Which Customers Should You Know Best of All?

There's a concept I've been thinking about for a while‚ the "Power Customer." It's not the customer who spends the most with you. It's the customer who, because of who they are and what they do, is regularly in a room with the exact people who need your services.

The commercial banker whose loan portfolio is made up of small business owners. The business attorney who incorporates new companies every week. The payroll company whose clients are exactly the employers you want.

These people don't just have the potential to refer you once. They're continuously circulating through your target market ‚ and their recommendation carries real weight because they're trusted advisors, not just acquaintances.

The hard part has always been identifying them. Until recently, it required guessing.

The Playbook Move

Ask Allie this:

"Of all of my connections who match my ideal customer, who are the top 5 in terms of the ideal customers they are connected to?"

That's it. Allie can see your connection graph and your ideal customer profile simultaneously. The answer tells you exactly which customers are sitting at the center of your referral network‚ the ones worth investing in building strong relationships with disproportionately.

Not investing in with discounts. Investing in with attention: staying in touch with something genuinely useful every 90 days, making sure you understand who they are looking to forge relationships with and investing in making those connections happen within your network, making sure they know precisely who to send your way, and asking for a specific introduction when the timing is right.

Note: Ask Allie is new functionality available to all paying members of Alignable. You can access it from the home page, network page, and many other pages across the application. Memberships start at only $23 per month (so for less than you are spending on coffee you could have insights like this and more).   

Your Action This Week

Log into Alignable and ask Allie that question. Get the names.

Then pick one. When did you last reach out with something useful ‚ not a pitch, something real? If it's been more than 90 days, send one message asking what you can do for them… this week.

A Question for You

Once you ask Allie and see the list‚ does the answer surprise you? Is the most connected customer someone you've been treating like any other account, or someone you've already been investing in?

I read every reply. If the answer surprises you, I'd genuinely like to know ‚ I'll feature the most interesting patterns in a future Playbook.