Tag Archives: effective newsletters

Who is my customer

3 Sep

I met a young designer who created ‘mood boards’ for a global US fashion/apparel business. Mood boards are about colours and fabrics and accessories such as buttons etc. The fashion designers stock in trade and the fashion buyer’s guide to new season’s offerings. She told me that this company had an ‘ideal’ customer.

The ideal customer was a 30 something professional single male with a Golden Retriever dog. Sounds awfully simplistic doesn’t it?

If you think about it in target segmentation terms it says a lot in one small description.

Single = money to spend (lifestyle)

Professional = high earner/well educated (demographics)

Male = gender (demographics)

Golden Retriever dog = outdoorsy/sporty/casual

Whether you believe that your customers can be segmented as easily as this, try it.

Visualise your ideal customer/s.

And build on it from there.

The key to success in business in knowing who your customers are (and how they might change!)

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Newsletters that tell stories

3 Sep

310112 AAS A4 NL (Page 1)

Newsletters like this one from advanced anaesthesia specialists are a great way to differentiate, take ‘thought’ leadership within a category, build your brand, promote your business and sell, which after all, is the ultimate goal for any business … to make a profit!

Here’s the thing … newsletters must have some news not just a bunch of products. Newsletters tell stories.

Great … let’s do it.

Here’s the other thing … who cares?

Question: Do you understand who your customers are? Do you know what they think, hope for and need?

The rise of Social Media illustrates the fact that everyone wants to be loved, admired, supported and recognised.

Effective business communications 1st take customers seriously. They add content that tells stories customers want to read and that’s not always about product x or service y.

Newsletters like all marketing communications must have been through the so what test. Try some in house research. Involve your team. Ask your customers!

Create newsletters that hit the spot!

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