The Marketing Message Blog

Focus on Pinpoint Marketing

Elizabeth Brohan talks about Pinpoint Marketing in the Dec 11th issue of btobonline.com.  Her definition is 'one prospect equals one message.'  This is niche marketing at its best and something any small business owner can do with the tools available with Web 2.0.

She lists six steps to target your message: 1) Identify the basics first; 2)Do an internal brand audit; 3)Talk to customers; 4)Do a competitive check; 5)Map the customer's buying process and then 6) Put it all together by developing value propositions for each target.

The key takeaway here is that you let your customers consume your message, your information and the ability to buy, in the way they feel comfortable when THEY are ready.  Too many marketers get caught up in the message and dont think about how and when the comsumer will see it and what they will do.

Narrowing Your Target Market

Does the idea of narrowing your target market scare you? If you’re like thousands of other online business marketers, the answer is yes. But you’d be wrong. Targeting your marketing segments very narrowly is actually a great way to increase business.

The key is making sure you understand the audience for your product or service and then finding ways to reach them. Some online businesses make the mistake of trying to appeal to the widest audience possible. That’s a good way to lose everyone at once. Think about how the major retailers categorize and revise their messaging so that it hits the right target.

If you do the job correctly, here are five benefits:

1. Cheaper keywords

We all know that the most popular keywords are the most expensive. Don’t try to compete with big advertisers. Instead, search for keywords that are very narrowly focused. They will be affordable and you will be visible. For example, if you sell a children’s toy and determine that it will attract parents whose children are left-handed and live in the South, you’ve got the start of a good narrow target.

2. More traffic

You don’t want traffic. You want targeted traffic. Floods of people who won’t buy are a waste of pay per click money. When you target a more specific audience and get them to visit, your ability to convert is higher.

3. Increased visibility with the audience you want

This is where word of mouth comes in. You want to increase buzz about your product with the right audience. If you target properly, you will start to see referrals from current customers. That’s advertising you can’t buy.

4. Instant feedback

The great thing about using the web is that you don’t have to wait very long to find out what’s working. You should be monitoring your pay per click ads and using the best web analytics package you can afford.

5. An understanding about how to repeat this for other audience types.

Once you get the feel for how to put all this together for one audience, you can do it for several more targets. Not only will you increase your revenue, but you can find new targets you hadn’t thought about until now.