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

Chapter 4. Make Your Sales and Customer Service Friendly: Little Things Make a Big Difference

At this point, you've identified a new potential customer group that you're not currently getting. You've done your homework and researched their needs, tastes, values, or cultural habits. You've taken a good look at your products and services, and you've tweaked them to meet the needs of this customer segment. You're ready to go, right? Time to start advertising and get the word out and make some money, right?

Not so fast. There's another very important step in marketing to someone who is not like you, and that is operational readiness. It can make the difference in whether your efforts succeed or fail. It can not only help bring new customers to your business, it can help retain them. In fact, it's so important that, if I had to counsel a client on whether to focus on operational readiness or marketing, I'd advise them to tackle operational readiness. It has the potential to do more to help your business grow with new customers than marketing can.

OPERATIONAL READINESS—THE "SECRET SAUCE" IN MARKETING TO PEOPLE NOT LIKE YOU

Once you've got the right product for your new potential customer, you're ready to bring them in for business. But what will the experience be like for them to do business with you? Is your business really set up to handle the particular needs or demands of the new customer? If not, then trying to conduct business with you will only make the customer frustrated and they ...