It is difficult to envision a “perfect” customer. Are they the one who spends more than 10% of their annual income on your products? The person who frequents your store without hearing a single word of advertising? Is it the person who buys little but visits every day? The perfect customer could be any or all of these things, depending on your product and your business. A broad definition of the perfect customer is an un-hired advertising force – the man or woman who encourages friends, family, and strangers to patronize your brand without any compensation for their efforts.
The perfect customer is a marketing force unto itself. He listens to your brand story and keys in on your company’s culture. This is the one customer you won’t lose due to negative PR. Direct mail pieces will be read rather than recycled, and loyalty programs will be blown out of the water. A great example is Don Gorske of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. If you have seen the documentary “Super Size Me,” you will remember him as the “Big Mac enthusiast.” He has eaten a Big Mac almost every day since 1972 and, despite a growing anti-fast food sentiment, continues the habit today
Take a close look at your marketing budget. How much of that budget is devoted towards flooding information channels with advertisements and product data? Why not save money and target your perfect customer rather than hoards of over-targeted consumers who will ignore you anyway? Marketing and advertising can be hit-or-miss in many segments. Targeting perfect customers rather than potential customers all but guarantees your hit-to-miss ratio will improve.
How do you define your perfect customer?