If you think that selling to the widest possible market is the best path to success, think again.
When you think of your business, view it as a delectable piece of chocolate that is mouthwatering, rich and satisfying. What happens to that piece of chocolate when the formula to create it is tampered with and diluted? It tastes different, loses its appeal and is no longer a specialty.
Target marketing, on the other hand, maintains the appeal and quality of the specialty chocolate. Instead of selling to everyone, target marketing offers a service and/or products to a carefully identified audience.
Say you are a writer who specializes in science fiction, but you’re in a creative slump. Then you hear that nonfiction self-help books sell well. You get excited thinking about all the easy money you can make by giving people advice. So you leave your specialty behind and jump ship to become the next self-help guru. Six months later, you hire one to put you back together.
In the time you wasted on being something you’re not, you could have easily moved beyond your creative dry spell and hopped back on track as a sci-fi writer.
Have you determined your target market? Once you do and study the unique characteristics of that market, you will avoid wasting time and money.
When defining your market, make sure:
» The market is growing not shrinking.
» That members of the market have the ability to pay what you charge.
» That they have a need or desire for what you sell.
» That they can be easily reached by phone, email, social media and/or snail mail.
Once you know your target market, you can identify and network with top decision makers. You can track industry trends by reading publications and seek out opportunities to get your product or service in front of people with a genuine interest in your business.
So what will it be? Marketing to the general public or to a well-defined targeted market? It’s your decision. However, with no intention to sway you one way or the other, on the whole, people who practice target marketing earn more than generalists.
My advice: Don’t dilute the chocolate.
— Through her business, Mindset Management, Susan Ann Darley coaches and writes for businesses, entrepreneurs and artists from all disciplines. She offers a complimentary coaching session. For more information, click here, email her at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call 805.845.3036.
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