Wondering exactly who you can best serve in your small business? Here are a few ways to hone in on your target market.
- Draw a picture of your ideal customer (or client). How old? What gender? How does this person dress? Where does the person shop? What does she (or he) spend discretionary income on? Has she (or he) bought products or services similar to yours before?
- Figure out where your target market hangs. If you had 3 tickets that would take you anywhere you could meet potential customers or clients, where would the tickets take you? Where online would your target market be found? Where locally?
- Once you have some ideas about who your prospects are, flip your questions around. Can you describe who you are not targeting? Who would be your least ideal customer or client? Where would they never hang out?
I was listening to a video interview the other day with Ramit Sethi, who was talking about why business owners fail when their target markets and what they offer are too broad. He used the term “ultimate specificity.” Make sure what you offer has ultimate specificity, and make sure who you are looking to serve is as specific as possible, too. Keep honing it down.
You make it so much easier for yourself as a small business owner AND for the people who truly want and need your services to find you when you have this focus and clarity. Work at answering all the questions above – and if you need help, let me know!
Here’s to genuine, unstoppable growth for you and your business.
Thank you for sharing these tips. It’s such a critical piece of being able to grow your business. Serving “anyone” and “everyone” is never a good strategy! Honing in on your ideal client by using these questions is a must!
Great tips Sue – I thought I knew my market well but your point about “flipping your questions around. Can you describe who you are not targeting? Who would be your least ideal customer or client? Where would they never hang out?” really got me even more focused thanks!
This is an important process to go through. It always amazes me when people are not even able to express in their two minute introductions what they do or who they serve, These tips will help them with that as well.
Sue, these are fantastic tips! Thank you for reminding me to constantly be aware of who my target audience is!
Awesome! Well said. Now I need a follow up article, for once you’ve niched yourself into the 3 main cities where your target markets are, how do you reach the people who are still your targets but don’t live in the major cities… and if your answer is “come stay with me for a long weekend in Nashville..” I’m there! 🙂
LOL Jessica, you no doubt would find some of your market in Nashville, given that entertainment is big biz here. You could reach your target folks in other cities by doing one-stop one-day workshops in a city tour type of campaign – but to get the people in the seats you’ll have to buy traffic, I believe.
Great article, I also like the suggestion to think about who is NOT your ideal client. This will help to clarify and focus on the ideal client.
Those are really great specific tips to hone in on ideal customers! 🙂 Katherine
Great tips, Sue! It is so important to define your target market. I’m not sure if you mean to literally draw a picture of your ideal client, but I’m going to do that. What a fun and creative way to get even clearer. I also love the ticket idea! Another idea I heard the other day is to figure out which smartphone apps your ideal clients would likely use.
Like the smartphone apps – if your market uses smart phones. 🙂