THE JOURNEY
Surrounding the nucleus of your brand are the handles you need to control to establish line-of-sight from the core to customer and more importantly, from the customer to the core.
Once you understand the connection, the journey from customer to core, you have the opportunity to increase the relevance of your offerings and be clear across all activity, creating positive atmosphere of mutual benefit.
The Why
The fundamental relationship with each target group is most likely derived from the purpose and perhaps the raison d’etre in the core. But it is not the same. When you zoom in on a specific target group, you need to be specific.
Your retailers and the consumer do not share the same purpose, and their roles in relation to you, are fundamentally different. Your team has another perspective. The surrounding society and others have yet another ocular or lens, which is increasingly important for your business success. Understanding the priorities and expressing motives is the fundamental precondition for any relationship: Why should they care about you - and vice versa?
The Who
Understanding your audience seems like a simple task. If you aim to build an ongoing relationship, it becomes a precondition. The Who should contain both descriptions and scope - quantitatively defining all relevant dimensions for size and qualitatively describing them down to the personas you create to relate and understand motives and characteristics of your individual customer types.
The What
Should describe the key proposition or propositions you offer to each target group. It may well go beyond the physical product or service itself to the fundamental benefit or value it provides for them.
The How
It is in the best combination of the the relevant target groups, the most effective channels and identifying the right agendas, you will pay for or earn the attention from your audience and build your target group agenda in three dimensions.
Once you understand the connection, the journey from customer to core, you have the opportunity to increase the relevance of your offerings and be clear in your statements, creating positive atmosphere of mutual benefit. The doors are open. The intend is clear on both sides. Doubt or risk of misinterpretation is reduced.
This is my view of the matter, of course. I am curious to hear yours, and encourage any views or insights you want to contribute to our continuous development. Feel free to chip in by mail, or on LinkedIn and twitter. Thanks.