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Watch any entrepreneur/start up related show and all you’ll hear is ‘niche, niche, niche’. You have to have one, it’s that simple. The world is too big and you’re just too small to target every single person who ‘might’ have an interest in your business, at least to start off with. So you need to identify the people who WILL, you need to find the customers who are already looking for you. You need to be relevant, interesting and most of all…visible.
In targeting a specific market, you’re not giving the middle finger to everyone else on the planet…you’re simply focusing your efforts on the most profitable outcome. Ever hear of the ‘jack of all trades and master of none’? Don’t be that guy.
So now that I have your attention, here’s what you need to do.
1.Go all ‘Sherlock Holmes’ on your current customers.
Who are they? What do they buy from you? Why do they buy from you? Which ones buy the most? Are there any common characteristics amongst them? If you have 100 customers purchasing from you who are all females aged 18-25, then it might be time to take down that display ad over on the horse racing website… (Unless 18 year old girls behave very differently in your town!)
2.Check out (stalk) your Competitors
Who are they targeting? What is their current customer base like? Sure you can go head to head with them and target the same market, but wouldn’t it be much more fun to identify your OWN niche by pitching to a demographic they have yet to identify?
3.Analyze your Product/Service
You do this with by utilizing the two key tools in every salespersons toolkit– features and benefits. What are the benefits of your product? What type of customer has needs which will be fulfilled by these benefits? Once you’ve identified these, you have a good starting point to work from.
4.Create a Customer Profile
Now that you’ve identified the people who have a need for your product, you need to target the segment that is most likely to buy it. Think about demo-graphical factors such as age, gender, location, occupation, marital status, income level. You also need to look at Psycho-graphic information such as their hobbies, lifestyle, values and behaviors. This information is crucial, as it will tell you exactly who will buy from you and why.
5.Where does your customer hang out?
It’s not enough simply knowing who your customer is; you need to find them too. What websites do they visit? What mobile apps do they use? What social platforms do they prefer?
6. Track your efforts
Keep an eye on your market daily. Ensure you’re constantly researching your niche, staying on top of current trends and constantly identifying any improvements that could be made.
Once you implement these key points and define your target audience, you’ll be on the road to having a much better return on investment due to a much more efficient and streamlined marketing process!