How Trying To Appeal To Everyone Is Sabotaging Your Business
“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody” Bill Cosby
Photo by meandmybadself, available under a Creative Commons Attribution license
Here’s the truth: If you’re trying to appeal to everyone, you’re appealing to no one. Not everyone is going to love what you. Apple is a great example of this principle at work. Apple has incredibly loyal customers and is one of the most profitable businesses in the world, but there are people who hate their products.
It may seem counter-intuitive, but your marketing should focus only on the people who are most likely to make a purchase from you. You can’t be a perfect fit for everyone, and by trying to do so you’re flushing your marketing budget down the toilet. In this post I’ll show you how to narrow your focus in order to save money and attract better clients.
If you had a heart attack, would you rather see a cardiologist or a general practitioner? And to go even more in-depth, would you rather see a local cardiologist or one who has a lot of experience with patients who have had heart attacks? Cardiologists aren’t for everyone, but they are in demand by patients who fit their target market and tend to be paid significantly more than general practitioners are.
You can’t be everything to everyone, you have to focus. (Click here to tweet this!)
How do you focus? You figure out your niche and your target client. In the previous example, the niche is cardiology and the target client is a patient who has suffered a heart attack. You can hone in on the target client even more with a worksheet I’ll give you at the end of this article.
If you’ve been in business for a while, have a look back at your favourite clients. What do they have in common? You might be surprised at the patterns you find.
Do they all live in a certain area?
Do they all work in one particular industry?
Do they all love one particular sport?
These discoveries are gold because they tell you how to speak to your ideal client and where to find them. If your market shares a common interest, talk to them about that interest on your blog and then advertise in a publication that pertains to it. Show them real weddings that appeal to their tastes, not just any random wedding.
People love it when businesses “get” them and by getting to know your ideal client, you’ll find out what they want, what they value and what keeps them up at night. This is going to give you so much clarity when it comes to marketing and will save you loads of money.
Once you figure out who your ideal client is, speak only to them in your marketing. When you think about adding a new product or service in your business, ask yourself what your ideal client would think of it.
