Did you know that I started my marketing/public relations career working for Jack in the Box restaurants? It’s true! I worked for the company from 1987 through 1993. 
While my career was just starting out, I remember thinking at the time how wise was the marketing leadership team. Through market research, the company determined that going head to head with McDonald’s wasn’t the right strategy. Research showed that adults without kids were the company’s primary customers. These people wanted serious food that catered to more sophisticated tastes. The product development team then began a pattern of menu innovation that catered exactly to what the ideal customer wanted. After the food safety issues of 1993, the company brought Jack back through the miracle of plastic surgery in 1995 to save the day and give the company a whole new attitude. It’s working pretty well so far.
The “Jack’s Back” campaign is the longest, ongoing advertising campaign in the fast-food industry. Centered around humorous and entertaining television commercials featuring Jack, the campaign has received numerous awards including several Clios, Beldings, EFFIEs, and Bronze and Gold Lions from the Cannes International Advertising Festival for the best fast-food advertising in the world.
Now, the people at Old Spice are serious about targeting their ideal customer — women. It turns out that women are rushing to buy Old Spice in quantities even the market research people could never have imagined. The story that ran over the Associated Press about the resurgence of Old Spice has been traveling far and wide, thanks to the viral spreading of the message via YouTube and other social networks. The campaign is one that my 13-year-old can recite with amazing accuracy and personality. And he’s not the only one.
These stories bring up the importance of identifying your ideal customer with crystal clarity. When you know who you serve, you can create and share messages that are likely to resonate with them. And when you deliver the message in a meaningful, memorable, and magnetic way, great results can manifest.
Survey Monkey can be a very effective resource to guide solopreneurs to learn a great deal about their customers. And, don’t underestimate the value of simply reviewing your client list for the last two years to identify the characteristics of the customers you have already served and enjoyed serving. If you can describe those clients in very specific terms, you can target your message to reach and favorably influence more quality people just like them.
Authentic Visibility Question of the Day: How clearly can you describe the ideal customer or client for your product or service? And, are the messages you are sending out to the marketplace well targeted to appeal to their very specific needs, attitudes, and sensibilities? When you get that right, a whole lot of other things will flow just right in your business, too. Just look at Jack in the Box and Old Spice for inspiration.
