In continuing the series (eleven market research related questions that a new business owner and founder should be asking), this month I will be covering the question "How will my products fit into the lifestyle of my target customers?"
To answer this question, you need to be developing an understanding of your target customers. The approach you take to validate that your ideal customers will be onboard with your products and that you are clear on who you will be targeting (and which customers you do not serve), should enable you to answer this question also.
In last month's post, I listed some of the approaches and frameworks that you can use in putting yourself into the perspective of customers. In recapping, these approaches can be used each on its own, or as complementary to each other:
Jobs To Be Done framework where you articulate customers' needs through the answers to four questions (1) the job or task that your target customers are trying to accomplish; (2) your target customers' motivation(s) or underlying goal(s) in getting the job done; (3) your target customers' desired result or outcome when the need is met and/or frustration are removed; and (4) limitations or obstacles that your target customers are facing in getting the job done.
Customer Personas where you create profile(s) of your ideal customers, including characteristics such as demographics (age, stage of life such as being new to the job market or closer to retirement, income level, etc.), attitudes, lifestyle, etc.
Customer Journey Mapping where you look at the buying process and how your target customers approach the buying process.
In each framework you can afterwards consider how your products will fit into the lifestyle of your target customers. Last month I used the example of PayPal to illustrate how to put the Jobs To Be Done framework into practice.
Let's illustrate the Customer Persona framework by way of a template. Meet "Marsha" who represents a typical buyer for a fictitious shoe company.
For a real life example, you can see from Fitbit's blog how Fitbit applies and puts its customer personas into practice.
If you would like to hear more how market research can support you and your small business with understanding your customers better and validating any assumptions you may have about them, please reach out via the Contact Form for a free consult call. I help owners of small businesses to be clear in communicating the scope of their offers and in identifying their ideal clients or customers.
* Please note for Customer Persona Template: Person icon created by Freepik – Flaticon
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