B2B Customer Marketing: The cost of not knowing who your customers are

Run a B2B business? Do you really know who your customers are? Is that a question you find easy to answer? 

 If so, you are one of many organisations that find it hard to define who their customers are. Not knowing who your customer is - costs.

Do you people really understand who your customers are? Ask various departments in your organisation to define who they think your customers are: sales, operations, services, customer services, manufacturing, logistics, finance and accounting functions - and not forgetting marketing.

How do your people view your customers - and how would they describe them?

1. Do they describe the customer in terms of personal demographics such as age, position, and status.

2. Or in terms of the type of business, size of organisation, and geographical location ...

If your people have different perceptions about who the customer is they will treat the customer differently. The result is that your customer won't have a consistent experience of your organisation.

Take this a step further. The way you define your customers becomes the way you segment your market. If your customer definition isn't right - think of the consequences.

If every project your business initiates: new product development, new service delivery vehicles, sales promotions, marketing campaigns - is based on an incorrect perception of who your target market is - what would it cost your business?

Besides wasting customer opportunities, it affects every aspect of your business: operations, marketing, sales, R&D - wasting precious resources.