One of the pitfalls of a small business is misdefining its customer base. Some small business owners get into the rut of thinking their customers are limited to the folks who walk through their doors. Someone has said a rut is just a grave with both ends knocked out of it. That is certainly true in this case. Because of this short-sighted definition, these business owners make the mistake of assuming their customers know what they need, and are convinced that this particular business is the place to get it.

Mike Moran wrote an excellent article on this subject in Business Newz.com, and he offers this illustration.

Imagine that your store was located in a hard-to-find location and you never gave anyone directions. You could watch every customer walk into your store and tell yourself, “Look at all these customers that come here with no directions—why do we need to bother with them?” You are only serving the ones that can find you without directions, so of course they don’t need directions, but what about everyone else? Likewise, if every customer you see already knows your company and the products you sell, it doesn’t mean that you have no need to adopt problem-oriented helpfulness in your selling. Rather, it means that, because you have no helpful information available, people that need help are going elsewhere. The only ones that can find you are the ones that don’t need any help.

So, the successful small business is going to be the one which serves the needs of those who are already coming through their doors, and also works through advertising, referral business, targeted marketing, cold calling along with any other means available to generate a need awareness in those who are not. The insurance man who only sells to people who think they need insurance is going to be a very hungry insurance man. Find an already established customer need and establish yourself in that niche to fill that need. Then develop and work a strategic plan to get the word out that your business is the place to go.

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