If you try to sell to everyone, your message speaks to no one. Knowing exactly who buys from you tells you where to post, what to say, which language to use, how to price and how to deliver. Employers in sales also value this: adverts for sales and business development roles often ask for an understanding of customers and of what competitors are doing.
Describe your customer
Write a short description of your main buyer. Answer these questions:
- Who are they? Age, work and where they live, such as young mothers in Kumasi or nurses in Tamale.
- Why do they buy? The need or wish behind the purchase, such as soft skin in the harmattan or a gift for a wedding.
- Where do they spend time? WhatsApp groups, TikTok, Facebook, church, the market or the office.
- How do they pay? Mobile money, cash on delivery or bank transfer.
- What worries them? Fake products, late delivery or paying for something that never arrives.
Your answers will guide everything you do later. If your buyers worry about fakes, show how the product is made. If they live far away, explain delivery clearly.
Study your competitors
Competitors are other sellers your customers could buy from instead. You can learn a lot from them for free. Look at three to five similar sellers online and in the market and note: