Posts Tagged ‘customer’

Who Is Your Ideal Customer?

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

When it comes to marketing, one of the most important questions you’ll ask yourself is, “Who is my ideal customer?” This is an important question because that’s who you should be marketing your services toward. Everything you do should be targeted toward your ideal customer, but there are some basics to get out of the way before you start marketing. Ask yourself these questions:

  • Are there enough people that fit my ideal customer profile to make marketing toward that audience worthwhile?
  • If I can snag just 2% of that defined market, what price point would I need to make a full-time living? Is that possible?
  • Where does my ideal customer hang out? What websites does she visit?
  • What does my ideal customer read?
  • Who are my ideal customer’s friends?
  • What values does my ideal customer hold?
  • What is the best way to build rapport with my ideal customer?

Answering these questions can give you some clue as to whether or not you should pursue your business plans. You may need to tweak your plan based on the answers to these questions. If capturing just 2% of your target audience couldn’t possibly earn you the money you want to earn then you may not have a broad enough audience. How do you fix that?

The goal is to know your ideal customer. You have to know as much about her as you can so that you know how to reach her and how to communicate with her once you do. How well do you know your ideal customer?

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Posted in Traditional Marketing for Small Business | No Comments »

How Should Small Business Owners Spend Their Marketing Time?

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

Let’s face it, you only have so many hours in a day and you can’t spend all that time marketing. You have just a limited amount of time for that one activity. How do you spend your time marketing? Should you be on the social networking, optimizing your website, buying banner ads, link building? What activities should you put your time and budget into?

That’s a good question and one that, inevitably, every business owner will face. Many small business owners just brush it aside and never answer it. Then they wonder why they go out of business a year or two later.

Marketing is important. Today and tomorrow. You’ve got to define your marketing funnel and the sooner you do so the better. Who is your ideal customer? What does he or she want? How are you going to help that person achieve their goals? What do you have to offer him or her? Better yet, how are you going to reach him or her?

In order to reach the ideal customer, you have to know a little something about him. You have to know what he desires and what he needs. But you also need to know where he hangs his hat. Will you find him at the local barber shop or down at the mall? Once you define who your idea customer is and where you’ll find him + what his most heartfelt need is then you can start marketing. Spend your time in the same places as your ideal customer, participating in activities that will allow you an opportunity to build rapport. That’s marketing 101 and it hasn’t changed.

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Posted in Traditional Marketing for Small Business | 6 Comments »

How To Build Trust

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

Credibility is perhaps the most important characteristic for any small business owner. Customers will not do business with you if they don’t trust you. They must believe in you if they are going to hand over their hard earned money. But how do you get them to trust you when they don’t know know you?

It’s a good question. And it really all boils down to one thing: Authenticity.

Don’t try to be something you’re not. Be who you are and be honest about it. Don’t tell tales, communicate through fables. Be a teacher and a mentor, not the class clown. Never give up, but give in every now and then. Don’t sell yourself (or your customers) short, but sell them on your expertise with honesty, integrity, and courage.

You want your customers and potential customers to see you as the authority in your niche. To do that, you have to build in certain habits to your daily routine. Always do what you say you’ll do. Follow through on all your promises. Under-promise and over-deliver. Encourage conversation. Take criticism well. Be the change you want to see in others. These traits build trust. Oh, and cut out the fluff.

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Posted in PR for Small Business | 5 Comments »