How to know where to find your customers?
When you start a business, it seems like you should be able to run it successfully.
You carefully make plans, create the product or prepare yourself for world-class service. However, when you go out into the real world, your plans turns to failure because there are not many customers. You get distracted by a lot of new-age management strategies and social media hypes.
Often this problem arises because of a simple strategy that we ignore.
In this Podcast, we look at a simple idea to find the customers, without worrying where the next customer is coming from.
If you have heard of Willi Sutton, you probably know he has been one of the top 10 most wanted criminals listed by the FBI in 1950.
If you haven’t heard of him, well he has robbed more than 100 banks. Yes, he was very charismatic and he had great persuasion skills. He could influence people with his communication and get out of difficult situations.
Did he ever get caught in 100 robberies? Was he caught any time?
Of course yes. But he managed to escape. Once along with his other 11 inmates in prison, he dug a tunnel and escaped. On another occasion, he and a few of his friends in prison managed to get the uniform of prison guards. They climbed the high wall with two ladders and crossed the wall. When they were running away, a guard with a searchlight found them running and focused on them. And Sutton simply yelled “It’s Okay!” – and no one stopped them!
He got caught and arrested for the final time in 1952.
After getting arrested for the final time, he still was running after banks not as a robber but as a consultant to banks and helping banks with security. He was interviewed by a journalist, Mitch Ohnstad. The journalist was impressed with the skill and attitude of Willie Sutton. The journalist asked him “you are so smart why you he choose to rob banks instead of running a business and making millions? His answer was short but profound. He said, “I rob banks because … that’s where the money is!”
Most people focus on their business operations only and expect customers to find them.
That’s not how it works. The fisherman never hunts for fish randomly, instead, he goes where fish gathers. You can’t expect people to find you. You have to be where the customers gather, find what they are looking for and spend their money. Let’s find out more examples.
If you believe that McDonald’s is in the food business, here’s a small edition.
McDonald’s is in the real estate business. They spend their time and money in finding out the best location to open their outlet. They don’t open their outlet randomly. They carefully observe where most people pass through. They are mostly found at malls, airports, or places where people stop and stay for a longer time. Burger King and KFC are smarter than McDonalds. They don’t waste their time and money like McDonalds. Instead, they open their outlets next to or closer to McDonalds. It’s pointless to be where customers are not aware or customers don’t go
Find out where your competitors are going.
They probably know where your customers are. Ever wondered, why people open their shops in a market where there are 10s and hundreds of shops just like them? They don’t worry about competition because they know the market is the place where customers will come and spend money. And that’s where the money is.
So, see where your competitors are going and go to the place where the money is.