Customer segmentation
November 17, 2006Interesting exercise the Corporate Librarian and his colleagues are going to be going through, segmenting our customer base and tailoring our “sales” approach accordingly. The first step is identifying the key influencers in the organizations we serve. Next we identify what our relationships with those influencers are like - are they very familiar with the research group and what we do, are they passingly familiar with us, have they never used research’s services before?
If an influencer is totally unfamiliar with research and what we do, we might send them a brochure with our services and contact information, or a PowerPoint presentation covering the same ground, or perhaps some sample deliverables we’ve developed for other clients.
We might follow some of the same steps with an influencer passingly familiar with research, and it’s not really necessary obviously if the influencer is already a user of research and knows what we can deliver.
The next step, regardless of the extent of the prior relationship with the influencer, is setting up a phone call with them. Some of our past approaches were more openly “sales”-oriented - “We’re Research, here’s what we can do for you.” The call is much more about listening to the influencer and understanding his or her role and what his or her needs might be. We might do some research beforehand on the influencer, in terms of their background - it’s easier for the Corporate Librarian and his colleagues because our firm often includes biographies or resumes in proposals or responses to proposals.
The goal is to build relationships with these influencers, which will hopefully have as a side-effect regular and more interesting work.
Is this an interesting and useful approach for readers of this blog?
Posted by Steven Kaye
