I want to shed some light on this dilemma because of a question I recently answered to, in a private coaching.
A client wants to write a book that talks to teenagers. She asks how she can sell her books to the teenagers, seeing that most teenagers depend on their parents for support.
Here’s a longer version of what I told her:
In business, your CONSUMERS may not always be your CUSTOMERS. What is the difference?
CONSUMERS are those who USE your product.
CUSTOMERS are those who BUY your product.
Sometimes your consumers are also your customers, but sometimes they are not one and the same.
You don’t ALWAYS market your product to your CONSUMERS, you sometimes have to market to your CUSTOMERS, if they are not the same person.
Here are a few examples:
📌 A book about teenagers is your product. Teenagers are your consumers. Their parents are your customers.
📌 You sell diapers. Babies are your consumers. Their parents are your customers.
📌 You sell Valentines Day paraphernalia like chocolates, flowers and cards. Women are your consumers. Your customers are mostly men.
📌 You sell diamond engagement rings. Women are your consumers. Men who are about to propose are your customers.
📌 Here’s another angle. You sell sand and building materials. Builders and Construction workers are the ones who use your products. Future home owners are your customers who buy your products so the builders can use.
📌 Yet another angle: You sell toys for kids. Kids are your consumers. Parents are your customers.
.
.
Now, knowing WHO to market to, is something you have to learn. You do this simply by determining who the decision makers are, in this CUSTOMER-CONSUMER dynamic.
For example:
📌 The logical thing to do is to market to the person with the purchasing power, which is the customer, because they are the ones with the ability to buy from you; as is the case with the author with the book for teenagers.
📌 However, platform and media strategy is essential to really understanding the CUSTOMER-CONSUMER dynamic. What this means is that in order for you to truly target your marketing to the right set of people, you must know how they think and where their attention is at.
In the case of the toy seller, if you’re making an advertisement on TV (Traditional Media) on a children’s Channel like Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, your advertisement must be focused on the CONSUMER (the kids) and promise tons of fun because that is where they are found and kids want fun. Parents will hardly sit and watch cartoons with the kids for the amount of time the kids spend on the Cartoon Network.
Hence, when the kids see the advertisement of your toy, they will call their parents’ attention to it, demanding for that particular toy. And we know how kids are. They must get what they want. If you buy them something else, you’ve probably just wasted your money.
Now, if you were to advertise that same toy on an adult channel like a News Channel or lifestyle channel, your target is going to be to the CUSTOMER, which is the parents. Your advertising language will not just promise fun, but will promise learning and development for the kids, because that is what parents want for their kids. Parents will be more likely to buy your toy for their kids if they know that it won’t be a waste of time with no “real” advantage.
So you see, same seller, same toy, but different advertising language. How you advertise your product to the CONSUMER is not how you will advertise your product to the CUSTOMER. This is why you MUST know the difference.
If you don’t know your IDEAL CLIENT or CUSTOMER avatar, you will find yourself doing marketing to the wrong people and wondering why no one is buying.
Most importantly, if you cannot DEFINE and COMMUNICATE your MESSAGE to your audience, your product will be dead in the water before you even launch it.
