Ready, Aim, Fire! 3 Steps to Designing Your Targeted Marketing Plan

Many small businesses fall prey to attempting to be all things
to all people.

The reality is, no business will ever attract
ALL the consumers; therefore, it stands to reason that we should focus
our time, energy and resources on identifying a select group rather than
trying to reach across the mass market. For this reason, it becomes
important to pinpoint, as closely as possible, exactly who the potential
buyers are. The process of identifying the most likely customers and
creating a tailor-fit marketing campaign addressed exclusively for those
potential customers is known as target marketing.

Target
marketing is the strategy of focusing your marketing efforts on a
distinct group of potential customers. When properly conceived, designed
and implemented, target marketing can help increase customer
satisfaction, improve brand loyalty and gain an edge over competitors.

Is
it Really That Important?

The short answer is yes.

Consider mainstream corporate
America. Early in my career, I worked for a large field office of a
market research firm. Over the years, we surveyed consumers on a wide
variety of items – from food items to perfumes, from cleaning products
to alcoholic beverages and duct tape. We screened commercials,
storyboards, print ads, slogans, and radio commercials. Our clients
would fly in from all over the country to sit behind two-way glass just
so they could get a glimpse into the minds of their target audience.

All
this to say, big businesses know that the time they spend honing their
message will save them time and expense when they introduce the product
to the market. If a particular ad concept falls short of thier
expectations, it is far easier to make changes in the early stages of
production rather than when the ad is actually in print.

The
same rules apply to small business owners.

When you conduct
target marketing, it is critical that you fine-tune your product or
service to meet the precise need of your chosen target market.
Positioning your brand as the obvious choice for a particular niche can
pay strong dividends. Becoming the “go to” expert in your field can
provide the keystone to building a brand that stands out from the
competition.

Best of all, once you have achieved this status – you
will begin to see that you are gaining sales due to the merits of your
product and reputation, and not strictly based upon price.

Get
Ready

The steps that you take in the preparation of your marketing
campaign are among the most crucial to its success. It is in this stage
that you consider market segmentation – a process in which you divide
the total market into distinct sub-groups of buyers who have distinct
needs or wants, or are likely to respond differently to certain products
or marketing mixes. Market segments are often defined by many different
factors – geographic location, age, gender, socio-economic standings,
and lifestyle preferences (i.e. pet owners, health-conscious consumers,
etc.). In order to be able to drill down to the most specific
demographics of your audience, it is imperative that you know WHO your
customer is.

Taking Aim

Now that we have defined the market segment we wish to target, it’s
time to take aim. In this stage, we are evaluating the market segments
we’ve identified in order to determine their potential. The
attractiveness of a market segment is determined by factors such as its
size, growth rate, current and potential competition, brand loyalty of
current customers in the segment, projected market share, sales
prospects and expected profitability in the segment. Based on the
evaluation, one or more of the segments may be selected for your
business to target. However, the final decision to zero-in on a
particular market segment also depends largely on its suitability to the
objectives, resources and capabilities of your home business.

Fire
Off that Campaign!

The final step in the process involves designing a detailed and
effective marketing mix that will resonate with and appeal to your
chosen market segment. Your marketing efforts should be coordinated into
a concerted effort to successfully reach your target buyers – and
should strike a balance between pricing, distribution, promotions, and
product specifications. Despite what media format your message is
presented in, consumers will receive the same message. Knowing that
consumers must be presented with your message on the average of seven
times, the need to make those messages cohesive becomes much more
evident. Likewise, the value of target marketing is enhanced – the
identified market segments are more receptive, and tend to respond
favorably to your marketing efforts.

Marketing without a plan is
like winking at a pretty girl in the dark. You know what you’re trying
to achieve, but the object of your interest remains unaware.

In
either case, despite the best of intentions, you’re still going to miss
the mark.

About the Author:

Traci Hayner Vanover, aka The Promo Diva(R), is a freelance writer,
coach and consultant that specializes in working with small businesses
and startups. Drawing on over twenty years experience in the fields of
marketing and promotion, Traci’s blog, located at http://www.PromoDiva.com, blends
helpful tips and resources with a healthy dose of humor. Traci is the
founder and publisher of Entrepreneur & Self-Employed Business
Journal – http://esbjournal.com.