The Twenty Percent

Good Afternoon folks,

This week we are going to discuss the importance of the 80-20 rule, which is an old saying that 20 percent of your customers drive 80 percent of your profit. For this week, we are going to find a business owner and talk with him or her about their most valuable customers so we can see how well he or she knows his customers. After speaking with the business owner, we are going to find 3 target customers and ask the same questions to see if the owner is able to accurately identify needs in his or her target customers. For this assignment I am going to speak with the owner of M&M films, a videographer who develops films for sports players, weddings, and commercials.

Who Are The Target Customers?

When asking Kyle Mogged (Owner) about his target customers, he gave me an answer different than I was expecting. 

"Many of our customers come from a variety of backgrounds, and have different intentions for the videos they are receiving. Some want to get a scholarship, some want to promote their business, and others just want the cherished memories of a wedding or family reunion. Customers vary in age, income level, and race, but the one customer we try and target are the athletes. The athletes generate the most revenue because they need us to cover a lot of games over a short period of time. Also, we can get highlights for two players by recording just one game."

Although they are open to all customers, Kyle believes that high school and college athletes are the 20 percent customers he needs to target. He says they like pop-culture, are very confident in their abilities, and tend to come from lower middle-class families.

Three Target Customers

After talking with Kyle, I went out and found 3 high school athletes looking to play collegiate sports after graduation. 

1. The first person I interviewed was Cody Carden, a senior basketball player from Clearwater, Florida. Cody played 4 years of varsity basketball and is currently seeking offers from several respected smaller schools like Lynn, Weber, and Trinity. Cody claims he likes country music, comes from upper middle class, and says that he would be happy to play anywhere, as long as he can play the sport that he loves. Cody came off as extremely humble, and actually does not really share any of the characteristics Kyle described.

2. The second person I interviewed was Tay Scott, a Senior football player from East Lake High School. Tay played four years of varsity football and is currently committed to play football at Clemson University in South Carolina. Tay plays wide receiver for the eagles and recorded over 10 touchdowns and 1,000 yards receiving over his senior year. Tay likes hip hop music, comes from a lower middle class, and says he wants to make it big so he can support his family later on in life. Tay seemed humble, but confident in his ability to go pro. Tay definitely fit the description of Kyle's target customer.

3. The third person I interviewed was Christian Townsend, a pitcher from Countryside High School. Christian played 4 years of Varsity baseball and is currently committed to playing at Florida Gulf Coast. Christian is into rap, comes from a middle class family, and wants to play baseball for as long as he can. Christian seemed a little conceded, and was kind of like the target customer that Kyle described.

Differences

Based on talking to the three target customers, Kyle did a pretty decent job at identifying more. The only thing I see that Kyle can change is not just focusing on the super star athletes and more on the ones struggling to get offers. People like Cody are going to be easier to get and more willing to pay money for highlights because he really needs them to get into a good college. Kyle seems too focused on the stereotypical athlete and not as much on the lower end athletes. But besides that, Kyle did a pretty good job identifying target customers.