Is There Anybody There? Know your customer and get your marketing mix right

Who, What, Where, When and WHY – your customer and marketing mix

Jacky Fitt, FRSA

A key aim of a good marketing team should be to take the guess work out of your marketing and replace that with an in-depth understanding of who exactly your core customer is and how that customer likes and needs to engage with you and your business. Without understanding the fundamentals of this incredibly important person you are, most likely, flushing your precious marketing budget down the toilet.

Armed with your all important customer knowledge you can then work out what ‘platforms’, routes, strategy and tactical material you’re going to bring into play to attract their attention. This is the all-important WHY of any marketing mix. Without a decent ‘why’ for each and every decision you’re heading for trouble.

The routes you would look at are often a combination of offline and online platforms, including brochures, websites, tutorials, free guides, giveaways and social media like Twitter and Facebook. ALWAYS remembering that it’s not what you like or are good at, it’s what your core customer likes and where they will be found. And not just where but also when they’ll be found there. A busy mum of four is highly unlikely to be looking at her Twitter account at 3.20pm when the children are just getting out of school, it is more likely that she’ll probably be checking it in the ad break of an evening TV soap she likes to watch. Without wishing to set up too many stereotypes, you get the picture. When brands lose their way it is often because they have lost sight of their customer.

Lastly, don’t bang your head against a brick wall. If something you are doing isn’t working. Take stock, listen harder to your core customer to find out where you’re going wrong. Admit it, make a change and move on.