Do You Know Who Your Clients Are?
-By Yaseen
If you haven’t defined a target market for your business or private practice, you may actually be preventing yourself from getting clients. I often hear professionals and entrepreneurs say they don’t want to “limit” themselves by narrowing their marketing focus to a particular group. But the truth is that having a target market doesn’t limit your marketing; it aims it.
When clients show up at your door, you can choose to work with them regardless of whether they belong in your target market. But to go out and find new clients, you need some kind of organizing principle for your outreach efforts. The universe is simply too big to market to everyone in it.
Here are four more reasons why choosing a target market is so essential:
1. Targeting allows you to position yourself in the marketplace. With a particular type of client in mind, you can create an identity that appeals to exactly that group. A clear marketing identity will enable you to project a consistent image to those you wish to reach, and take advantage of the market appeal of factors like exclusivity and specialization.
2. Marketing to a defined group of clients will cost you less in both time and money. You will be able to locate leads and reach out to prospects much more easily, because you will be able to quickly identify who they are. With significantly less effort, you will be able to find places where clients gather, call them, mail them, and meet with them.
3. You can get to know your market better. When marketing to a finite universe, it becomes much more possible to meet your client base in person, build referral relationships, and increase word-of-mouth. You’ll be able to learn more about your market’s problems and concerns, and can tailor your services and your marketing messages more closely to match what they are seeking.
4. Targeting makes it possible to use attraction marketing. Broadcasting your marketing message to a mass audience is prohibitively expensive, no matter how you do it. Media advertising, trade show booths, direct mail, and publicity campaigns can reach thousands of people, but the cost can exceed the return. When you limit your audience to a group you can more easily reach, you can attract them through the lower-cost strategies of networking, writing, and speaking.