In my work with entrepreneurs, it’s not unusual to spend a substantial amount of time discussing who the customer for the product in question.
Yes, spending so much time on such a foundational question may seem a bit silly.
It’s only an indication of how limited our day-to-day transaction experience is relative to the richness of niche business models in existence.
It’s worth being explicit about who is and, more importantly, who is not a customer.
Who is not a Customer?
- Likes are not customers
- Follows are not customers
- Users are not customers
- Stars are not customers
- Personas are not customers
- Downloads are not customers
- Awards are not customers
- AI are not customers
- Algorithms are not customers
- Best of Lists are not customers
- Conferences are not customers
- Suppliers are not customers
- Demographics are not customers
- Psychographics are not customers
- If they say, “I would buy it if…” they are not a customer (thx to CG for this one)
- Stakeholders are not customers (thx to Matt Bjornson for this one)
Who is a Customer?
- The individual person paying you to help them