Aim for your target market!

Your marketing will fall flat if it is not reaching the correct person, so knowing your target audience is key to any marketing campaign.

A few questions to consider: What are the attributes of your best customers? What is the demographic like? Do they have any buying habits or patterns? Be sure to tailor your messaging to identify with this customer.

Data is often overlooked, but it is essential to an effective marketing strategy. Be sure that you are utilizing your current customer list properly. The list can be segmented to identify specific demographic characteristics such as location, gender, age range, income level, and purchase history.

You already know who they are and what, where, when, and how they buy so it is possible to customize your marketing to reach them specifically. A personalized marketing piece is much more effective than a generic  one. Perhaps you would prefer to purchase a new prospect list. These are also useful and can be segmented accordingly so you can market to them specifically.

This segmented data is extremely useful for appealing to your target market. For example, consider a gym who might want to advertise its new babysitting service that will watch kids while their parents are working out. The gym’s target audience may be women from their mid twenties to mid thirties with children. A list can be acquired with their addresses but most importantly the creative can be customized to appeal to the consumer. A postcard with a buff body builder lifting weights might not be as appealing as an everyday mom next-door on a treadmill.

Identify you target market and utilize your data to customize your marketing.

Amanda Moore

www.piptampa.com

Cut through the clutter and get your customer's attention!

Keeping in touch with your customers regularly is a vital part of growing your business. How meaningful is the contact you typically have with them?

Regularly blasting your customer or prospect with spam emails promoting yourself, your business, or your special this month is not meaningful-in fact, it can be downright annoying. In an over populated marketing environment we must try to cut through the clutter and stand out with constant meaningful contact.
What do I mean by meaningful contact? Content that is meaningful to your customer not just bombarding them with self promotion…but it is possible to do both.

After you put together what you feel is a brilliant marketing campaign there is still the possibility that the phone won’t ring. It is said that it takes anywhere from 7-10 touch points to reel a prospect in, so it is important that you keep your brand in front of your prospect without overloading them with spam and junk mail-this is where constant meaningful contact comes into play.

Hand written notes or letters are a personalized touch that your customers will appreciate. Hand written notes are a lost art that will set you apart from your competition. They can be utilized as a short thank you note or a card to check in on them from time to time.

Hand written notes and letters take up some time, especially if you are trying to reach a large number of customers at a time. This is when variable print is most effective. Imbedding customer variables in the content of your direct mailer, letter, or email will feel less like a mass marketing piece and can give a more meaningful appeal. Variables can include the customer’s name, company name, images, or even a product or service that you think they might be specifically interested in.

If you are looking to really make a long lasting impression, take the time to get to know your customers and send them things they may be interested in. Send them newspaper clippings or email them a link to an online publication that is highlighting their specific industry or hobby. Include a personalized note or email message just to tell them you saw this and thought of them.

I myself send out monthly newsletters to my customers. This newsletter is not filled with self promoting information but rather useful business and marketing tips that could benefit every business or industry. It is another way for us to get face time with our customer but it is also filled with valuable content that they can enjoy and utilize.

Think of ways to promote your business in a way that will appeal to your customers. Your marketing should be useful to your customer and not seem like blind advertising. Think outside the box and personalize the message to suit the needs of your target market. When in doubt think to yourself: “If someone sent this to me, would I care enough to read it?”

Amanda Moore

www.piptampa.com