Introduction

“The golden rule for every businessman is this: Put yourself in your customer’s place.”

– Orison Swett Marden, American Author

One of the first lessons in Marketing 101 is – know your audience. Who are they? Where are they? What buttons can be pushed? What incentives need to be dangled? If you’re not armed with this basic information and more, it’s going to be a tough sell no matter what you’re offering, be it widgets or an entire business.

The importance of knowing your audience is especially true when it comes to selling your company. By educating yourself about the different types of buyers in the marketplace, you can identify who’s most likely to acquire your business, then design a strategy to target that group of buyers to make your business as appealing as possible to them. Knowing your audience is essential to developing a marketing strategy to sell your company and maximize your price. 

The exact reasons companies make acquisitions vary widely and can be difficult to discern, but common patterns do emerge. Using those patterns, it’s possible to draw generalizations that assist you in deciding what to focus on. In the section that follows, I explore the three different types of buyers along with the goals, considerations, and risks associated with each. 

Knowing your audience is essential to developing a marketing strategy to sell your company and maximize your price.