Marketing Mistake #1. You don’t know to whom you are marketing.
It is too easy to fall into the trap of simply hanging your shingle that reads “Open For Business.” Yes. Selling is a numbers game. Yes. There are lots of people who want and/or need your services. Yes. No matter what you do, some mud will stick now and then if you sling enough of it resulting in a few new business transactions.
But if you don’t have all the time in the world, then it is far more prudent to focus on a tightly specified area of interest. Quite frankly, I don’t care what this focus involves or who it involves. I am simply reminding you that the tighter your focus, the more successful you will be in the long run. Know whom you want to do business with.
I can hear many of you now. “With today’s economy being what it is, I’ll do business with anybody who can fog a mirror.” Go ahead. But don’t tell me I didn’t tell you so.
Why not take a look at your current customer base in the next few weeks and see if you can see a pattern … a common thread that runs through your client base. I am hoping that you do. And when you do, then I want you to start focusing more attention toward this specific group.
Harley bikers? Bus groups for seasoned people? School trips? Golf outings? Sporting events? Small businesses? Large businesses? Trips to Italy? Cruises? Home-based businesses? Owners of one-eyed dogs? There are only four hundred million examples I could use. If you want a lesson in reality as it relates to interest groups, take a field trip to your local Barnes & Noble book store and walk the magazine rack.
There is a magazine for virtually every hobby, trend or whim in the universe…. and there are hundreds of them…. and more on the way. (Good news: Our planet is nearng 7 Billion people. That’s with a “B.” If you can manage just 1/100 of 1% …. you do the math.)
As our planet continues to fill up with people, they tend to hang with people who exhibit similar tastes.
These are the groups I am asking you to identify. Once you know who you are going to market to, your life becomes instantly more enjoyable. You will find that this is easier said than done. Most worthwhile things are.
Mike Marchev