How to get started with Open Marketing
Step 2. Believe in yourself - Part 2

Hello everyone. I am Hayashi, the representative of Monosus.

From last time, how to start Open Marketing
Step 2: Believe in yourself.

Last time

• The customer segment that we want to increase in the future is called core customers, and we will quantify their characteristics so that they can be specifically measured.
• If you calculate the number of core customers you need to keep your company afloat, you'll find that most companies can survive with fewer core customers than they would ever vaguely imagine.
• This will allow you to change your mindset from "I want as many customers as possible" to "It's enough to provide proper service to our core customers."

I told him that.
This time, I would like to talk about what you need to do to engage with your core customers.

If we continue doing things the way we are now, we won't increase our core customer base.

One of the suggestions in this series is to do business centered on relationships with core customers.
There are a few important things to achieve this.

First of all, in our discussion so far, we have mentioned that your business has very important customers called core customers.

Core customers have a very large LTV (Life Time Value) compared to other customer segments.
These are the people who bring profits to your company.
The fact that business is not going smoothly at the moment also means that we do not have enough core customers.

For example, if the number of target core customers and current core customers is 100 and 40 respectively, the difference is 60 people.
So, simply put, we just need to connect with 60 more core customers.

However, it will be difficult to reach that number if we continue doing things the way we have been doing them.
Even core customers will not remain customers forever.
This is because customers may drop out due to relocation or changes in consumer behavior.
In other words, there are core customers with whom we will start new relationships,
Some core customers are leaving,
If you leave it like that, it won't increase much.
Another major factor is that the number of customers who can sense a company's unconscious behavior and the values that underlie them and become core customers is extremely limited.

So what should we do?

Stick to what you think is best.

A big hint for considering future policies is:
In the process of understanding the reasons and circumstances that led customers to become core customers,
You have been able to verbalize the values on which you develop and provide your products and services.

Once you understand the values that you hold dear when developing and providing products and services,
From there, we asked ourselves, what do we really want to offer?
It also allows you to verbalize what it is that your customers truly accept as part of what you offer.

To put it very simply,
I think business is about taking the values that you believe are good, turning them into products and services, and offering them to the world.
Core customers are those who agree with this and continue to do business with us, saying, "I think it's a good idea."

In other words, business is a very personal thing.
That's why it takes so much courage.

If something you think is good doesn't work out,
It is not enough to say, "This business did not go well" or "This product did not sell."
This is because there is a fear that one's very values will be denied .

And increasing core customers means
It also means sticking to what you think is best .

However, many companies are unable to do this and end up veering down the path of compromise.
They cling to what is already popular and seems to be appreciated by the public.
They simply copy what other companies are doing.
This will cause the values that are the source of the strengths of your company's products and services to fade, and there is a possibility that even your core customers who currently value your company will abandon you.

What's important is,
We decided to stabilize and expand our business by increasing the number of core customers.
To achieve this, we must refine our products and services to better reflect our company's values .

If you believe in your customers, you believe in yourself.

Purifying products and services by sticking to what you think is best is
This may sound a bit exaggerated, but to put it simply,
From the stance of "What can I sell so people will buy it?"
The key is to switch to a stance of, "If you want this product or service, come over here!"

However, while the theory may be simple, it takes courage to make a decisive declaration.
Also, even if you make a declaration, you may find yourself gradually lowering your raised finger before you know it.
"Stop here!" he declared, raising his finger.
We have to keep raising it like that.

It is our existing core customers who give us the courage to keep raising our fingers.
Before you start your business, you may be too scared to say, "Stop right there!"
The presence of core customers who recognize your products and services and the values behind them
"My product or service is worth sticking to"
It makes me believe that.

By finding customers you can trust,
We can also believe in ourselves.
And "believing in yourself" is important in order to attract more trustworthy customers.

Thank you for reading to the end this month as well.
From next time, I would like to talk about specific methods for increasing your core customers.