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Ready, Aim, Fire! 3 Steps to Designing Your Targeted Marketing Plan
Many small businesses fall prey to attempting to be all things to all people. The reality is no business will ever attract ALL the consumers; therefore, it stands to reason that we should focus our time, energy and resources on identifying a select group rather than trying to reach across the mass market. For this reason, it becomes important to pinpoint, as closely as possible, exactly who the potential buyers are. The process of identifying the most likely customers and creating a tailor-fit marketing campaign addressed exclusively for those potential customers is known as target marketing. Target marketing is the strategy of focusing your marketing efforts on a distinct group of potential customers. When properly conceived, designed and implemented, target marketing can help increase customer satisfaction, improve brand loyalty and gain an edge over competitors. Is it Really That Important? The short answer is yes. Consider mainstream corporate America. Early in my career, I worked for a large field office of a market research firm. Over the years, we surveyed consumers on a wide variety of items - from food items to perfumes, from cleaning products to alcoholic beverages and duct tape. We screened commercials, storyboards, print ads, slogans, and radio commercials. Our clients would fly in from all over the country to sit behind two-way glass just so they could get a glimpse into the minds of their target audience. All this to say, big businesses know that the time they spend honing their message will save them time and expense when they introduce the product to the market. If a particular ad concept falls short of their expectations, it is far easier to make changes in the early stages of production rather than when the ad is actually in print. The same rules apply to small business owners. When you conduct target marketing, it is critical that you fine-tune your product or service to meet the precise need of your chosen target market. Positioning your brand as the obvious choice for a particular niche can pay strong dividends. Becoming the "go to" expert in your field can provide the keystone to building a brand that stands out from the competition. Best of all, once you have achieved this status - you will begin to see that you are gaining sales due to the merits of your product and reputation, and not strictly based upon price. Get Ready The steps that you take in the preparation of your marketing campaign are among the most crucial to its success. It is in this stage that you consider market segmentation - a process in which you divide the total market into distinct sub-groups of buyers who have distinct needs or wants, or are likely to respond differently to certain products or marketing mixes. Market segments are often defined by many different factors - geographic location, age, gender, socio-economic standings, and lifestyle preferences (i.e. pet owners, health-conscious consumers, etc.). In order to be able to drill down to the most specific demographics of your audience, it is imperative that you know WHO your customer is. Taking Aim Now that we have defined the market segment we wish to target, it's time to take aim. In this stage, we are evaluating the market segments we've identified in order to determine their potential. The attractiveness of a market segment is determined by factors such as its size, growth rate, current and potential competition, brand loyalty of current customers in the segment, projected market share, sales prospects and expected profitability in the segment. Based on the evaluation, one or more of the segments may be selected for your business to target. However, the final decision to zero-in on a particular market segment also depends largely on its suitability to the objectives, resources and capabilities of your home business. Fire Off that Campaign! The final step in the process involves designing a detailed and effective marketing mix that will resonate with and appeal to your chosen market segment. Your marketing efforts should be coordinated into a concerted effort to successfully reach your target buyers - and should strike a balance between pricing, distribution, promotions, and product specifications. Despite what media format your message is presented in, consumers will receive the same message. Knowing that consumers must be presented with your message on the average of seven times, the need to make those messages cohesive becomes much more evident. Likewise, the value of target marketing is enhanced - the identified market segments are more receptive, and tend to respond favorably to your marketing efforts. Marketing without a plan is like winking at a pretty girl in the dark. You know what you're trying to achieve, but the object of your interest remains unaware. In either case, despite the best of intentions, you're still going to miss the mark.
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