Your customer
Swap 'everyone' for one clear customer: who they are, the moment they need you and what they use now. Then learn to interview them without fooling yourself.
WHY IT MATTERS
'Everyone' is nobody
Ask a new owner who their customer is and you often hear 'everyone'. It feels ambitious, but it makes every later choice harder: what to say, where to post, what to charge. A small business has little money for reaching people, so it has to aim.
A message written for everyone sounds like it was written for no one. A message written for 'new mums who can't leave the house' makes those mums stop scrolling.
A useful customer description names
- Who: a group you could actually find and talk to this week.
- The moment: the situation when the problem bites.
- What they use now: the workaround or competitor you're replacing.
- Where they gather: the places, groups or pages where you can reach them.
Vague:
"People who like cake."
Sharp:
Who: working parents in our district
Moment: a child's birthday with a week's notice
Now: a plain supermarket cake they find boring
Where: the school parents' group chatsThe sharp version tells you what to bake, what to say and where to post it.Same baker, same oven. Only the second description tells her what to do on Monday.
Check yourself
Kian fixes bikes. Which customer description will help him most in his first month?
- Anyone who owns a bike, since that's millions of people and he can grow into all of them
- East-side delivery riders whose bike breaks mid-shift and costs them a day's pay
- Young, active people who care about health and the environment
Show the answer
East-side delivery riders whose bike breaks mid-shift and costs them a day's pay
Right. He knows who they are, when they need him urgently, what it costs them, and where they wait between orders.
THE JOB
What they are really buying
A useful way to think about customers is the job to be done: people 'hire' a product to make some progress in their life. An old marketing saying puts it this way: people don't want a drill, they want a hole in the wall. Know the job and you know what to promise.
A wedding photographer isn't selling photos. The job is 'give us memories we'll be proud to show, without us worrying on the day'. That changes what she talks about: calm, reliability, the album, not megapixels.
Check yourself
Match each product to the job the customer is hiring it for
Show the answer
- A home cleaning service → Get my weekend back
- A CV-writing service → Get invited to interviews
- Ready-to-cook meal boxes → Eat well without planning or shopping
- A phone repair stall → Be reachable again by this afternoon
Talk to five to ten of them
- Find people who fit your description
Not friends being nice. People who have the problem, found where they gather.
- Ask about their life, not your idea
Don't pitch. 'Tell me about the last time…' gets real stories. Your idea can wait until the end, or another day.
- Listen for money and effort
What did it cost them? What have they tried? What did they pay for? This is the evidence.
- Write it down straight after
Note their exact words. Patterns only show up across several conversations, and memory flatters your idea.
Questions that fool you, questions that don't
Fool you
About the future or your idea: 'Would you use this?' 'How much would you pay?' 'Do you like it?' People answer to be kind.
Don't
About the past and facts: 'When did this last happen?' 'What did you do?' 'What did that cost you?' 'What have you already tried?'
Check yourself
Is this interview question likely to give you real evidence?
- How did you sort this out last time?
- Would you buy this if I made it?
- What have you already paid to fix it?
- Don't you think this is a great idea?
- How often did this happen in the past month?
- How much would you pay for something like this?
Show the answer
Real evidence: How did you sort this out last time?, What have you already paid to fix it?, How often did this happen in the past month?
Polite noise: Would you buy this if I made it?, Don't you think this is a great idea?, How much would you pay for something like this?
FIRST TARGET
Start with the people who hurt most
Your first customers should be the ones who feel the problem most sharply, can pay, and are easy to reach. They forgive a rough first version because it beats what they have. Once they're happy and talking about you, you can widen the circle.
A new accounting helper might start with freelancers who got fined for a missed deadline last year, not with every self-employed person in the country.
Check yourself
Narges is launching an alterations service. To give herself the best start, she should describe her first customers as widely as possible, so she doesn't miss anyone.
Show the answer
False
False. A wide target spreads her small budget and makes her message vague. She'll do better starting with a sharp group, say brides-to-be or office workers whose trousers need hemming by Saturday, then widening once they're coming back and recommending her.
Lesson recap
- Name one customer group: who, the moment of need, what they use now, where they gather.
- Think in jobs: what progress is the customer hiring your product to make?
- Interview five to ten people about their past, not your idea; listen for money and effort.
- Start with the people who hurt most and are easiest to reach, then widen.