Defining the Customer Portrait

Defining the customer portrait is the first step in proactively developing customers. Regrettably, many salespeople often overlook this. The customer portrait aims to clearly depict the customers we aim to develop, allowing us to precisely know their specific circumstances, characteristics, pain points, etc. Just like the user portrait of Xiaomi, if it is for the C-side, it is a user portrait. For B2B, the dimensions of the customer portrait can be divided into qualitative and quantitative attributes. In terms of qualitative aspects, it covers countries, types (such as wholesale), positions, company information, contact information, etc.; in terms of quantitative aspects, it is related to the company's data, such as online traffic conditions, estimated purchase volume, etc. At the same time, multi-dimensional analysis can be conducted with the help of customs data to verify whether the customer conforms to the target portrait for proactive development.

The main steps to define the customer portrait are as follows:

1. Market research. Read market reports in the industry, financial reports and annual reports of industry leaders, understand the overall import and export situation of a country, and conduct Google analysis through keywords. These market research approaches can provide a general direction for proactive development, such as the import and export situation of Malaysia in a certain year.
2. Supply chain analysis. The supply chain is the link of commodity circulation, and its core can be summarized as: As long as there is demand, whether it is to define a brand or control costs, suppliers will be sought. The order quantities and services of different industries will optimize and change the supply chain. Therefore, analyzing upstream and downstream suppliers helps to define the customer portrait more precisely.
3. Competitor analysis. Understand which platforms and what kind of advertisements the competing companies' products have placed. For example, if engaged in the sweeping robot industry, it is necessary to study the types of advertisements placed by foreign competitors on Facebook, the displayed selling points, the advantages and disadvantages compared to one's own products, as well as the optimization methods and click effects of advertising materials. These data can usually be obtained through some foreign plugins.

When obtaining customer information, the first step is not to look for email addresses but to obtain the customer's official website. The customer's official website contains rich information that helps determine the customer's attributes. If the official website is not viewed, information of the customer on other channels, such as LinkedIn, Facebook homepage and other social media information, can also be obtained. Salespeople need to construct a customer acquisition matrix framework, including content, activities and channels. The content covers emails, phone calls, LinkedIn communication, social media posts, etc. The content of different channels can show different levels of value for the customer portrait. Channels include the official website, social media, Alibaba B2B platform, etc. Activities such as ins live broadcasts, Black Friday, etc. Excellent salespeople can organically combine content, channels and activities to reach customers and establish deeper connections, rather than just sending foreign trade customer development letters.