Identify The Ideal Target Audience With These 5 Tips

Narrowing your focus to one primary group of people is often difficult for small business owners. They want to help everyone - and very often their product or service CAN help a variety of people.

It also goes against human nature to narrow your focus in order to grow a business. Common sense seems to tell us if we want to grow our business big, we need to appeal to more people.

In reality the opposite is true. When we narrow our focus to a particular group of people we become an expert in solving their particular problems. We get to know them very well and we can develop additional products and services to fill their needs.

So how do you decide who to market to?

Following are 5 tips:

1) Think about the type of people who can MOST benefit from what you have to offer.

2) Think about who you would most enjoy helping, or working with.

3. Think about the type of people who will be easiest to reach, AND who will be most receptive to what you are selling. These will be people who KNOW they have THE problem you can solve and are LOOKING for a solution.

4) Know that just because you select a particular group of people to focus your marketing on, does NOT mean you can't help others who may come to you. It only means you're going to focus your proactive marketing efforts on the target group you select.

5) Lastly, don't over-think it. Listen to your gut, pick a group you feel you can really help and proceed with the development of your marketing plan. Marketing is a fluid process. The important thing is to start. You can always refine your audience and your plan later as you learn more.

(C) 2005 Debbie LaChusa

20-year marketing veteran Debbie LaChusa created The 10stepmarketing System to help small business owners successfully market their business, themselves, without spending a fortune on marketing. To learn more about this simple, step-by-step program and to sign up for her FREE audio class and FREE weekly ezine featuring how-to articles, tips and advice, visit http://www.10stepmarketing.com

---

Marketing With Brochures

With the explosion of the internet and online businesses many... Read More

Beyond Fear And Greed: Emotions That Sell

Fear and Greed. The stock-in-trade of sales. Appeal to them,... Read More

Determining Marketing Effectiveness Even If You Didnt Track

What if you've done a variety of marketing activities over... Read More

Promotional Lanyards to Market Your Products and Services

It has become fairly common place to see Id badges... Read More

Does The Market Really Want It?

At the very heart of any successful marketing strategy is... Read More

Using Alternative Media to Generate More Customers

Last week I received a very nice thank you gift... Read More

Postcards: Awareness Tool or Selling Tool?

Are postcards better for building awareness or for selling?In my... Read More

Four Simple Ways to Cut Your Trade Show Marketing Budget in Half

Many times when a trade show is planned for there... Read More

Direct Mail Personalization

A colleague who does work for a nonprofit organization contacted... Read More

Small Business Pricing: Setting A Price For Your Product / Service

The importance of pricing can not be underestimated as incorrect... Read More

How Can I Break Into Cliques?

Have you ever gone to a networking function and seen... Read More

Do You Have This Important Tool in Your Marketing Arsenal?

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

Identifying, Creating and Using Your USP?

What's your USP? Don't know, or worse still, you've never... Read More

Happy Hunting!

Before you ever get on the telephone, send a marketing... Read More

10 Steps to a Great Newsletter

A newsletter can be a wonderful, economical way to communicate... Read More

Perceived Value Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

Q: My partner and I are having a hard time... Read More

Marketing: Are You Focused?

In early 1992, President George H.W. Bush was riding high.... Read More

Take the Logo Litmus Test

Here is your C.I.T.T. (pronounced "kit")[Color ? Illustrate? Type ?... Read More

Connecting With Your Clients

Many service professionals tell me that they are uncomfortable with... Read More

Make Your Marketing Solve a Problem

You may be engaged in a marketing activities that are... Read More

Mail Orders Most Common Mistakes

THE GREAT MAIL ORDER MYTH There are a number of... Read More

How to Measure the Benefit Your Product or Service Offers

Measuring the benefit of your product or service means putting... Read More

4 Ways to Get a Prospects Attention Fast

Can you remember the last dozen advertising messages beamed at... Read More

Use Events to Market on the Internet

Having difficulty knowing what to offer people online? Worried that... Read More

How To Make More Money

The biggest crime in small businesses today goes unnoticed by... Read More

A Common - Yet Easily Avoidable - Marketing Mistake

December is a month in which many organizations make plans... Read More

Creating Great Charts for Persuasive Trade Show Presentations

A well-designed chart can be one of the most persuasive... Read More

T.E.A.M Profit

As you network and meet other business owners, keep this... Read More

Misrepresentation - Through Silence!

We're back to the subject of ethics, more specifically, business... Read More

Five Steps to a Web Site That Sells

I'm always amazed that people would spend months to develop... Read More

Your REALTOR® Marketing Plan

The steps to creating an effective marketing plan begin with... Read More

The Anatomy of Hype

On a copywriting board I frequent, someone expressed bafflement that... Read More

Five Cheap Tricks for Promoting Your Business

If you're like me, you're always looking for ways to... Read More