. Don’t kid yourself! Every action an Apple or Starbucks takes is with a focus on a particular customer. Some of their product lines are appealing to baby boomers, and others cater to a younger, more visual crowd. Video captures the attention of some, while in-your-face CTA’s will stop others dead in their tracks.
The big guys are focusing on specific customers when they allocate dollars to marketing. Just concentrating on one type of customer while leaving behind another is not an easy process for most small companies. But trust me, it is the best way to find the right customers with a limited marketing budget.
Buyer personas are nothing new to a growing business. The problem is that it takes time and real focus to sit down and craft out a page on what your ideal customer really looks like. What do they do? How are they allocating their time? What do they value? They are critical pieces of information that I assure you, Apple and Starbucks are starting their marketing meetings with a very clear picture of who they want to attract!
Start with this great free template from Hubspot (here.) Being very specific matters. Why? Because the more you know about what your customer actually needs and desires, the easier it is to offer a solution, your solution! Take a look at the three Instagram feeds below:
If I were a 65-year-old with arthritis pain, which visual would capture my attention? What is it that I need? How do I feel when I look at the other two images? Would they understand my needs?
This little exercise is how you find customers in a crowded space. Every blog, articles, FAQ, post, and brochure is speaking out loud to that specific audience. And don’t worry about the other two customer types. You still want to have materials to offer them, but think about this one trait of that 65-year-old.
“From 2013–2015, an estimated 54.4 million US adults (22.7%) annually had ever been told by a doctor that they had some form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia.” (CDC.gov)
55.4 million adults in the united states have some form of arthritis, and you are selling a product that could help them alleviate their pain. Think about that for a minute.
Just 1% of those people (550,000 people) might just be searching “near me,” which happens to be near you. You offer them a checklist, or an article, or a case study on one of your customers who suffers from the same thing, and they sign up for your newsletter or download your sheet. You now know what ails them, what they need to be happy, and you happen to have a solution to their problem. With their first name and email address, you now have a laser-focused strategy for converting this “right” customer to your products.
Spend time on thinking about the reason you started a CBD business. Maybe your pet got sick, and you helped to alleviate their pain. Perhaps your sister suffers from debilitating anxiety, and she resisted your efforts to help until one day she resisted no more and now…..what?
What is your story? What is it that compelled you to reach out of your comfort zone and start a business? Put those stories to good use. Use them to shine a light on your particular solutions to their particular problems, and you will find more “right customers” than you can possibly imagine. But you start with the hard work of pen and paper.
Now you have your messaging. Your voice. Your visuals. When you contact a marketing person to help you with your social media strategy, you are telling them who you want to attract. Think of the time you save. Now the money you allocate is specific and intentional. You are not just shooting messages out through every social media platform and hoping that one or two people reach out. Find out where those customers “live and play” online and be there. Speak in their language. Use their pictures. They will find you. Let me repeat; they will find you.
Want to learn more about how to attract the right customers to your business? Check out the CBD Training Academy marketing courses. Don’t waste your time wondering what is best to grow your business. Learn more about what is working for others successfully.
Author: Maria Bereket is a Digital Marketing Consultant and Advisor for CBD Businesses. She is a trainer for the CBD Training Academy and has been helping small businesses bridge the digital divide for over 15 years.
Images: Instagram, Envato Elements
