In my last article I talked about finding out who is your customer, a question many don’t ask often enough. Instead, we get busy and chase after every customer, which will physically and mentally tire you out, not to mention cost you a lot of money.

So you know who your customer is, or rather, who they could be. Now what?

You need a plan. A plan to reach these customers. You’ve got the who down, and that’s really important, but now what.

What is your plan?

I work with my clients to develop online plans to connect with their customers. Once we find out the who, the rest is simple.

First, we focus on the customer’s why. Why does this customer care about your product or service? What is interesting about your business that makes your customer say, “Yeah, I want to work with them.” If you’re not sure, find out by asking your existing customers what they say about why they work with you. You should have found some of this out in uncovering who your customer is, but do more digging. Get to the bottom of the why. 

Next, we focus on the how – how do these customers want to hear from and about you? Contrary to what the numbers say, not every person is on Facebook to be marketed to. Many are on Facebook for human interaction. Instead, maybe your customers prefer videos, or email, or even text messaging.

Third, we focus on the when. Find out your customer’s when, and then find your when. At what times of day are your customers online? If you’re marketing to them on Twitter, you can use tools like BufferApp.com or HootSuite to do this somewhat automatically. You can also review the data to see the times of day your followers are online. Google Analytics or another analytics package are useful for analyzing your website traffic.

Who are your customers, why do they care about you, how do they want to hear from you, and when is the best time to talk to them? If you can answer these questions, you can have a successful marketing plan. If you can’t answer them, take time to find out the answers, before you waste your time and your energy trying to work with everybody.

Your turn: What tips do you have for finding your customers, or what questions are still unanswered for your business?