In our last newsletter, we talked about the pitfalls that come with not fully expanding your marketing strategy through an integrated plan of communications. Believe it or not, you can also be too ambitious when it comes to marketing. A former colleague of ours used to say, “It’s impossible to boil the ocean,” meaning you’ll never accomplish your goals if your goals are unconquerably large. In marketing, it’s important to really understand your niche and who best benefits from the services your company offers. From that, you can concentrate your marketing efforts on the select target audiences that would be most profitable to go after.

The concept of “understanding your target audience” is, ironically, one of the most misunderstood in small business management. It is not enough to know whom you should go after, but how you should go after them as well. Most entrepreneurs and business owners think they understand their target audience. After all, you wouldn’t go into business unless you had a viable business plan and a group of people you thought your company could help. But understanding your target markets and their needs is far more complicated.

Although seemingly counterintuitive, ignore your business senses telling you that you must conquer all. Start small. Really decide what your actual key markets are, and then focus and conquer those. When you differentiate your product, it is essential to differentiate your target audience and message too. Narrow your focus—are you going after healthcare, or is it really hospitals that you’re targeting? Is it tourism, or is it casinos and nightlife? Analyze whom it is that your business serves and then work outwards to conquer larger markets. You’ll never be able to convince everyone in the marketplace that they need your product or service, so don’t even try.

Decide not only whom you’re going after, but how you’re going after them. Different audiences have different psychographic personas, purchasing behavior and media consumption habits. Even within industries, specific businesses differ. Individuals have different titles, departments and job functions. They may even belong to different associations within their industry. Businesses in every industry come in all sizes, employ all kinds of people and are located in all regions of the world. A hospital in Austin may have different concerns and priorities than one in Sacramento. All markets are not equal. Understand the behavior and needs of your potential customers so you will have a better chance of capturing them through a tailored message.

Finally, listen to your current customers. They may offer the biggest clues in helping you zero in on new profitable target markets. Pay attention to how customers are using your product and take note—you may be surprised that audiences you didn’t originally target are using your product or services in ways you did not originally intend.

Understanding your target audience goes beyond pigeonholing them into the same category, and blindly marketing the same way to everyone will get you nowhere. After all, you can’t hit your target unless you know where you’re aiming.

• Is Mass Personalization Possible? - Duct Tape Marketing
  
  
• No Need to Boil the Ocean - The Marketing Survivalist
  
  
• Generate Buzz About Your Business - Entrepreneur Magazine

1. Analyze what makes your business different, then narrow your focus to the specific target audiences you’re really going after.

2. Strive for depth, not breadth. Once you know the markets you should be targeting, aim to dominate.

3. Study your target markets to figure out the best marketing tactics and techniques to reach them.

Schedulefly, the leading provider of online employee scheduling technology tailored for the restaurant industry, needed a marketing agency that would help them increase profits, grow their customer base and gain Schedulefly recognition as a leader amongst entrepreneurial companies. That's where M-pact Marketing stepped in.

Check out how M-pact Marketing was able to help Schedulefly double their conversion rates in no time at all.