Step 3 of #RetailChampion 10-Steps to Retail Success: Ideal Customer

This blog introduces the third step, of the “10-steps to retail success“, Ideal Customer. 10-steps to retail success is a process / methodology I’ve developed for my 1-2-1 mentoring clients. Over the coming weeks / months I’ll be introducing each step with a little more detail.

Defining your ideal customer

Defining an ideal customer can be counter intuitive to a retailer who wants to increase their customer base – but it works!

If you know your customer in such a level of detail that they become as familiar to you as an “imaginary friend”, then you’ll be able to really “put yourself into their shoes” and you’ll be able to anticipate their needs and wants so that your business is primed and ready to deliver.

Market to your ideal customer as if you’re speaking to them 1-2-1

When you communicate with your ideal customer, through your marketing materials, like you were speaking with them on a 1-2-1 basis, your marketing messages will be much more engaging. Your message will resonate with all those people out there who are very much like your ideal customer. In addition you’ll also attract the “wannabes” – people who aspire to be like your ideal customer and the “has beens” – people who perhaps once were ideal but who may have moved on; nonetheless some of what you offer will still be relevant to the “has beens”.

Knowing your ideal customer makes everything else so much easier!

The concept of defining an ideal customer, and knowing them so well it’s like you’ve got an imaginary friend, will enable you to do many other things far more easily. You’ll be better able to select ideal products, present ideal pricing and promotions, determine the ideal channels and routes to market… Don’t under-estimate the power of being in tune with who your ideal customer is; this step 3 of the 10-steps to retail success underpins the next 3 steps which are core to your profitability.

Introducing Step 4 of the 10-steps to retail success – Range Planning

In the next blog about the 10 steps to retail success I’ll be introducing step 4, range planning. If you can’t wait then don’t forget that I’m also offering the “Be a retail champion by next year” programme, which includes 52 FREE weekly retail tips by email.

To sign up for that visit www.retailchampion.co.uk/retail-tips

About Clare Bailey

Clare Bailey, The Retail Champion (formerly Clare Rayner), is one of the most well-known and respected retail experts in the UK. With unrivalled knowledge in retail, high streets and consumer matters, she offers unbiased, independent content – whether engaged as a professional speaker, for broadcast media, or for a written feature. Clare is a business woman, entrepreneur and founder of several small businesses. Having been born into a family of successful business owners, it was inevitable that she’d eventually jump off the corporate treadmill and step out on her own! Today her brand portfolio includes The Retail Champion, The Retail Conference, the Future High Street Summit and the Support for Independent Retail campaign. In addition, she is co-founder of Mobaro Retail UK and a non-exec director of Beed Virtual Assistant Services. Having started her career as a fast-track store management trainee for McDonalds, she went on to work with leading retailers such as M&S, Dixons and Argos. She moved swiftly into management roles before being headhunted into senior consulting roles with global software giant SAP, and international management consulting brand, Accenture. Her corporate background in senior retail, consulting and technology roles, coupled with her experience of creating and running her own business, has enabled her to be equally capable whether consulting to global brands or micro businesses. This unique blend has not only positioned her as a leading expert in all things retail, but has enabled her to add meaningful commentary and insight to the debate around the future of the high street, and, how technology is driving fundamental change in the way consumers, and businesses, interact. Clare has become an influential voice in her field, which has resulted in her becoming a regular media contributor and sought-after conference speaker. Often seen on Good Morning Britain, BBC Breakfast, Sky News, and Chanel 5 (to name a few), Clare speaks on a myriad of retail, high street and consumer issues – but is particular adept when it comes to explaining the context behind retail trading results, newly released data, and government stats, in a palatable and informative manner. In addition to broadcast and conference speaking, Clare is the proud author of two best-selling business books published by Kogan Page - The Retail Champion: 10 Steps to Retail Success, published July 2012 and How to Sell to Retail: The Secrets of Getting Your Product to Market, published February 2013. She has provided contributions to various academic texts, including Retail Marketing Management (published by Pearson). With an engaging, conversational yet informative style, Clare writes for press and content agencies, providing features, articles, blogs and opinion pieces as well as contributions to white papers and reports. However, when the situation demands a more serious style, Clare can deliver - In 2016 she wrote an extensive report for a major insurance and risk law firm, as a retail expert witness, to support a public liability suit. She found that project particularly enjoyable as it played well to her strengths – assimilating large amounts of data and information, identifying the key points and articulating that in an understandable manner. When not on TV or speaking at conferences, Clare’s “day job” sees her supporting consumer-facing businesses through her consultancy services. When asked to describe what she most loves about retail consulting it is typically the opportunity to “dig deep”, getting “under the bonnet”, in order to leverage the business data to uncover the insights that lead to “lightbulb moments”. She also loves working on business change programmes that centre on improving the processes and systems to increase profitability by supporting more rapid, better informed decision making, improving the customer experience, or simply by become more efficient and streamlined. In this respect she considers herself a “business engineer” with a brain that works like a relational database! Due to her years of experience, her logical, objective approach, her quick, rational thinking, she is known for being able to cut through complexity, seeing right through to the crux of issues, finding creative solutions that others may have overlooked. As if all that wasn’t enough, Clare is a working mum, juggling a home life in rural Lincolnshire with her partner, their 5 kids, 4 cats, and geriatric Labrador! For all enquiries, contact Clare directly on 01727 238890 or email champion@retailchampion.co.uk.

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