Why You Should Use Target Marketing

I’ve met a lot of business owners that believe target marketing is counter-intuitive.  Why would a business put a constraint on sales revenue growth?  Don’t we want to sell to everybody?

That’s where the misconception may be at play.  Target marketing isn’t about walking away from a sale.  It’s about directing business development efforts toward prospects that offer the best potential.  The reason… it pays big dividends by making B2B marketing tactics and messaging much more effective.  It gives a brand the focus it needs to resonate with fans and helps avoid squandering precious resources.  Read on to discover five specific reasons why. 

1. Better products and services.  Using a market-driven strategy in new product development is critical to successful business growth.  We learn in Marketing 101 that new products are the lifeblood of any company.  It’s a notion the best brands have followed for decades.  Defining the target market and its most important unmet needs is essential to a company’s ability to bring successful products to market.  I saw how well this works when I marketed medical devices.  We sent industrial designers into the field to observe how nurses and respiratory therapists (our target market) used our devices when caring for patients.  Numerous new product features came from those activities.

2. Retain customers. We work so hard to attract new customers.  Companies who have defined their target have a much better chance of holding onto customers.  In fact, astute companies make customer retention a top goal.

3. Selection of search terms.  Smart companies aren’t just building a good looking web site.  They’re doing everything possible to drive traffic to the site.  That includes identifying the right search terms so that folks who are Googling for their type of product will find them online.  A better definition of your target audience enables you to make better decisions about search terms.

4. Group selections on Linked In.  There are over 1.5 million groups on Linked In.  How are you going to decide which ones to join? Assuming you have chosen to participate actively on Linked In, you need to define your target market before you can make good decisions about which groups to spend time on.  And Linked In isn’t the only social media platform where a well-defined target market will help.  It also helps your brand make the right decisions on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

5. Better definition of market need. The golden rule of content marketing is demonstrating that you understand your markets’ needs.  The only way to do that is to define who your target market is (and, of course, how your product meets their need or solves their problem better than any alternative).

When developing a strategic marketing plan, be sure to remember these reasons why defining the target market is essential.  And this is not an exhaustive list. Just as there are many marketing tactics available to grow your business, there are many reasons behind having a well-defined target market.  More to come on this subject in the future!

Who is Affinity Strategy Marketing, Inc.? Affinity is a marketing firm that works with small to mid-size companies that need both strategic and tactical marketing support. Clients access as much assistance as they need in growing their business profitably.  Sign up for our newsletter on our Facebook page.