I love this story from Malcolm Gladwell about meeting his reader in the wild.
“Years ago, I sat down on an airplane next to a guy who happened to be reading one of my books. And I had this very long conversation with him. His job was to go around the country opening Trader Joe’s. He was coming from New York, they were opening a store in Brooklyn or something, and he’d just been in Brooklyn for a month.
Lived in Atlanta, had two kids, was like 38 years old. Business school degree I think, maybe not, anyway, had this lovely chat with him and I realized, oh that’s my reader, and every time I’m stuck, I think about him. It’s for him.”
He said, “I’m very very busy, I teach Sunday school, I’m a coach in my kid’s little league, and I have this job which is very demanding. I have time to read three books a year” And I realized, oh he’s chosen one of mine, I’m one of his three. Which is like a phenomenally flattering thing, and I realized oh, if I can keep being one of his three books every year then I will succeed.
I think about him all the time. It’s insanely liberating to know, that’s what it’s for, for that guy on the airplane.”
Your reader, your buyer:
Of course, Gladwell’s reader is another way of saying Gladwell’s buyer. His customer. And you’ve got to know your customer.
Malcolm Gladwell and J.K. Rowling have different readers. Sure, they have some overlap, I’m part of that group, and I read everything from both. That said, the moment Rowling tries to crossover – once Harry Potter starts investigating the unintended psychological consequences of the Wizarding caste system through the lens of Muggle’s cognitive bias – I’m probably out.
Both authors are aware of this. It’s called knowing your customer.
Knowing your customer (KYC) is key to growing a business. It brings clarity to both sides, the seller, and the buyer. Gladwell said, “It’s for him,” and it’s equally important for the buyer to see it and say, “It’s for me.”
Don’t wait to stumble across someone on an airplane, get ahead of it. Proactively go to the people you serve and try to understand them better.
After all, if you don’t know who they are, how will you know when you’ve found them?
You might already have fish in a barrel. If you can’t recognize that, you’ll head to the local bait shop instead of simply draining out the water.
Patagonia:
Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard built his company to serve a customer he knew well.
Himself.
And his dirtbag climbing buddies.
But as the company grew past climbing, into outdoor sports of all kinds, Patagonia needed to be more deliberate about staying in contact with the people they served.
And that’s exactly what Patagonia did.
“They don’t shop as entertainment, they’re not out to “buy a life,” they want to deepen and simplify, not junk up, their lives, and they are fed up with or indifferent to being targets for aggressive advertising. We know that for customers as well as for ourselves, the most valued advice we can receive is that from a trusted friend. After that, we respect the opinions of pros or experts like outdoor instructors, climbing guides, fishing guides, or river outfitters.”
Yvon Chouinard, Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman
So instead of commercials on prime time, Patagonia spread by word of mouth. And they spread through their Patagonia Ambassadors, a group of like-minded professionals that not only loved the equipment, but they loved and cherished Patagonia’s mission.
First look to understand the customer, then meet them where they are.
What did Yvon know about these customers and how they shopped?
“If there is one common trait to all outdoor people, it’s the fact that they do not spend their free time aimlessly shopping. If he or she is going to drive for twenty minutes to a store, it’s to buy certain needed items; it’s not to be entertained like the Bloomingdale’s customer. And I can tell you these people are going to be pretty angry if the store doesn’t have what they want.”
Yvon Chouinard, Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman
Smart people, with money, but not much time. They don’t enjoy the shopping process. They want what they need so they can get back to what they love doing, going outside.
Do you know that much about your customers?
Know Your Customer:
I see young sales executives who think their customer is anyone who will talk to them. That is some late-night-at-the-club kind of desperation.
I see large retailers that think their customer is anyone with an email. Seriously Costco, I’m not in the market for diapers anymore.
I see customers short on time and attention being asked to sit for a worn-out PowerPoint deck.
People are using technology as leverage. They are scaling. But sometimes when you cast a wider net you end up catching rubber boots.
Get sharp, specific, precise. Know your customer.
“There’s nothing wrong with being a wandering generality instead of a meaningful specific but don’t expect to make the change you seek to make if that’s what you do.”
Seth Godin
As the saying goes, an unaimed arrow rarely hits a target.
So, sketch them out. Seriously, do it. With crayons if you must.
Who is your customer? The one that buys your product or service quickly and consistently without shaking you down on the price.
- Is it a business or a consumer?
- Where are they located?
- Education? Age?
- What business are they in?
- Small business or enterprise?
- Family? Single?
- What is the problem they are trying to solve?
- What is their desired outcome?
- How do you help them reach their goals?
Now validate with data. Be cautious of customer interviews that don’t match buying patterns.
Like this common riddle, how many drinks do you have a week? There are two answers of course, the truth, and the number you tell your doctor.
The way to understand what people will buy is to look at what they do buy.
So, sketch out your ideal customer, validate, and then keep making things they need.
When you get off track and are unsure of the next step to take, you circle back to your homework. Take another look at the sketch you made, the ideal customer, and it will give you clarity on a very important question.
Who is it for?
Malcolm knows. Yvon does too. But do you?
An updated version of this post is included in my book, Passing Notes to Strangers.
