Here are some tips to help you define your target market: ANALYZE YOUR CURRENT CUSTOMER BASE Take note of who is already buying from you. What characteristics do they have in common? Which customers bring in the most business? What do they value most about your business? You may even choose to present a brief survey to your customers in an effort in an effort to gain a better understanding of their needs. RESEARCH YOUR COMPETITION Your competition may be apparent or you may need to search for them. Whatever it takes, understanding who they are, how they are reaching their audience, what they have to offer will be extremely helpful in shaping a clear picture of your general audience. DEFINE THE BENEFITS OF YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Write out a list of the products and services you provide. Then list the needs each of these fulfill. Next make a list people who have a need that your benefits fulfill. DETERMINE SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHICS TO TARGET The previous three tips should give you a fairly clear image of your ideal customer. Now, let’s look at specifics. What demographics do they have in common? Some general demographics to determine include: Age, Location, Gender, Income level, Education level, Marital or family status, Occupation, Ethnic background. UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE Your target audience should now be coming into focus. For example, let’s say you are targeting women over 40 in the Real Estate business with an income of $80,000 or more. Now you can begin to expand their profile beyond demographics to their interests and lifestyle. Perhaps they enjoy traveling; you could consider advertising in a high-end travel magazine. Or if they are interested in the arts, you could begin networking in a LinkedIn group focused on the opera. In essence, be present in the places chosen by your target market is so they can find you. EVALUATE YOUR DECISION Finally, take a look at the target market you’ve chosen and ask: Are there enough people to sell to? Can they afford what I am offering? Am I truly meeting their needs? How can I best reach them with my message? Remember, you can have more than one target market. Defining your audience is a bit of work, but the benefits will be worth your while. You will save time and money and receive a better return when you direct your message specifically to each niche.
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By: Carol M. Aldridge As a business owner, some of your top marketing priorities should include growing your audience and increasing your visibility. Although there are several ways to go about this, these three key strategies, work hand-in-hand: Blogging, Email Marketing, and Lead Capture Systems
- Write quality content that appeals to your audience and addresses their needs. - Edit, Edit, Edit. Then proofread and edit again. Whenever possible, have another qualified professional edit your text as well. - Use compelling images to grab your readers’ attention. - Be sure to include a powerful title. Our friends at CopyBlogger have written a comprehensive series that will be sure to help you craft compelling headline titles. - Include social media share buttons on each post. - Include a resource box at the end of each post with more info about your business and a link to your opt-in landing page. - Format your paragraphs for quick reading, including bold subheadings and bullet points. - Use quality keywords to maximize SEO. - Whenever possible, link to other pages and blog posts on your website. Be sure all links are set to open in a new tab or window. Well, that’s a good start, but I have so much more information to share with you. Soon we’ll take a look at several proven ways to promote your content beyond your subscribers’ inbox, driving even more traffic to your website…so stay tuned. Carol Aldridge is an Administrative Consultant and Support Specialist serving the equine industry for over 25 years. Her clients across the United States enjoy customized administrative services designed to relieve workload pressure, streamline office procedures and maximize marketing results. Learn more at www.EquineOfficeSolutions.com.
If you haven’t yet subscribed, you can do so HERE. You’ll also receive our Zero-Budget Marketing Plan For Equine Business Owners. And please, feel free to share your thoughts and ideas by emailing me or commenting below - we can all help each other succeed! By: Carol M. Aldridge Let’s face it, marketing can be a time consuming and expensive endeavor. So, you might as well do what you can to make sure that you get the most ‘bang for your buck’! Creating a basic marketing calendar is not only a smart business practice, but if used correctly, it will yield enhanced, measurable results. STEP 1: CHOOSE YOUR PREFERRED CALENDAR TOOL I recommend using Google Calendar (or a similar digital, interactive calendar). Alternately, some prefer to use a simple Excel spreadsheet. However, the information included in your calendar will be changing frequently, and an interactive, digital format will allow for ease of updates while providing a comprehensive overview of each month. It will even send you reminders of important deadlines to keep you on track. STEP 2: FILL IN ALL KNOWN DATES such as your vacations, major holidays, pop culture happenings, national news items, etc. These dates will help establish the beginnings of a timetable and schedule of topics that you can follow in the weeks and months to come. STEP 3: BRAINSTORM TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES Take some time to think about what types of advertising and marketing strategies would benefit your business at specific times of the year. For example, networking activities, relationship building correspondence, blog posts, conferences, press releases and news items, direct mail promotions, contests, special sales, etc. These will change as your schedule and needs fluctuate, but the point is to make this step as inclusive as possible. STEP 4: PLAN YOUR BASIC SOCIAL MEDIA POST TOPICS Take a look at the events you have entered each week and come up with a few corresponding topics that would work well as posts. Then use a social media management tool such as Bufferapp or Hootsuite to schedule a full week of posts to all your social media accounts at one time. STEP 5: TRACK, MEASURE, RINSE & REPEAT Plan time each month to review the success of your marketing efforts. Select specific promotions, then use Google Analytics to track your increase in website traffic. This works best for the posts and promotions that include a link back to your website. Also, review the administrative data reports for each of your social media accounts to note the number of likes and shares for specific posts. (More details on measuring your marketing success coming soon). Now that you have details on the activity spurred by each marketing tactic you’ve implemented, take a look at the months ahead and adjust your planned promotions accordingly. Once you start using your marketing calendar regularly, you will quickly begin to realize its numerous benefits, as your planned promotions tactics fall into a rhythm and you become more aware of what’s working and what’s not. Take some time to set this system up right, and you’ll soon wonder how you managed to get by at all without it. Image courtesy of cafepress.com If you like this post, stay tuned - upcoming articles will cover how a marketing calendar fits into your overall marketing plan, detailed step-by-step tips on how to measure the success of your marketing efforts, how blogging, backlinks and social media work together, how to make social media work for your business, determining your target market and more. These articles will be sent out by email, so be sure you are subscribed. You’ll receive the new Zero Budget Marketing Plan for Equine Business Owners, and you’ll be sure to receive each future article. Equine Office Solutions, was established in 2010 by owner, Carol Aldridge to meet the unique business needs of the busy equine professional. Through a combination of professional consultation and personalized support services, Carol designs effective business systems producing streamlined administrative processes and enhanced marketing results. |
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August 2023
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