Who are your customers?

Chances are you have a good idea who your principal customers or clients are. But have you ever sat down and thought about them in demographic terms? In other words, how well do you know your customers?

For example, if they're “older women” are they women from 55-65? 65-75? Or all of the above? What is their income level? How far do they live from your location? Are they professionals, retired, or stay-at-home moms and grand-moms? The better you know your demographic, the more you can target your advertising and the more you can save.

Learn more about the right way to target your advertising »

What are your secondary demographics? For instance, jewelers know that men looking to buy gifts for their loved ones are a huge percentage of their customers. But they also know that female “fashionistas”—women who stay on the front edge of trends and have income to spend—not only buy jewelry for themselves, they buy several pieces and generate revenue for jewelers. Make sure you know what secondary customers you have as well as when you should be advertising to them.

An easy way to identify your best customers is to draw up a customer profile describing who they are, when to reach them, where to reach them, and how often they purchase your product. For an example of questions you'll want to answer, download our questionnaire and answer the questions in the “Your Customer” section.