Let’s explore the essential ways that a small business (or organization of any kind) can achieve marketing success.  When you follow a systematic approach to your marketing, you’ll find yourself more confident in what you do and more cost-effective with your critical marketing dollars!

Step 1: Narrow Your Market Focus

The ol’ adage is to “spread your nets far and wide” – to be more candid, most of us naturally hesitate to “narrow” because that sounds like we’ll “exclude” someone.  You gravitate to thinking that you’ll take money from anyone who will pay you!  Am I wrong?

In a recent post on his wildly popular marketing blog (which is also a featured “Forbes Best of the Web Small Business Blog“), John writes:

Some marketing experts may advise you to expand your marketing reach when times are tough, but I believe the opposite is true.”

After having spent last week with John, I know that he believes that the most effective strategy you can adopt in ANY market environment (good or bad) is to think narrow.

As you narrow your focus, you will better communicate what you do and how you are different – and that uniqueness resonates with prospects and customers searching for someone is unique enough to meet their unique needs!

Become known by a narrow target market for doing something specifically unique in a way that your customers adore! When you do this, you will no longer compete on price.  When people find someone who meets their specific needs, that offers an immediate increase in value (which means they are no longer comparing you and a competitor on price alone).

Don’t forget that you can also create multiple unique market segments – each target market having a defined set of demographics (age, location, gender, occupation, income) and values (psychographics, feelings, purchasing habits, emotions).  Speak the language of the people you are trying to reach and they will begin to take notice!  It worked for me during the almost 10 years I spent as a missionary in Benin, West Africa.  When we spoke in the local African language, people stopped to listen!

-Randy, Fort Worth’s Only Duct Tape Marketing Authorized Coach

Next Up – Step 2:  Be Unique & Communicate that Difference Clearly!

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