Stop Marketing to Everyone: Find the Customers You Want 100 More Of
Your ideal manufacturing customer is not everyone who can buy from you. Instead, focus on the customers you enjoy serving, who value your work, and who help your company grow.
Many manufacturers struggle with this idea. They have great capabilities, so they want to promote those capabilities to everyone.
However, marketing to everyone can make your message too broad. Your best customers can help solve that problem.
Holly Jobe of protocol 80 recommends starting with the customers you would gladly clone. Talk with them. Learn what they value. Ask why they chose you.
Most importantly, discover how they would find another company like yours.
Those conversations can provide a powerful roadmap for attracting more ideal customers.
Your Ideal Manufacturing Customer Is Someone You Want More Of
An ideal manufacturing customer should be more than a company that can buy from you. The best fit should also be profitable, enjoyable to serve, and aligned with your strengths.
Think about your current customer list.
Which customers would you love to clone 100 times?
That question forces you to look beyond revenue alone.
Holly describes an ideal customer as “that client that you could clone a hundred times if you would.”
Then she takes the idea further.
“Do you want to? Are they profitable? Do your people like to? Are they the right fit for you?”
Those questions matter.
A customer might generate significant revenue but require work that does not fit your equipment. Another might create constant emergencies. Meanwhile, a smaller customer may value your expertise, respect your team, and consistently bring profitable work.
Your goal is not simply to find more customers.
You want more of the right customers.
Practical takeaway: Identify three current customers you would gladly clone 100 times. Write down what makes each one such a strong fit.
Interview Your Best Customers to Improve Your Marketing
The fastest way to understand your ideal manufacturing customer is to talk with them. Your best buyers can reveal insights that your sales and marketing teams may never discover on their own.
Ask why they chose your company.
What problem were they trying to solve?
Ask them what they value most about working with you.
How did they originally find you?
What could you do better?
Holly says protocol 80 starts its process by interviewing those best-fit buyers.
“What do they have in common? Another question is, what do they value about our client? And how can we then replicate that in our marketing?”
These conversations can uncover powerful language for your website, blogs, videos, emails, and social media.
More importantly, customers may describe your value differently than you do.
Perhaps you promote your equipment or capabilities. Yet customers may value your fast response, engineering support, reliability, or ability to solve difficult problems.
That insight can change your message.
Practical takeaway: Schedule a short conversation with three great customers. Ask why they chose you and what they value most about the relationship.
Ask Your Ideal Customer One Powerful Search Question
Your best customers can also tell you what future buyers may search for online. One simple question can uncover valuable ideas for SEO and content.
Ask this:
If we went out of business today, what would you Google to replace us?
Holly calls this a quick but high-impact way to learn from your best buyers.
She explains, “A really quick way to focus on something that’s going to work is asking that question of your good buyers.”
Why is this question so powerful?
Your customer may not search for the same words you use inside your company.
Instead, they may search for a problem, application, material, process, industry, or urgent need.
Their answer can reveal topics for blog posts, website pages, videos, social media, and email campaigns.
Holly adds that if your best customers search that way, “that means there’s others like them out there doing that.”
Now you are not guessing what your next piece of content should cover.
Your ideal customer just told you.
Practical takeaway: Ask your best customers what they would Google if they needed to replace your company tomorrow. Write down their exact words.
Let Your Best Customers Guide Your Marketing
Finding your ideal manufacturing customer gives your marketing a clear target. Instead of trying to attract everyone, learn from the buyers you would love to serve again and again.
Start with three great customers.
Ask what they value. Learn why they chose you. Discover what problems you solve better than anyone else.
Then ask the big question:
What would you Google to replace us?
Their answers can shape your website, SEO strategy, social content, videos, emails, and future marketing campaigns.
Your ideal manufacturing customer may already be sitting right in front of you.
Talk to them.
Listen carefully.
Then use what you learn to attract 100 more just like them.
Get your FREE Digital Game Plan and put your strengths to work.
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