How understanding their customer profile turned this near-bankruptcy into a multi-million$ business
In 1997, The Vermont Teddy Bear Company (VTB), North America’s largest manufacturer of teddy bears, was on the verge of bankruptcy.
Surprisingly, CFO Elisabeth Robert went on to save the company; launching it to generate $37 million in gross revenue in 2001. She did one very simple thing differently.
Now when you think of teddy bears, you think of one obvious customer: kids, and more specifically their parents. Obvious right?
While struggling to keep the company afloat, the CFO noticed that most of the recurring customers were sharing a very strange pattern:
The shipping address and the customer address were different.
What does that mean?
It means that customers were not buying the teddy bears for themselves. They were adults buying them for other adults!
When the CFO took a look into the company’s data, she realized that the Vermont Teddy Bears are:
a) still not perceived as gift to children
b) preferably sent directly to an adult’s doorstep. A surprising way of saying sorry, expressing gratitude or love.
The CFO used this to completely reframe the marketing strategy.
And the shift was a complete success.
Sales figures soared and led the VTB Company to its all-time high of $37 million in sales.
So now ask yourself, do you know your customer profile?
Here are three good reasons you should:
1. Surge in sales productivity. Targeted sales and marketing saves you time and manpower.
2. Cheaper, more focused marketing spend. Narrow customer segments enable you to identify much cheaper and accessible touchpoints, such as niche blogs or communities that can convey your message.
3. Extended customer lifetime, decreased customer churn, more referrals. You are serving customers who both need and want your service. A necessity for a healthy relationship and a great experience — both ways.
These highly targeted customer profiles are called “Ideal Customer Profiles” (ICP).
Now ask yourself, what opportunities could an Ideal Customer Profile unlock for you?
Get in touch with us and find out
