12 Nov 09 Can I choose my customer?

We quite often talk about what the market for a product or a service is. And always asked to focus on the customer. Problem is that the market is always staring at you like a large gorilla in the middle (not corner) of the room. Will I want to say no to any part of the target market – NO!. So who is my customer? Specially when it comes to Web2.0 and e-commerce companies it is hard to define this in each stage of the company.

So my assertion is go and choose your customer. Learn from those you choose to learn from and give them the best of what you can. Build everything around these chosen ones as they will define what you make, how you make it, how you fund it, how you sell it etc. Ignore the rest for now. Too often founders think they do not have the power to choose. If you don’t choose you don’t focus and if you don’t focus you loose product and market strategy. And remember when your customers change (as you expand focus) you will need to change too. These changes will be in your – product, process, talent, business model and how you fund your business. So YES you can choose your customer and you should.