Selection of your target market is probably the most critical business decision you will make. Consider this choice carefully, and look for ways that you can position yourself and your business to dominate a rich market. For our purposes here, let’s define a rich market as one that is well-funded, has a crying need, and where you would have few competitors. Look for a market where you have some specialized combination of skills that uniquely qualifies your business to handle specific client needs. Because of this unique skill set, you have few or no competitors. The last part of the equation is that you address a crying need of a market who has both the money and the willingness to pay for services. They appreciate the value of what you provide and benefit richly from your services – and they are ready to buy NOW. Let’s look at some ideas for targeting such a market.
1. Look for a market that is made up of businesses or members who are already successful and thriving.
How can you add value? What can you offer them that would be guaranteed to boost their bottom line? Where do you see inefficiencies or bottlenecks in the way they operate? How can you tailor your services to that industry or group of individuals or businesses? Where do you have expertise that derives from previously working with this target market? What solutions can you create based on your deep knowledge of the problems they face?
2. Explore the advantages of specialized training.
Specialized training sometimes makes sense. Here are a few key factors to examine. How many local competitors will you have with that same specialized training? What is the demand for the specialized training? Will the training give you a distinct advantage over competitors? What is the investment of time and money required for the training and how long would it take to recoup those costs? Would the specialized training, combined with your own background, give you the unique and unbeatable combination of skills that would lead you to a dominant position in your market?
3. What crying need – that is not being addressed – do you observe in a market?
This is where your powers of observation can richly reward you. Every day, these opportunities are obvious to anyone who can “see”, but how often do we absorb this and stop and consider the possibilities? How many times have you thought, “Gee, they really need X”? Of those times, how many times have you written that idea down and did an in-depth exploration? Keep your powers of observation tuned in and follow up on these inspirations.
4. Be ahead of the trends.
Use those same observational skills to spot the trends that will drive market demand in the future. Figure out how you can fill these needs before anyone else does. Sure, there are likely to be copycats, but make your solution the best, most viable, and ultimately the only logical choice. Be ahead of the field, but be sure that your market will be able to understand your innovations.
5. Understand what your market needs and clearly communicate this to them.
Sometimes, your solution will address needs that your target market hasn’t yet even realized or acknowledged that they have. You must be able to communicate this to them in your marketing writing and website writing. You want them to recognize and own their situation and see you as the answer they only just realized that they need. Your marketing writing and website writing must be both sensitive and aware of potential client embarrassment. Be sure that the target market you choose is motivated to succeed and overcome any obstacles.
As you consider selecting a target market, aim for a rich one where you can dominate. There’s little point in choosing a market that is massively competitive where you won’t stand out as the obviously superior provider. Nor does it make a lot of business sense to target a struggling market. Position your business properly and use your marketing writing and website writing to dominate that rich market.
Suzi Elton provides business writing that attracts targeted prospects to your service business and converts them into clients for you. She is a Robert Middleton Certified Action Plan Marketing Coach, as well as a professional writer. Her website offers a free series of 8 assessments you can use to analyze your own site.
