How to Market to People Not Like You: "Know It or Blow It" Rules for Reaching Diverse Customers

Chapter 3. What Do They Need?: Tweak Your Product or Service Offerings

Now that you've identified the customer you're not currently getting and you've become more familiar with who they are and what their tastes, values, and concerns might be, it's time to look at whether you may need to modify your product or service offerings. Tweaking your products or service may better meet the needs of these potential customers and attract them to your business. Additionally, it communicates, in a clear and tangible way, that you are actively reaching out to a new community of customers. It communicates a strong message of validation, and what customer doesn't want to be validated? We all want validation. We all want respect and we want businesses to appreciate us and the money we choose to spend with them.

How does modifying your product offerings communicate that you value a customer and want their business? Fresh, innovative products or services that "speak to you" convey three powerful messages in a subtle way:

The first message that is communicated is "I see you." This recognition is the first step in validation. No one likes to feel overlooked, invisible, or as if they're not important. The fact that, as a business, you see and recognize a new customer group conveys a message of respect. It says to the consumer, "You're here and you're important. You matter. What you think matters, what you want matters, and where you do business matters. Please do business with me."

The second message that ...