How Prince Connects With His Target Market!

While Internet legend (and young pup) Frank Kern would have you believe that I'm so old I should be confined to a wheelchair, I'm still on the good side of 100! And I can stil enjoy a good concert from time to time.

My daughter - Rachel, my wife and I had the good fortune to score some last-minute tickets to the recent Prince concert here in Atlanta. The concert itself was nothing short of amazing. Prince is a master musician who really knows how to play to his audience - and play his audience.

Of course, marketing concepts and lessons to be learned are never far from my mind - and this concert was no exception.

Morris Day and the Time kicked off the concert with a few songs to get the crowd revved up. And inquiring minds got the first clue about how they would do that.

In their 30-40 minute set, they mentioned Atlanta, A-T-L or Georgia about 20 times.

Questions like "Are you ready to party...Atlanta?" "Tell me, Georgia, are you ready for a good time tonight?"

Statements like "We love A-T-L!"

Even if you've never been to a concert before you imagine the roar of the crowd at every single mention of... the specific thing they could identify with.

But Prince absolute took this to a higher level. I lost track of exact count, but we're talking 70-80 mentions of those magic words. And the crowd never lost interest or got bored of hearing them. Perfect proof that people never get tired of hearing positive things about themselves!

But what really took down the house and gave Prince and his band ownership of these thousands of people for the night (and probably several days to come) was the salute to the late great Ray Charles. One of the horn players delivered an outstanding version of "Georgia On My Mind" to a standing ovation. Now, it may be that they do this at every concert, but it's particularly poignant in Georgia.

The important marketing lesson here is that you need to create a connection with your target market. And you can't do that effectively with generic phrases.

Look at these choices to open a headline:

"Drivers:"

Who cares?

"Truck Drivers:"

A bit more defined. Some possible identification.

"Long Haul Truck Drivers:"
"Rusted Out Truck Drivers:"
"King Cab Truck Drivers:"
"Dump Truck Drivers:"

Immediately, your brain does a quick test to see if you identify with one of these. If you do, there's a little part of you that says, "Hey...that's me!"

Depending on your target, you may be able to move in a little tighter like:

"Georgia Long Haul Truck Drivers:"
"Cowboy King Cab Truck Drivers:"
"Texas Cowboy King Cab Truck Drivers:"

Can you see how the more you narrow down your target, the more the prospect identifies that this message is for him?

When you can make that happen, your prospect pays more Attention and you get a little closer to making a sale.

You can also target in by creating identification with a problem:

"Are You Overworked And Underpaid?" (Note: Combine this phrase with "Georgia Long Haul Truckers" and see how your readership will skyrocket.)

"Allergy Sufferers:"
"Parents Of Children With ADHD:"
"To The Wife Whose Husband Won't Save A Dime:"

Obviously, you only want to use ideas that lead into the solution you want to sell. But these lead-ins help you follow the classic sales pattern of

Identify A Problem

Agitate The Reader About The Problem (like picking a scab)

Deliver The Perfect Solution

As my friend and mentor Dan Kennedy would say:

If you can identify the 2 or 3 things that keep your prospect awake at 3 a.m. - with his stomach churning from the boiling acid - then you can truly step into the shoes of your prospect and create instant identification with him.

So the next time that you're thinking about your marketing and sales campaigns (which should be most of the time), take a few moments to focus on how you can more closely identify with your target.

Yours in success,

Shawn Casey

Internet Millionaire Shawn Casey's "Mining Gold On the Internet" is one of the best selling Internet books with over 85,000 copies sold. In "Mining Gold", Shawn reveals the same step-by-step strategies he uses to create millions in Internet sales => http://www.ipcgold.com/ad/100/CD3839 Benefit from Shawn's 7 years of Internet experience and learn from someone who has actually made millions online.

---

Two kinds of Advertising for a Marketing Strategy

Advertising is the lifeblood of any business. If you do... Read More

Getting More From Your Customer

We are all customers of one product or another. How... Read More

5 Ways To Entice Your Parallel Market to Trade Links

Lots of people get confounded when attempting to exchange links,... Read More

2 Step Marketing

Do it Right.I receive postcards all the time. The other... Read More

Marketing Miracles - Do They Just Happen?

A simple answer to that is: Yes, Marketing Miracles happen!... Read More

Multicultural Marketing ? Taking Care of Business At Hand

Multicultural marketing mirrors the changed face of America and is... Read More

Cause-Related Marketing

Altruism. Corporate responsibility. Philanthropy. These are often used to describe... Read More

How to Set Up & Organize Your Customer Mailing List For Optimum Results

Your list of customers who have previously bought from you... Read More

Meaning and Marketing - The Trigger

In previous articles under "Meaning and Marketing", we have learned... Read More

Marketing Success Defined

How do you personally define success? High income? Substantial net... Read More

Why You Buy, Part Two

More of the findings of the recent studies in behavioral... Read More

Building Credibility for Your Business

Small companies that rely on business-to-business sales often find it... Read More

Writing Guarantees that Sell

"This offer is good but can you guarantee it."Why write... Read More

Be a Smarter Marketer - Learn the L-A-W for Trade Shows

People attend trade shows because they are in a specific... Read More

Practical Advice to Generate Successful Campaigns Using Merged Lists

You could end up with poor results when designing a... Read More

Are Corporate Awards and Corporate Gifts Beneficial for Your Business?

With the increased challenges that all companies are faced with,... Read More

Making Networking Work

Several years ago, "networking" was the hot buzzword. Everyone was... Read More

Simple Marketing Strategies Versus an SEO Line of Attack!

Each and every day those of us on the Internet... Read More

Grow Your Business By Getting Your Customers Buying From You More Often - 35 Ideas

35 Ideas to Spark Your Creativity:There are 3 ways to... Read More

Get Personal: Letters vs. Direct Mail

One of the reasons direct mail works is the personal... Read More

Sell More Online By Offering a Big Fat BONUS!

I don't know about you, but I secretly love watching... Read More

Beware: Marketing Sinkholes Ahead!

Life provides your business with enough opportunities for failure. Don't... Read More

Free Sample Sales Letter: Example of How to Write a Persuasive Business Marketing Letter

Here is an example of a business-to-business sales letter mailed... Read More

If My Work is Good Enough

"If My Work is Good Enough, I Shouldn't Have to... Read More

Top 3 Reasons Why Your Headlines Fail

Many professional copywriters estimate that the headline contributes to 80%... Read More

Send Postcards To Save Money and Cut Through E-mail Clutter

Use your computer to send personalized color postcards in quantities... Read More

Moving a Business Relationship from Free to Fee: Power of Freebies - Part 2

In the last issue we looked at 5 reasons why... Read More

How to Add Warmth, Color & Texture to Your Advertisements

"?A powerful agent is the right word?" --Mark TwainAnd what... Read More

Mortgage Marketing and Advertising ? The Magical Ingredient

Do you offer superior service, consistently close loans on time... Read More

Discovering The Benefits That Hook Your Prospect

Benefits! They're what marketing is all about. No doubt you've... Read More

Marketing Hesitation Costs Dearly

Timing is everything. Hate to be late? The early bird... Read More

Is A Marketing Plan The Same Thing As A Communications Plan?

How does a marketing plan relate to an organization's communications... Read More

Do You Have This Important Tool in Your Marketing Arsenal?

Many business owners do not understand the authenticity and validation... Read More