***Value Your Audience as Individuals (And Maximize Your Profits)

We live in an exchange society. To receive you must be willing to give. As motivational speaker Zig Ziglar says, "You can get anything you want in life as long as you help the other fellow get what he wants." That's one reason communication specialists and marketing gurus alike consistently urge us to know our audience and to know our customers.

Unfortunately, this advice frequently gets lost in a sea of demographic and psychographic facts and figures. Far too often, "know your audience" gets boiled down to nothing more than, say, "age 25 to 49, married, two kids, and a $400,000 house in the suburbs."

In this blur of statistics the actual person, the human being on the receiving end, is ignored and often disrespected. It is this impersonal mentality that drives companies to put us on hold for 20 minutes, and then tell us not to hang up because they value our business. If they really knew their audience they would know that such false assertions of caring antagonize, rather than build, customer loyalty.

There are, however, different approaches to customer service. The other day I walked into a Kinko's/FedEx center to photocopy and ship the manuscript for my next book. The clerk greeted me pleasantly and then asked if I had been to Singapore recently. Startled, I said, "Yes, about six months ago, but how did you know that?"

She replied that she had noticed Singapore written under the small design on my knit shirt. This customer service representative continued to make conversation. She asked about my trip to Asia and my book. She helped me make my photocopies and complete the FedEx paperwork. When I started to leave, she bid me adieu and said she would look forward to my return.

Although I suspect that she had never read Dale Carnegie's classic How to Win Friends and Influence People, she was inadvertently putting his wisdom to work. She showed sincere interest in her customer.

More than 20 years ago I stayed at a Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. At that time, the hotel had five different restaurants that opened onto a common circular entry area. As I was wandering around comparing menus, one maitre d' stepped out, asked me about my dining preferences, and invited me to try his restaurant. Of course I did, but that's not the main part of the story.

Four nights later I was back wandering around the same circular area. The same maitre d' again stepped out to greet me. Only this time he said, "Hello, Mr. Eldred. Nice to see you. Will you be joining us again for dinner this evening?" Of course I did.

Although two decades separate these experiences, each illustrates the most important part of "know your audience." Much more than abstract statistics, these experiences remind us to relate to others in a sincere and respectful manner. Sure, demographics and psychographics may help us "target" customers (a rather ugly metaphor that, unfortunately, seems all too apt). But to best persuade, influence, and motivate others, we should express interest and appreciation, attend to details, and let other people understand that you value them as people first and as customers or "profit centers" second.

When you say to yourself, "I need to know my audience," think first about our universal need to feel valued. Before you define your audience in terms of statistical differences and market segments, take care to recognize those human needs that apply to nearly everyone in every audience.

Gary W. Eldred, PhD, has been involved in hundreds of real estate transactions as buyer, seller and consultant. He is author of many best-selling books on real estate. Dr. Eldred created The Real Estate Investor Training Program for Trump University.