Few businesses can be all things to all people, nor should
they. Without a narrow target market, you can’t possibly hit your mark.
As a result, your marketing efforts will be unfocused and less likely to
resonate with anybody. Rather than wasting your precious marketing
budget on a mishmash of ads in the hopes that one will connect with
someone out there, try this: narrow your target market. Creating a targeted marketing strategy through personas is one way to help you identify and target potential customers.
Marketing personas are fictional characters that are used
to represent potential customers. By creating one or more marketing
personas, it becomes easier to visualize and understand what your
customers may value, want, or need. This is crucial in developing
marketing messages; it can also help you focus. For example, let’s say
your business sells pens, pencils, and paper products. Everyone needs
these items, making it tempting to take a one-size-fits-all marketing
approach. However, Jonah the college student has different needs than
Mr. Big the CEO and Sally the work-at-home mom.
While your business may have multiple personas, you can use
personas to narrow your market even further. For example, do you want
to cater to Jonah, Mr. Big, or Sally? Which persona is more profitable?
Which is more stable? Which is best for cash flow? Once You know the
answers to these questions then you can begin the lead nurturing process
Once you know which persona is your target market, you can
then begin tailoring your messages to attract those customers. For
example, if you’ve decided to pursue the work from home crowd, you could
start a business blog or Facebook campaign that positions your business
as one that understands the challenges work from home professionals
face – and as one that has real solutions. The more you specialize in
this niche, the easier it becomes to add new services that appeal to
customers that match your persona. (Source: Demand Generation & Targeted Marketing by AAyuja)
While you’ll still serve customers outside your target
market, using personas to narrow your market, understand it, and develop
it make more sense than trying to be everything to everyone.
