The primary purpose of a business is to acquire and keep customers

In my business we have strategies to acquire and keep customers, as proposed by Peter Drucker.

We have a group of customers that we believe are fans who tell other customers about the things that we do well and who give us great feedback. We have many loyal customers who buy our weekly magazine, respond to our advertisers announcements and to our campaigns, and who use our products and services to promote what they do. And we have targets, potential customers who we think will benefit from using our products but who currently do not.

Using this simple segmentation model, we organise ourselves so that we deliver better content, so that we understand who we are writing for, and we plan marketing to explain the benefits that our products provide. We invest time in researching what our readers say they want (attitude) and what information and news they actually use (behaviour) and we design our products to maximise the benefit to them.

This may be a model that shop owners could use for their own businesses by segmenting your shoppers into two groups and then thinking about ways to convert passers-by and other local people into shoppers.

In the early 1990s one supermarket group carried out a similar exercise when it was considering shutting down a store in central London. What it found out was that people who used its shop wanted to buy things for their lunch, top up shopping, and there were enough of them to build a good business - perhaps the start of the convenience revolution.

Putting customers at the centre of our strategy works for us. How could it work better for you?

Comments

Three secrets of great merchandising

Look at the ceiling and top wall of this McDonalds restaurant. There is a picture of two good looking healthy people having fun and some bright primary colours. Ask yourself what is the purpose of this picture? In the latest issue of Retail Newsagent in a feature on merchandising, Andrew Knight of RI tells its independent readers that they need to think about using sharp pictures of non-packaged products linked to people consuming goods. Perhaps this has been taken to the next level by the fast food chain - that is selling the feeling of being happy and healthy rather than the products. A second, related tip from the same feature is made by most contributors - it is vital to keep windows clean and clear of clutter. "I believe that less is more," says Roli Ranger, a retailer from Ascot, Berkshire. He has posters for promotions in between the windows that are regularly updated and discreet signs in the windows. Third, a highly visible well-stocked promotion at the entranc

Overcoming a price disadvantage

Planning for his speech at the Independent Achievers Academy last week, Theo Paphitis asked an assistant to buy a basket of six essentials from a Tesco, a Londis (independent operator in a symbol group) and a One Stop (Tesco's CTN/convenience chain). Tesco was cheapest by a big margin. Second came Londis. The most expensive was One Stop. Mr Paphitis understands the power of the supermarkets and he says the way to counter them is to focus on how to make the experience of shopping with you more relevant to shoppers or more enjoyable for them. John Heynan, sales director of Molson Coors, told Retail Newsagent at about the same time that occasional beer buyers will pay 13 per cent more for their beer in an independent convenience store, provided the retailer targets them appropriately. Tesco has carved itself out this 13 per cent head start. Looking at pricing, if Tesco is 100, then Tesco Express is 108, One Stop is 112, a good symbol group is 115 and non-affiliated independents

A sign of retail stress perhaps

It must have been four months since this window was broken in the Tesco Express on Pentonville Road and I simply cannot believe that it has not been fixed. This is the sort of lack of focus that independent shops usually get criticised for. The only purpose in sharing this image is to encourage those independents with high standards who are finding the going tough that they can do better than this.

nickshanagher

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