This document discusses the five things companies need to know about their customers: who they are, what they need, when they buy, where they look, and why they choose a particular product/service. It emphasizes understanding customers from their perspective and using that knowledge to focus marketing and sales efforts on a specific customer segment. Companies should employ a structured process to comprehensively understand their target customers across these five areas and tailor their business accordingly.

1. The Five Things You Need to Know About Your Customers – and What to Do With Them Amelia Young, CFAUpside Consulting Group Inc. Realize the Upside in your business

2. From vendor focus… to customer focus Who Product What Promotion When Price Where Place Why

4. Secondary decision-makers

6. What are the biggest challenges in their business?

7. Are there life cycle drivers?

8. Do they know what they need? Can you educate them?

9. Explicit vs. implicit

11. Planned vs. crisis-driven

12. Proactive vs. reactive

13. Life cycle drivers

14. B2B - Job change, management change, M&A, new office

15. B2C - Home move, marriage, kids

17. Referrals

18. Where are there complimentary products

19. Where do life cycle drivers lead prospects?

20. Appointment notices, real estate and insurance brokers,

23. Frame your offering in a way that that solves the customer’s immediate problems

24. Creates a catalyst

25. Allows the client to see unforeseen benefitsHi. It’s me again. Buy something.

27. He has presided over the sales team through three years of revenue growth and margin erosion

28. He has relationships with corporate customers who buy simple products like golf shirts

30. How Will You Deliver? “Marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department.” David Packard

31. Use the answers to focus your business You can’t be everything to everyone – particularly if you’re small

33. Employ a structured framework and process to get a comprehensive view