Developing a great internet marketing strategy does take work, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. We’re walking through these three simple steps, and diving into the first step below:
- Define Your Market
- Clarify Your Message
- Choose Your Methods
If you caught up with us a little late you can check out the introductory post here.
1. Define Your Market
Defining your market is key in effective marketing. As a successful business owner you already have a good idea of who buys from you, whether male, female, older, younger, parents, married, or single. But that information becomes critical in online marketing. What should your website look like? How should you use Facebook and other social media? What kinds of emails should you send? What should those emails say? The process of answering all of these questions begins with understanding who is shopping for your products and services.
But, it’s not just who buys from you that you want to define, but who your ideal customer avatar is. If you could choose your customers, what would they look like? What type of customer is best for your business? That is the customer that you can build a solid marketing plan around. So, schedule some time, pull in a partner, employee, or close friend, and start mapping out who your ideal customer avatar is.
Start defining your ideal customer
Get out a sheet of paper and make four columns
- Personality – serious and sophisticated, bubbly and optimistic, or frustrated and discontented? How else can you describe your customer’s personality?
- Vital Stats – male or female, young or old, energetic or exhausted? What other terms describe your customer physically?
- Economic Status – thrifty or splurging, white collar or blue, middle class or upper class? Where does your customer fit economically?
- Education – graduate college or high school diploma, technologically savvy or challenged, knowledgeable about your products or seeking knowledge? What does your customer know, or desire to learn?
Great! Get all those adjectives down on your paper, and start getting a clear picture of what your ideal customer avatar looks like. But, you still need to determine what your customer really wants. That’s the key that unlocks the marketing door. And customers are motivated by two things: desire or pain. They either want something, or want something to stop.
Determine your ideal customer’s goals and struggles
So, next, on a new sheet, or at the bottom of your first sheet, make two columns to define your customer’s goals (desires) and struggles (pains). Try to be as detailed as possible, and write a few sentences for each. Try to picture yourself in their shoes with frustration over problems that need solving, or a desire to have something they really want. Use emotional and descriptive words.
Do you sell cleaning supplies? Your customer might be overwhelmed with a messy, dirty house, afraid of bacteria and viruses that lurk in the grime that she can’t seem to get rid of. But, you have the product she needs!
How about shoes? Your customer wants to be victorious on the field, and have a competitive advantage in his sport or workplace. You can give him that edge!
You see, defining your idea customer avatar leads right into your marketing methods and messaging. Once you know who you are trying to reach you can make better decisions about how you will reach them and what you will say. Get your calendar out right now and mark out some time to elevate your business.
And next, discover how you can Clarify Your Message.
