Attracting the perfect tribe

It bears repeating that this is the way to market in the modern world. THIS is what we have based the starting of our theatre upon. Don't rush to get a space and then do all you want to do as a theatre. Do it now and let your tribe gather around you, tweak, rinse, repeat and then when you open your doors, you already have an audience.

Choose your customers first- Seth Godin

It seems obvious, doesn't it? Each cohort of customers has a particular worldview, a set of problems, a small possible set of solutions available. Each cohort has a price they're willing to pay, a story they're willing to hear, a period of time they're willing to invest.

And yet...

And yet too often, we pick the product or service first, deciding that it's perfect and then rushing to market, sure that the audience will sort itself out. Too often, though, we end up with nothing.

Examples:

The real estate broker ought to pick which sort of buyer before she goes out to buy business cards, rent an office or get listings. 

The bowling alley investor ought to pick whether he's hoping for serious league players or girls-night-out partiers before he buys a building or uniforms.

The yoga instructor, the corporate coach, the app developer--in every case, first figure out who you'd like to do business with, then go make something just for them. The more specific the better...