This post is a continuation of a series of posts outlining my time with MacSpecialist in Chicago. All posts in the series are linked at the bottom of the page.
Defining Our Ideal Clients
I began by looking at our most profitable invoices and looking for trends. I also met with my sales reps to include them in the process of determining our targets. Who were their best customers? Why did they buy from? How could we improve their experience? How could we produce more referrals? Sounds more like sales than branding, right
Not totally.
Next, I used the information I gathered from my research and during the conversations with my sales leaders to define our ideal clients. I determined that our ideal b2b clients were creative professionals at small to midsized agencies, the live concert touring industry and Windows IT administrators and hobbyist executives (guys who made a ton of money in their executive positions but still wished they were in a band).
Our ideal retail customers were freelance photographers, musicians, DJs, videographers. We didn’t try to win business from general computer users who were switching from Windows because it was easier to load their photos and music on a Mac. The way I viewed it, Apple stores existed for those people and I never wanted MacSpecialist to be confused with Apple. I wanted MacSpecialist to be the company professional Mac users and experts hired.
I didn’t just choose these targets because they were potential Mac users. The success of iPod was turning everyone into a potential Mac customer anyway. I chose these targets because I wanted MacSpecialist to be a company that helped them succeed. If we landed key clients in these areas, our future events would provide invaluable networking opportunities, not just for us, but for the clients as well. I wanted to build a community that attracted the top creative professionals in Chicago and beyond. In the end, I think I achieved it.
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