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Virtual CFO | Business Owners Need To Know Who Their Ideal Customers Are
Not only is it important for entrepreneurs to know who their ideal customer is says virtual CFO. Business owners also need to understand their target market. This way, as soon as an entrepreneur opens the doors to their business, they will have an active marketing plan that they simply need to follow in order to increase the revenue of their business and become successful. In fact, the software company Palo Alto wanted to find out how effective business plans were in helping entrepreneurs be successful. What they discovered, was that business owners that had business plans were 50% more likely to increase the revenue of their business and entrepreneurs with no plan at all. Therefore, business owners need to sit down with their accountant and figure out not only who their ideal customers are, but what their target market is.
When an entrepreneur has figured out their ideal customers and target market, they need to include it in the marketing section of their business plan. A business plan should be a living document that entrepreneurs follow in order to achieve the results they are looking for and grow the revenue in their business. Virtual CFO says that because it’s a living document, entrepreneurs need to read it on a regular basis, and update it. They can always ask their accountants to update it when they make their corporate year-end tax filings. This way, a business owner will be able to see how much they’ve grown their revenue, and what they can make their plan for in the coming year. They might be able to increase their target markets, in order to grow their revenue.
It’s also important for an entrepreneur to include their target market in the executive summary of their business plan. What the executive summary explains virtual CFO, is a brief, one-page synopsis of the entire business plan. It needs to have all of the most Vital Information to the business plan. The reason why, is because banks, financial institutions, and high-level financiers will only often look at the executive summary in order to make the decision whether they are going to loan money to a business or not.
When a business owner includes their target market in their executive summary, what they are letting people who read their business plan no, is not only are they thinking ahead, but they also have a business plan. And the target market will be required in order to have cash flow projections, which the financial institutions will now know a business owner has. And can impact a great deal of entrepreneurs business. Therefore, the financiers will be able to know that a business owner has an effective plan that includes marketing and are planning on growing. This lowers the risk of lending money to this business owner, and can help entrepreneurs get the loans they need in order to grow their business.
Virtual CFO | Business Owners Need To Know Who Their Ideal Customers Are
Business owners should be extremely familiar with who their ideal customers are says virtual CFO. Business owners need to know this as clearly as they know their own product so that they can create a marketing plan that’s going to Target their ideal customers in their target market. Business owners may start their business, thinking that it’s going to be the easiest thing to sell to customers, when in fact it is the largest reason why business owners fail. By not creating an effective marketing plan, 42% of entrepreneurs who failed in Canada say that not finding the right customers was the reason why they were not successful. Therefore, business owners should not be so Cavalier and their approach, making the assumption that it’s going to be the easiest thing when it actually is the hardest.
Another mistake that entrepreneurs tend to make, is that the assume the target market is the entire city that’s their business is in. well, this might be true, it can be overwhelming, or financially crippling to try to Market to this entire area at the same time. In fact, virtual CFO says a business owner will be far more effective with their advertising dollars if they focus on an extremely small area, but marketing to them on a regular basis. Many business owners may think this is a waste of money because they want to reach as many people as possible. However, entrepreneurs need to understand that before any customer is going to buy from any business, they need to see an ad or hear from that business an average of 4.3 times before they will purchase from them. No matter what method and entrepreneur is using to contact their customers, every time a business reaches a potential customer, that counts. Therefore, an entrepreneur can have a door-knocking campaign where they introduce themselves to their ideal and likely clients. They also can send out a flyer and pay for Google ads, and they all count towards the same customer seeing their advertisement.
Virtual CFO recommends entrepreneurs start the target markets in the geographical location of the business. The reason why is because often consumers make their choice based on the convenience of the location. As well, as their customers drive by the business, sing their sign on the building can count as one of the ways they get more familiar with the business in order to make their purchasing decision. Also, if a business owner does any type of deliveries, or if they are a contractor that needs to visit people at their place of business or their home, it can be very cost-effective to Market in and around that direct area where the business is located. If an entrepreneur identifies the entire city as their target market, they might have to drive from the extreme South Side to the north side all the way to the West End in a single day, wasting time as well as valuable money.
Similar to how business owners should not identify every person as an ideal customer, a business owner should not say the entire city is their target market. When they get very specific, business owners will be able to better results will help them grow their revenue. As their revenue grows says virtual CFO, they will be able to increase the amount of money they have to Market, and can slowly increase their target markets, so that they can grow their revenue even more.