Marketing Mistake - 1

Marketing to Everyone

“You can’t be all things to all men.”

This may come as a surprise to you, but it’s true. You cannot hope to market your products or services to everyone, even if you think everyone needs them.

This is not to say you can’t be successful doing this. However, you really do limit your potential by not focussing on select groups of people or businesses. These specific groups are called “niches.”

By focussing on one or more niches you are able to connect with these people at a much higher level, and consequently you automatically gain more business.

You may have heard people say things like, “This person really connects with me, and they really understand my business.” This is what you do when you choose to market to these different groups.

Think about it.

What is also important to understand is that certain groups of people or businesses are more likely to want and need your product and services more than others. More importantly your niche must focus on the groups that can AFFORD your products and services. There is no point in targeting groups who want and need your products or services if many of them cannot afford to buy or pay for them!

A common question is – “If I limit my market won’t I be reducing the chances of doing business with more people?”

Of course you will, but to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace you need to concentrate your marketing on a smaller number of well chosen segments or niches into which you will pour all your resources.

A niche market is a specific group of people or businesses that want and need your product or service and can afford to pay for it!

Because you are targeting smaller numbers, the same amount of money you were previously using to acquire customers or clients, is spread across a smaller number, and therefore you have more to spend on each prospect than you would if your market was bigger. This alone makes you more successful.

In a nutshell your niche market is the segment(s) that represents your best chance of getting a good return for your marketing efforts.

These niches are critical to you.

Of course, if you focus on a smaller group you may not get the business outside the target group. However, what actually happens is you increase the amount of business you receive from your target group(s) or niche(s).

This is because you are specifically meeting the needs and requirements of your chosen niche. You are saying to them that, ‘you are THE company that knows about their situation.’ No other company specifically meets their needs in this way, and therefore you are seen as the logical company to turn to.

Here’s an example to show the power of defining your market or niche:

Let’s say you’re a start-up business and you need an accountant. Your first choice is to look in the Yellow Pages under the ‘Accountant’ category. Although there are a number of ads the first one reads:

‘ABC Chartered Accountants. Tax preparation, auditing, bookkeeping, payroll services, help for start-ups, management accounts, and so on..’

The second ad reads:

XYZ Chartered Accountants. Specialising in helping Start-Ups get their businesses running quickly, profitably and effectively.’

Which firm of accountants are you likely to choose? The answer is obvious, but it serves as a good example to show how effective this strategy is – yet how widespread it is that few businesses follow this simple approach!

If you can create this bond between you and your niche market(s) you’ll grow your business to unprecedented levels. That’s the power of niche marketing. By concentrating on specific groups, you can achieve very high market shares in that particular category because people automatically come to you.

You’ll own the market!

You are viewed as the only choice because your product or service is ‘designed’ to solve the specific problems of those people.

Not focussing on one or more niches is perhaps the biggest mistake people make!

Courtesy Alchemy Network Ltd