How many customers does your business need to be successful? Ten thousand? One-hundred thousand?
What if it were just 1000?
When it comes to marketing, many business owners focus almost exclusively on building a bigger mailing list, a bigger social media following, and bigger web traffic.
Bigger can be great! A bigger database or following can mean potential for greater sales and success. But bigger isn’t always the answer. A business can have tens of thousands of prospects visiting their site each month, but if those visitors aren’t converting to sales, traffic numbers mean squat (check out our recent post – 12 No-Brainer Ways to Increase Web Conversions – for more info).
Enter the 1000 True Fans Theory…
It was a philosophy introduced in a humble blog post by Wired magazine co-founder Kevin Kelly waaaay back in 2008, when Lady Gaga’s Poker Face was #1 in NZ, and Obama was elected President of the USA.
According to Kelly, a business/ solo venture/ artist needs just 1000 true fans to be sustainable and successful – and by True Fan, he’s referring to someone who loves everything you do, and buys everything you sell – because you sell it.
A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.
Loyalty > Numbers
It’s an interesting and encouraging (and sure, slightly flawed) theory that small business owners and entrepreneurs have been pondering ever since. And while it may not be realistic for every business to build a 1000-strong fan base that will buy anything and everything they sell, Kelly’s theory is useful for every business because it gives us pause to think about customer loyalty and engagement, and building databases and followings of the right people.
YOUR right people.
Do you know who they are? Where they live online? What grinds their gears and solves their problems and makes their hearts sing?
We do. Contact us now to find ‘em.