It spends the stuff of nightmares. Hands up if you agree that spending money on marketing budget is like playing the children’s party game ‘pin the tail on the donkey’. There are many options, and you’re stabbing in the dark, hoping to find the solutions.
We know we must do something, so we panic and throw money at marketing. In the short term, that makes us feel like we’re doing something, but it’s not bringing in results for a long time. So, how do we navigate the marketing minefield and ensure we make decisions based on results and logic rather than emotion?
Everything becomes apparent when you know what you’re marketing and why. To get to that, you need to start at the beginning and address whom you’re selling.
How to find your ideal customers
There are six questions you must answer about your ideal target market. If you can’t answer all these questions, you won’t successfully get your message in front of them. They also won’t be attracted to your services. The six ideal customer questions are:
1. Who is the person or organization you wish to serve?
You need to define them in detail. For example, ‘parents’ is not a well-defined target market. What age are they? How many kids do they have? Where do they live? How much money do they earn? Are they married? Are they single? Defining ‘parents’ as a target market is just the beginning.
2. What is their greatest concentration for your marketing budget?
Where do they hang out in person and online? Do they go for advice or answers? These are the ideal channels to use when marketing and sharing your message.
3. What is their desired #1 Big Outcome regarding marketing budget?
What is the problem you solve for them? Think beyond ‘we install wardrobes or plumbing in industrial space”. How will this affect their life? What are the knock-on benefits? Think about the most significant influences, such as time, ease, and status.
4. When is their highest level of frustration?
When will they say, ‘I need to buy this? Getting in front of your target audience is essential. But as many as 97% are not in-market for your solution at any time. It’s not a never, but a not right now. So what has to happen for them to say, ‘now is the right time?
5. Why will they choose you?
Why will they choose you over competitors and open their wallets for you? It is one of the most challenging questions to answer. Whatever your product or service, your potential clients have other options available. Your challenge is to make it obvious what’s in it for them and why you’re their best option.
6. Do you expect them to do business with you?
How can they let you know they are interested in your services? Will this be online, face-to-face, over the phone, or a combination? In our modern, highly connected world, making it easy for people to interact with and buy from you is more important than ever. There are always other businesses they can buy from if you make life hard. How can you let them know about you and your service or product?
The more you understand, the better you can shape your marketing spending. Always make sure you take a customer-centric approach, and your marketing will start to yield results.
