We are committed to serving auctioneers as a trusted digital partner. We invest heavily in the industry because we know that combining the right auctioneer technology and marketing toolkit with the most trusted online buying environment for bidders, enables auctioneers to maximize asset value and run successful online businesses.
This is the second email in a series of marketing guides to support auctioneers on everyday marketing needs and best practices.
If you have any questions or would like us to cover a certain topic, please feel free to send a note to your account manager and we will try to include it in a forthcoming guide.
Who is my ideal buyer?
In last month’s newsletter, we talked about the User Interface (UI) and the User Experience (UX) which focus on having a deep understanding of users, what they need, what they value, how they shop, their abilities, their limitations, and their satisfaction.
To ensure we have a deep understanding of our audience, we have to understand their needs. Let’s take a moment and think of something that we know everyone enjoys (the key here is everyone).
What comes to mind first? Avocados? They are first on my list as something that could make everyone happy…
Despite what you’ve heard they don’t make everyone happy. (I know, I couldn’t believe it either)
What about kittens?
Mmm, still not, some people may be allergic.
Desserts? Could that be it?
No, wrong again – Not everyone has a sweet tooth.
It’s not as easy as it seems, is it? Just as we see in the above examples, finding something that everyone likes is just as challenging as finding the ideal buyer for every auction. Everyone is different. We all want different things and our decisions, especially when related to buying assets are driven by a set of personal or professional needs, goals, and preferences.
Finding the ideal buyer for your auction works the same. We can’t just find the ideal buyer once and then market all asset categories to them on every auction. Each asset category will have its own targeted buyer base. Every auction will require a smart strategy to ensure the ideal buyer is identified and reached.
To find your ideal buyer, you must ensure you are aware of the “who”. Once identified, you can work on ways to capture the “who” as a lead, help them find their way to your auction, register, bid, and ultimately become a buyer.
To have a deep understanding of the ideal buyer or the “who”, we need to start with the right demographics such as age, gender, education, career, occupation, location, and income. To identify the proper demographics, narrow your search down by looking at why they would be interested in the assets up for auction and how it can help them solve their challenges. For this part, you must stay true to the goal of finding the ideal buyer. It is not about who you would want as your buyer but who is actually going to find value in your assets up for auction.
The easiest way to identify your ideal buyer is to look at the past buyers who have participated in your auctions, find commonalities between each buyer, and define your “buyer persona”. We will define the “buyer persona” in next month’s newsletter.
Make sure you keep up with these series of emails! If you miss one, reach out to your account manager and they will be delighted to share.
Still to come…
- What is a “buyer persona”?
- Where should I market my auction?
- When do I need to notify bidders about my auction?
- Why should they choose me?
- How easy is it for them to find me?