Contact Us

Free Resources

Rover Treat

 

Improving Your Aim

 

-- As seen in the Tuesday, April 27, 2010 Memphis Daily News, by Lori Turner, Managing Partner -- 

 

I was asked by a small business owner in a seminar how he should determine what his target markets are. 

 

It’s an important question, and I’ve run across more small business owners than you’d think who don’t have a clear answer. They’re not sure who they’re targeting and what those targeted prospects have in common.

 

If you’re a small business owner ask yourself, “What’s your target marketing strategy?”

 

Target marketing is about segmenting your prospective customers and choosing a vehicle and message that’s built specifically with them in mind.

 

It’s generally more efficient to attack a single segment or two at a time. This is especially true when you have a limited marketing budget.

 

It’s important to generate enough reach (number of prospects within that segment that see/hear your message) and frequency of message (the number of times those targeted prospects hear or see your message) before expanding your focus to additional segments.

 

So how do you determine the segment to target first? Begin by identifying your most profitable current customers. Segment the top10 percent of these customers.

 

Now think about what they have in common. Create a mental picture of the typical prospect. What is their demographic profile? Demographic information might include age, gender, geography, education, and average household income.

 

Sharpen the profile with psychographic traits such as values, interests, activities, attitudes and lifestyle. For instance, is your target conservative or liberal? What hobbies or causes do they pursue? Are they fun loving, environmentally minded, family oriented, or cutting edge?

 

If you don’t know your most profitable customers quite this well, don’t despair. There are a few easy ways to gather this information.

 

A data or list broker can take contact information on your most profitable customers and “append” or add demographic and psychographic data to it. Then just look for the commonalities.

 

You can also survey your most profitable customers to determine hobbies, interests, values, lifestyle, age, education level, household income, organizations they belong to, etc.

 

Once you have the profile, you’ll have a much better idea of the marketing channel and message combination that will appeal most.

 

Take the example of an investigative services firm that determined divorce lawyers were its most profitable client segment. Instead of taking a shotgun approach of cold calling law offices or a mass mailing, the firm ingeniously created its own targeted referral program.

 

Firm staff went to the courthouse library and slipped business cards into law books that were most likely to be used by divorce attorneys. A steady stream of divorce lawyers using the books saw the cards and assumed other attorneys used the firm. The tactic implied third-party credibility and generated more calls than the firm could handle. Consider how the result might have varied had the firm indiscriminately placed cards all over the library versus the targeted approach taken.

 

Before you worry about marketing fads, focus first on improving your aim. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, “In the long run, men hit only what they aim to.” Why not make it a profitable prospect?

 

Contact RedRover for support in planning and executing a successful sales and marketing strategy for your business.

 

Click here for other Rover Treats – low cost sales and marketing tips to keep you leader of the pack in an economy that's gone to the dogs.