Who is your true target market?
Do you really know what kind of person is the best possible customer for your small business?
The answer may not be as obvious as you would assume. Even when you are selling a product or service that seems perfect for a certain type of customer – the people who will actually respond to what you’re offering might be the complete opposite.
Take this example from expert copywriter Jim Curley who recently wrote a guest post for his copywriting pal John Carlton’s blog.
Curley wrote about a self defense company he has worked with and their experience with finding the right target market. Who do you think would be the best customer for products like this?
Curley hypothetically asks who would need a self defense tool or class? Women are the logical answer. Unfortunately, they tend to be victims of assault and other violent crimes more often than men. You would think most ladies would be looking for a way to protect and defend themselves.
However, the truth is that the buyers of self defense products and manuals are almost all men.
For some reason, most women aren’t interested in such products – even if they are the ones who actually need to fight back.
The company Curley worked with tried to sell to women – but even the best marketing message they could dream up barely moved the sales needle.
Hopefully it’s not too late for you to cancel that shipment of pink taser guns.
The point here is that you can’t guess or make an assumption. As the say – when you assume it makes a you-know-what out of u and me.
Sorry – but sometimes to get the right answer you have to do some actual work.
You can order custom folders and use them to send out surveys or questionnaires to a wide variety of people. Don’t limit it to who you think your target market might be – get a good selection. The wider the scope of your research is – the more accurate the results. Plus – your custom folders can be another tool to help you create brand recognition for your small business. So you’ll be getting double duty out of your folders.
You also need to take a close look at your competitors, conduct research online and read publications relating to your industry. Staying educated takes some of that guess work out of the equation.
Anne Holland – the founder and former president of MarketingSherpa also believes going with your “gut feeling” can lead you down the wrong path. Holland is a big supporter of split testing. That’s the research process of comparing the results and reactions connected to one thing against another. You can conduct split testing on everything from different physical products, to the color scheme of your website, or even the way you answer the phone.
Visit her site Which Test Won and see if your gut feeling leads you to the right answer or not.
As you focus the marketing efforts of your small business, keep in mind that your “gut feeling” is a feeling – not a fact.
But here is a fact:
The Folder Store is the best place for you to order folders online if you’re looking for professional presentation folders with the option to design them yourself or have expert artists work on designing fantastic folders for you!
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