Welcome back to our series on social proof success, this week we are covering who your target market is. If you have not read part 1, please do so before continuing. You can find it here: Watercooler Wednesday | Step 1 For Social Proof Success Part 1.
Step 1 to becoming social proof is clearly defining the purpose of your business and knowing your target market as we covered in part last week.
If you went through the challenge last week, then you should be close to having a completed business plan. Congratulations! With your values, mission and goal statements you are more prepared for business than the majority of online entrepreneurs. By adding this to your ‘About’ page you will not only clearly define what your business is about, you will will also attract the right type of clients, team members and partners. How so?
When you clearly define what your business/product/service is and then target your market with a well structured marketing plan when those people find you (and they will) not only will you build trust, but also confidence in your brand. That’s right, your advertising/marketing, website/blog, profiles, etc. should be connected together by the same purpose, the same goals, the same mission and the same values.
If your message is not clear and concise, nor does it match up to what you say your mission/values/goals are you will look unstable and untrustworthy. If you have yet to define your goals, values and mission, then you leave people to make up their own assumptions about what those things are. Not only is this unprofessional, it is also dangerous.
A prime example of sending mixed messages was a webinar I attended in January. It was a paid webinar to learn about Facebook Marketing while raising money for a charity. I signed up thinking I would learn some goodies and help a great cause. The marketer did a great job at marketing the event, however the webinar was not as great as the marketing. It seemed thrown together, most of what was covered I learned over a year ago and instead of giving gold nuggets and pitching at the end they pitched every 20 minutes over the course of 3 hours!
So while their marketing message was about giving you great tips and REALLY helping this charity, it was more about giving you rehashed info and trying to sell you too many times on their supposed latest greatest membership site. If they would have cut out all the pitching, the time would have been cut in half! The above plus some of the things said on the webinar (which I will cover when we get into creating a marketing plan) made me lose respect for all those involved. Their presentation simply did not match up to their marketing message which was suppose to be about helping & giving. I doubt I was the only one that lost respect for those individuals that day.
Yup, it’s that important to be consistent!
Knowing your target audience is the next step. Are you like Sarah from our comic strip last week and have the ‘Any Warm Body Will Do Syndrome’? Or even worse scratching your head wondering what is a target market?
Regardless if you are the above or pretty sure you already know your target market, the following steps will help you to clearly define your target audience.
According to Entreprenuer.com a target market is a specific group of consumers at which a company aims its products and services.
Now you could just make up who your target market is… However, if you want your marketing campaign to be a success, then you need to take the time to research and define who the people are that are most compatible with your product. In other words, they are the people that would want to buy your product/service the most. They may need it, but most importantly they must also want it!
Before you start writing down who these people are I want you to look at your competition and what makes you different, look at your mission statement, values, etc. Imagine who the ideal clients/team members would be.
Be as detailed as possible in what problems your target market has and how you can solve them and who that target audience really is. You have to be laser focused on your mission, values, goals and target market to be able to truly serve the marketplace and be successful.
Questions To Define Your Target Market
- How do they align with your mission, values and goals?
- What situations would cause these people to want what you offer?
- What is their problem and how can you solve it?
- How can you solve their problem better than your competition?
- Are they male, female or both?
- What age bracket are they in?
- Are they homeowners, renters or both?
- What income bracket would they ideally need to be in to afford your services/products?
- What are the main forums, social sites and offline places  this group would visit often?
- If they were searching for a solution to their problem that you can help with, what keyword phrases would they search for?
- What types of publications are they most likely reading offline and online?
- What are their buying patterns? Do they shop online, have they bought similar products/services before?
- Is the need for your niche service/product on the decline, steady or incline?
- What other characteristics do they need to have to be an ideal match for your product/service?
(e.g. retired, military, self-employed, have healthcare or not, have children or not, married or single, etc.)
After answering these you should have a very clear picture of who ‘they’ are. If you are still unsure how to figure out who your target market is, next week we will cover in depth how to determine who your competition is, who your target audience is and if time permits how to find the buying keywords!
PROFIT ON KNOWLEDGE CHALLENGE:
- If you haven’t already answered the above questions, take the time to do so now. You & your business are so worth it!
- Create a blog post with your questions and answers. Make sure to track back to this blog post.
- If you have any questions or comments, let us know!
- If you enjoyed this post, please pass it on.
COMING UP NEXT WATERCOOLER WEDNESDAY: STEP 1 FOR SOCIAL PROOF SUCCESS PART 3 | START KEYWORD RESEARCH
See you next week!
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Jamie Pelaez is a WAHM mom with a zeal for helping others to live an inspired life. She specializes in Online Marketing, Social Media, Graphic Design, Copywriting, Business Consulting &  Motivation. She is skilled at serving & helping online entrepreneurs & small business owners to succeed in their marketplace. ‘Test all things and hold firmly that which is good.’  ~1 Thessalonians 5:21 |
Skype Me: Jamie.Pelaez
Visit My Blog: Jamie Pelaez Exposed
Related articles
- Social proof for digital marketers: a primer (econsultancy.com)
- How to Compare a Mission Statement to Business Strategies (thinkup.waldenu.edu)
- Watercooler Wednesday | Step 1 For Social Proof Success Part 1 (profitonknowledge.com)
