They say that your first step in marketing communication is made In the shoes of your target customer. You need to figure out why they need the product or service you're trying to sell. Then you need to figure out the best way to go about convincing them to buy it.

How do you figure this out?

Ideally, you would have a team of high-energy market researchers who would jump headfirst into the task, smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee and staying up all night long, never slowing down until they presented you with the manila envelope brimming with the key to market dominance.

Don't have a team like that? Then you'll have to work with what you have. Ask your sales force and ask your customer service people. They've had direct interaction with your customer base, and they'll have discovered quite a bit about the people who buy your product. Lacking that, go with your instincts. If they're wrong, then make the appropriate adjustments, and get it right.

You'll learn to speak their language. You'll learn what's important to them. You'll learn what they know about you. Step into their shoes and determine what about your company and your product will get them to take out their wallet.


Customers...what do they know?

Here are a few questions that will get you started thinking about your target customer:

What do your target customers know about you?

Have they heard of you?
Do they know what you do?
Do they know how or where to buy your product?


And if they already know you...

What do they think of you?
What do they see as your position in the market? Could they pick your product out of a line-up?
Do they have a clear idea of your brand?