Marketing Mistake Number 2:
Not Targeting the RIGHT MARKET
Who is your target market?
Just because you tried marketing before (using direct mail, email, Google, Facebook, flyers, etc.) doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. Look at your message to see if it matches up with the RIGHT MARKET.
I was consulting with a local pizza shop a while back and they told me they mailed a round of postcards out, but it didn’t bring in any business, so they felt all direct mail wouldn’t work.
I asked them who the send the postcards to, and they said to a local apartment complex. I told them that’s interesting… Your pizza is the highest priced in town so you decided to send postcards to an apartment complex?
Well, here’s the problem. I lived in an apartment for 3 years. When I was there, I didn’t have a lot of money, and what I did have I was trying to save so I could get a house.
When I wanted pizza, I went to Georgio’s where you could get a large pizza for $5. The pizza shop I was consulting with has pizzas ranging from $6.95 for an 8” (You do realize how small an 8” pizza is, right?) to $8.95 for a 12”. Oh, and that only includes cheese. Want extra toppings? $1 for each topping. What’s that? You want premium toppings? Sorry, that’s going to be an extra $1.25 a piece.
By the time you create the pizza you want, you’re spending double digits… and that’s just a small (Sorry kids, maybe you can eat tomorrow).
Can you see the problem here? It’s not that postcards don’t work; it’s this pizza shop targeted the wrong market.
Here’s another example:
If you were going to market tampons, where would you advertise? Would you get a giant ad in Men’s Fitness or Cosmopolitan?
Cosmopolitan, of course! You have to hangout where your prospects hang out. No guy is going to look at the tampon ad in Men’s Fitness and think, “Maybe I should buy some tampons today.” It ain’t gonna happen.
So, I have to ask you, who is your target market? Do you really know who you’re market is or are you fishing the ocean with a prayer that any ‘ole fish will bite?
Now, you’re probably wondering, “But, Daaavid. I don’t know who my target market is. How do I find out?”
Good question. The easiest way to find out is to look at your current customers and clients. Who are they, what do they do, and where do they live?
If most of your clients are married and have two kids and live in so-and-so part of town, then you know where to target your marketing.
If you have a pet shop that specializes in dogs, you’re not going to market to someone who doesn’t have a dog, right? Of course not. You’re not here to waste marketing dollars. You’re here to make money.
It doesn’t matter what business you’re in. You need to find out who your target market is and market to them.
Also, you can market a geographic location. In Real Estate, we call this “farming.” You pick an area you want to do business in and constantly market that neighborhood. With all the wonderful technology we have, not only can you send postcards and newsletters directly to these prospects, but you can now target geographic locations online via Facebook and Google!
Once you know who you’re target market is it’s time to get your message out to them!
Your Plan of Action:
- Look at your current list of customers and figure out who they are, what they do, where do they hang out. Be sure to make a list.
- Once you find out where your customers hang out, start hanging out there yourself! Get magazines, get news articles, go on online forums and start reading up. You want to get inside the head of your customer, so you can talk like your customer!
Tomorrow, you’ll receive Marketing Mistake Number 3: Not Using the RIGHT MEDIA.
So be on the lookout and be sure David@DukeOfMarketing.com is in your “safe senders” list. You don’t want to miss out on the next lesson!
Click the link below to go to the previous lesson:
Marketing Mistake Number 1: Not Sending the RIGHT MESSAGE