How well is your marketing promoting your goods and services? Time and again when interviewing business owners, salespersons, and marketers, I find their marketing message falls short because of confusion over a target market versus a target audience. This simple strategic marketing mistake costs dearly because the customer is left confused. Confused customers are less inclined to buy.
Defining your target audience's needs, wants, hopes, and aspirations helps offer assurance that you understand them and how to help solve their problem. Their comfort that you can identify their specific problem draws them to a conclusion that you are more appropriate and capable of caring for them.
Communicating in generalities leaves customers guessing. Here are two examples of ads from home heating and air conditioning companies in a June local paper.
Ad #1 reads: "We're the number one HVAC specialists. Call us for all your needs."
Ad #2 reads: "Has your home air conditioning system just stopped? Call and be cool soon."
Advertiser #2 has invested a bit more time that speaks to the specific needs of his target audience. It may appear a more expensive and narrow strategy, but the real test is not the number of calls, but the number of qualified calls. What do you think, will #2 beat #1?
Follow this simple On-Purpose Business Person rule of thumb: Market your business in your self interest and invite others to join you in their self interest.
Need help defining your target market and target audience? That is just a nibble of the knowledge you'll gain to better organize and operate your small business in ONPURPOSE@WORK. Time is running out to enroll. Watch Webcast 1: Money to learn more about becoming an on-purpose business person.
