You’re at a party.
You talk to EVERYONE there, but you say the exact same thing to all of them.
Do you think any of them will care what you have to say? Probably not.
Now imagine:You’re at the same party but you only talk to THREE people there. Before you do, however, you try to honestly understand their desires and interests. You find out what makes them “tick”. You say something to each of them that is specifically customized to who THEY ARE
Now what are the chances that they’ll care about what you have to say? Probably close to 100%!
Few people realize it but this is exactly what Target Marketing is all about. By shrinking our market size, we become far more valuable to those remaining in our market.
So how can you apply target marketing to your business? Do you need to hire a team of consultants to do market research and spend a fortune one focus groups?
NOT at all!
I like to say (Rule # 1 of the Rules of Attraction): “Become a bigger fish in a smaller pond.” These days you can use the principles of target marketing quite easily in ANY business without spending a dime. The key is doing the right kind of investigation by working smarter, not harder. All this requires is a little bit of planning.
Breaking it down into a few simple but very powerful steps:
1) Think about the kind of clients you’re looking to attract. Are they local? Small businesses? Homeowners? Do they pay their bills on time? Do they work weekends or just during the week? What makes them different from other people in the same profession? These are just a few things to consider.
2) Brainstorm some questions that you might ask. For example, if you’re an accountant, you may want to define the income-holding of the different segments of your prospect base, how they earn income, what their tax needs usually are, etc. If you are a tailor it might be discovering how far prospects are willing to drive to get to your shop, how much they typically spend on alterations, and who they perceive as being the “expert” in your area.
3) Once you have the questions written down, call a number of prospects and existing clients and ask them to lunch. Let them know you will not be selling them anything during this visit. This is CRITICAL! You simply want to understand THEIR NEEDS a little better. Taking them to lunch is an informal way to discover the criteria that will help you to narrow your core market (make the pond smaller). Take notes! If it makes sense for your prospect base, offer them a copy of your findings when you are done interviewing others in their industry.
4) Use any research that is already available. Look for studies on the prospects on which you are focusing your efforts. I talk about this in my Attract More Business seminars and in my new Target Marketing program. If we can fully understand the “GAP” in the marketplace then we can customize a solution that is inextricably tailored to fit bridge this gap.
5) Now compile all of the information you have gathered and review it to look for commonalities between your prospects and clients. This is where the greatest opportunity exists. Chances are this is where the least price sensitive opportunity exists as well. What a fabulous way to eliminate price erosion.
By following this method, you will learn FAR more about the motivations of your ideal prospects than just by surfing the web, reading trade journals, or simple guesswork.
Let’s take a look at an example of this in practice:
In the early 90’s my firm, the SBA Network decided to focus on the growing cosmetic surgery field. We launched an exhaustive research effort to learn everything we could about cosmetic surgery. We purchased several research studies for a few hundred dollars. The agency from which we purchased the studies told us we were one of only 12 organizations that had purchased the 2600 page study. This gave us an inordinate amount of information about the history of the industry, where it was heading, the most popular forms of surgery, technological advancements, changes in the demographics and psychographics of patients electing surgery, practice management issues, insurance and managed care issues, and the predicted potential reduction in the associated costs.
Additionally, we interviewed 30 different physicians and learned about their perceptions. We even talked to the president of the American Medical Association and invited him on our Small Business Hour radio show. I want to stress that although they all would have been great customers, we did NOT pitch ANY of these doctors. With all the information that we gained we were able to write several articles quoting all kinds of statistics about the future of various forms of cosmetic surgery. We were able to speak intelligently about nearly every area of this field. We became MORE knowledgeable in marketing and managing a cosmetic surgery practice than any plastic surgeon.
Because of months of research and a few hundred dollars, we were soon viewed as the EXPERTS in cosmetic surgery practice management and marketing. We were asked to attend an upcoming medical conference in Sacramento where I gave a speech on the future of cosmetic surgery. It was unbelievable. We gave seminars on practice management and marketing. We were asked to be editorial contributors to the industries’ trade publication. We were even asked to do a radio show by the massive pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Merck, which we did for 18 months on CBS radio.
As you can imagine, we were able to easily attract some of the most successful, well financed, and well respected cosmetic surgery clients in the industry in just a few short months. In fact, they begged us to take them on as a client! Companies like Sword Medical Center, Cedars Sinai Hospital, Plastico, Boston Medical, and Cosmetic and Laser Surgery all came to us. No cold calls, no mailings, no fancy brochures. We were able to secure a strong position in the market as the leaders in cosmetic surgery consulting. Can you do the same? YES, YES and YES!
It is far better to spend some extra time and money on understanding your prospects than to throw good money after bad on ad campaigns and mass marketing efforts where you hope to reel in some business. With just a little effort you can apply this mindset to your business. When you do, you will become the life of the party in your target market, rather than the boring guy that has to put a lampshade on his head to get their attention. Not to mention your bank account will grow significantly!
TAKE ACTION
If you live in Southern California and you’re looking to make this work in your business, sign-up for my Attract More Business Full Day Workshop in Long Beach or Pasadena. We will personally work with you to show you precisely how to apply this directly to your business. At the seminar we will not only teach you the rules of attraction, but we put your hand to paper and MAKE YOU develop a highly targeted attraction plan. I guarantee that every attendee will walk out of this workshop with a specific next step that will result in REVOLUTIONIZING your marketing efforts. In fact you will NEVER think about marketing the same way after spending a day with us.
The best part is if you sign up in the month of May we will GIVE YOU – that’s right, GIVE YOU our new Target Marketing Learning Program (a $99.00 value). This includes 2 CDs, a 50 page manual and our interactive forms all facilitated by me, Mark Deo teaching you exactly how to make this work in your business. This is a great preparatory tool for the workshop and can very well be the one-two punch that your business needs to make achieving your goals this year a reality.
Sign-up here: Attract More Business One Day Workshop.