Clientbook Blog
June 22, 2023

How to create a customer profile to target your ideal shopper

Loyal consumers are drawn to brands and businesses that speak to them. From the moment you walk past the storefront of a retail business, it's clear whether they have the type of product you want or not. This isn’t just happenstance—it's because retail businesses and marketing teams create customer profiles to target their ideal customers. 

Accenture's customer survey found that 33% of customers who ended their relationship with a brand did so because they didn't feel that the experience was customized to them. If you're wanting to target customers in your retail business, identifying your buyer personas and potential customers' needs should be at the forefront of your efforts. 

In this article, we'll talk about the value of customer profiles and what they can be used for so you can start attracting the types of customers you want. 

What is a customer profile?

A customer profile is a description of your ideal customer, based on customer demographic data. It helps with client management and allows you to identify the characteristics of your target market in order to create a tailored marketing plan that appeals to them.

It's different from a buyer persona because a customer profile is based on true data about your customers while buyer personas are fictional versions of your customers using fictional data and details.

Why are customer profiles valuable?

Customer profiles will help your retail business grow. Below are a few of the most helpful aspects of accurate and detailed customer profiles.

Improves marketing efforts

Effective customer profiles are invaluable for businesses because they allow you to tailor your marketing strategies to reach your ideal consumer. By identifying the characteristics of your target market, you can craft content that speaks specifically to their interests and needs. This will help you to create a personalized experience that is tailored and relevant.

Informs product development and pricing

An ideal customer profile will also allow you to create more accurate pricing strategies by understanding who may be willing to pay a higher price for certain products or services. With customer profiles, you can also identify any potential opportunities or challenges with reaching certain demographics so you can better plan for success.

Helps sales teams

When your sales reps know who they're selling to, they can adjust their sales pitches and sales efforts to match the needs of customers based on their profiles. The sales process can go more smoothly when sales reps can customize their approach to the customer and customers feel like they're being seen and heard by their sales associates.

Gives customers the personalized approach they want

When shopping, customers expect a personalized approach from retail brands. They’re seeking out customer experiences that are created with them in mind and that exceed their expectations. When we are all used to receiving targeted ads, we look for targeted approaches in brick-and-mortar retail and online shopping as well. 

Different customer types, age ranges, family types, and buying patterns call for different customer profiles. 

Ready to begin creating detailed customer profiles? Book a demo with Clientbook today to learn more

When to use consumer profiles

Customer profile info should inform every interaction you have with a customer. You can implement customer profile info into the sales pipeline, marketing campaigns, marketing messages, customer service, and any other facets of your retail business. 

Your customer journey can be leveled up exponentially when implementing info about customer personas at every point of contact.

How to create the perfect customer profile

We've compiled a list of some of the best ways to create a customer profile that aligns with your target customers.

Collect feedback

Customer feedback is the most important data you can get to form your customer profiles. Be sure to collect feedback from current customers and potential customers to understand their preferences when it comes to retail experiences. 

You can also conduct a market research project which would include things like in-person customer interviews and focus groups. This will help you focus your marketing campaigns to the correct audience. 

Create profiles based on customer experience, not just demographic data

Listen to your customers and what they're saying about their experiences in your retail space. Rather than just focusing on demographic questions, look through customer reviews, social media posts, customer service team reports, and AI chat conversations to piece together the issues and experiences your current client base is having. 

From there, create an accurate customer profile based on these valuable insights to help your shoppers throughout their entire customer journey.

Use technology 

It's difficult to put together an ideal customer profile template without the correct tools. Customer data platforms and client profile templates are useful tools to use in the customer profiling process, but they don't account for the experiential data that is vital to gaining a complete understanding of a customer.

How can Clientbook help me with customer profiles?

Clientbook is a clienteling software that enables retailers to create unique customer profiles and develop relationships with the type of customers they want. Clientbook offers several features to make customer relationship management and customer profiling easier than ever before. 

New to clienteling? Download our free clienteling starter kit to begin today

1. Create unique profiles

Clientbook focuses on creating the ideal profile for your clients. Using our software, you can make each individual profile unique and personal. By collecting personal data from each client, Clientbook is able to personalize the customer journey with offers and recommendations.

Salesforce found that 79% of customers are fine with sharing their personal data for personalization, with 88% happy to do so if the result is personalized offers. Clientbook takes care of both of these things—data collection and personalized offers.

2. Keeps track of important dates

Shoppers go to retail stores to buy gifts for themselves and their significant others, family, and friends. With Clientbook, you can keep track of these important dates in your clients' lives and send them celebratory messages, reminders, and product offers based on these life events.

This attention to detail in your client interactions will turn potential customers into long-term, loyal customers.

3. Product wishlists

This Clientbook feature allows sales reps to build wishlists of items that they think a client would like based on their purchase history and then share it with the customer. 

These personalized product wishlists are yet another way to provide a unique, customized experience for customers and keep them coming back to your retail business again and again. 

Conclusion

Having an in-depth understanding of your customers and customer goals will benefit your entire company and help you focus your market strategy on what your customer base wants.

Clientbook is the ideal tool for creating unique and beneficial customer profiles to optimize your retail efforts. 

Book a demo today to see how Clientbook can help you create, organize, and personalize your customer profiles.

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