Quick, tell me five things about your perfect customer!
If you couldn’t get past “anyone who wants to spend their money on my product,” we need to talk. See, as much as I hate to break it to you, the truth is, not everyone in the world wants what you have to sell. You might have the most wonderful doo-dad in the world… a product guaranteed to change life as we know it… and still, you can bet not everyone is going to be in the market for it.
Which is why I suggest you sit down and write yourself a personal ad. You know, the ones you find in the back of the newspaper classifieds, man seeking woman, etc.? Those people have one up on you when it comes to marketing; they know that even with a million fish in the sea, not all of ‘em are ones they want to take home. And it’s the same with you. There’s a specific type of person out there who really wants/needs/appreciates/craves what you have to offer and when you’ve figured out who that person is, you’ll also be able to figure out exactly WHY they want you. And those two pieces of information are your start to a sensible marketing plan that gets results.
So, let’s get started. Find yourself a pen and paper and honestly answer the following questions:
1) Is my perfect customer male or female, or does gender matter?
2) How old is my perfect customer? Married or Single? Children?
3) What does my perfect customer do in their day to day life? Are they type A? Do they love their work or hate it? What are their hobbies? How do they relax?
4) Why do you want this person? And, most importantly, why do they want you?
When you’ve answered those questions, take a break. Give yourself some space to mull over your answers and in a few hours, come back and read what you wrote, making any corrections or additions that might occur to you. Then, when you feel very comfortable that these are your honest, true answers, sit down and craft a personal ad to this customer. It might seem silly, but do it anyway.
The point of this exercise is to develop a target for your marketing efforts. Marketing initiatives fail when the target is too broad. Trying to reach everyone under the sun just spreads your marketing resources out so thinly that even good programs become ineffective.
So take a tip from the personal ads– go after exactly the right customer and make your dreams of more sales and larger profits come true!
