Where Does Your Consumer Shop?

Retailers looking to get more customers will analyze who their likely customer is and form a profile of his or her demographics, preferences, and needs. These businesses will likely try to find out where these people shop and either seek to steal these customers or just try to get them to shop at their store as well. As a publisher or author, do you know who your customer is and where he or she shops?

You can’t sell a book to someone if you don’t know who wants your book – and why. But once you have identified who your potential buyers are, you need to figure out where to find them.

Begin to ask yourself:

·        What does my potential reader do online? What sites do they visit? Which blogs do they

read? Which forums, webinars, podcasts, chats, and review sites do they participate in?

·        What online book clubs are they members of?

·        What news media do they watch (TV), listen to (radio), or read (newspapers, magazines)?

·        Which professional organizations or trade associations are they affiliated with?

·        Where do they socialize – online and off?

·        What religious groups, charities, or hobbies do they participate in?

Once you know who your customer is, what triggers them to buy or where they congregate you will need to map out a plan to reach them. It sounds simple enough but all of this takes resources: time, money, research and effort.

I would recommend that you prioritize who your best or likeliest customer is and then prioritize the best possible ways to reach them – and focus your concentrated efforts and limited resources on reaching out to them. Once you know where your customer shops, sell them what they want.

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person.