The sixth eBook in the Foundations category. It walks the customer choice in detail - the cost of trying to serve everyone, the four-criteria fit test, the high-value segment patterns to look for, the profile sheet that turns a segment into a real person, and the way to commit to a first target market without closing doors forever.
Members ebook·5 chapters· 15 minute read
Chapter 3
High-Value Customer Segments
The patterns that mark a segment as genuinely high-value, beyond a strong score on the grid.
Some segments score well on the grid and still don't make a great first target market. They might be high lifetime value but slow to refer. They might decide quickly but churn fast. They might fit the business now but not in two years. This chapter looks at the patterns that distinguish a genuinely high-value segment from a merely strong-on-paper one.
Five patterns in particular - urgency, repeatability, referability, payability and growability. A segment with three or four of those is worth serving. A segment with one or two should probably wait for its quarter.
By the end you'll have applied the pattern test to your shortlist of two segments and have a clearer sense of which one wants to be first.
The full chapter has the five high-value patterns, the way to read them and the worked test for our six example businesses.
The five patterns
High-value segment patterns
1. Urgency - the problem is on fire, not on a wishlist
2. Repeatability - they buy again, not just once
3. Referability - they tell people who look like them
4. Payability - the price isn't where the conversation gets stuck
5. Growability - the segment is growing, not shrinking
Reading each pattern
Urgency. The customer is already trying to solve the problem when they find you. They've Googled at midnight. They've asked three friends. They've put the issue on the household to-do list. Urgent customers convert faster and need less persuading.
Repeatability. The same customer needs you again, predictably. The plumbing maintenance contract repeats every year. The therapy package repeats when life changes. The homeware shop's loyal customer repeats every season. Repeating customers reduce marketing cost dramatically.
Referability. Customers in this segment know other customers in the segment. Landlords know other landlords. First-time managers know other first-time managers. Kitchen-extension homeowners talk to neighbours doing the same. Word of mouth has a multiplier in segments where the customers cluster socially.
Payability. The price you want to charge sits inside what the segment already pays for the same problem. If you're trying to charge a premium in a segment used to a discount price, conversion will be a constant fight. The companion eBook Pricing for Small Businesses goes deeper.
Growability. The segment is growing, holding or shrinking. A segment growing for demographic, regulatory or technological reasons gives you tailwind. A segment that's shrinking gives you headwind even if it scores well today.
Worked tests for our six businesses
Plumber - landlords: high on urgency, repeatability, referability and payability. Growability medium. Strong first segment.
Therapist - workplace stress: high on urgency, repeatability and growability. Referability medium (people don't always tell colleagues). Payability high through employer programmes. Strong first segment.
Homeware shop - local repeat buyers: medium on urgency, high on repeatability and referability, medium on payability, medium on growability. Solid but not spectacular. The eBook Going Local in the Low-Cost Marketing category goes deeper.
Copywriter - B2B software: high on urgency (homepage isn't converting now), medium on repeatability, high on referability (companies talk inside the same sector), high on payability, high on growability. Strong first segment.
Trades firm - kitchen extensions: high on urgency, low on repeatability (one-off project), high on referability (neighbours), high on payability, medium on growability. Strong first segment despite low repeatability, because referability is so high.
Coach - first-time managers: high on urgency, medium on repeatability, high on referability inside companies, medium on payability, high on growability. Strong first segment.
What to do this week
Take the two segments from the previous chapter. Score each one against the five patterns. The one with more high marks is your first target market - probably. Hold the answer in pencil until chapter five.
The recurring principle this chapter sits on is start with the customer. The patterns are how you decide which customer rewards your effort most. The next chapter, Customer Profiles and Personas, turns the chosen segment into a real person.
The rest of this chapter walks through the practical steps, the templates and the checklists you need to put it into action. It includes worked examples, copy frameworks and the small decisions that make the difference between a plan that sits in a drive and one that gets used.
Inside you'll find a step-by-step playbook, a downloadable template, a checklist you can run this week and a short list of common mistakes to avoid before you start.
The full action plan, broken into weekly steps.
Ready-to-use scripts, templates and checklists.
Worked examples for different sized businesses.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them.
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