Target Marketing 101: Power Fishing

Right Pond - Right Bait - Best Clients

Want to elevate your effectiveness no matter what product or service you are promoting? Want to have an endless reservoir of clients come back for more? Are you ready for a fresh look at your target market?
Let's go fishing!

Today, while fishing with my kids, I realized that fishing and marketing are very much alike. Here are 5 keys to elevate your marketing strategy and give you a fresh perspective on who, what, where,
when, and how much your marketing campaign should target. It might
even help your fishing game! :)

Key #1: Identify the Pond You Want To Fish In

Let me let you in on a personal love of my life: I love to fish. In fact, during the summer, my son, daughter, and I go fishing at least 3-4 times a week. Depending upon the location of our fishing
extravaganza, we will have a completely different strategy in catching
"the big ones". You see, not all ponds are created equal. Every bed of
water has a culture, a flow, a unique make-up of fish that determine
when and how you should fish in their waters. It is their domain and
unless you understand their environment, you may sit all day "hoping"
for fish and never landing even the smallest perch.

To have the most successful marketing campaign possible, you have to find your target market and identify the best place to make your product offering. The target market is the pond of customers who have a need
or desire for your product or service. Your focus should be to identify
this market and create a marketing campaign that allows you to cast
your product or service to them and see a school of clients clamor for
your offering.

Key #2 What Type of Fish Do You Want To Catch?

Recently, I took my son and two of his friends fishing at the damn in Hot Springs, AR. After an hour of standing on a dock catching NOTHING, we noticed two guys near the dam, pulling in nice sized
stripers. Striper is specifically what type of fish we wanted to
catch. So, we packed up our tackle and headed upstream. When we moved
closer, the men were thrilled to give "fatherly" advice to the
boys. By being humble and grateful in their presence, esteeming their
great fishing efforts, they even gave the boys their secret bait to
catch striper of greater size that day. I couldn't help but think how
many people in marketing have NO IDEA who they want to reach and
therefore have NO IDEA what type of marketing to offer their
clients. They have a shotgun approach to marketing scattering their
efforts to "anyone that will listen".

(By the way, you would be surprised just how generous your “so called” competition would be to you if you just humbled yourself and asked for their help. If you are new to the pond, seek help, find
mentors, and be willing to admit you don’t know everything.)

To be clearly effective in marketing, you MUST identify WHO, WHO, WHO are you talking to? A very important key to being a successful marketer, no matter what your budget is to clearly define your target
market. You don't want to throw useless bait to "nibblers" or people
who are there to only suck on free information with no intention of
using your services. If you have a passion for reaching kids, you can't
expect to reach them at retirement homes. You have to position
yourself in their pond such as schools, mom's day out programs, parks,
playgrounds, etc. When you can clearly define WHO you are marketing to,
you can determine the best bait or marketing strategy.

WHO Examples:

• Age: babies, toddlers, students, teens, young adults, middle aged, elderly
• Gender: male, female
• Education: elementary, high school, college, university,
• Income: low, medium, high, or non existent
• Marital status: single, married, divorced, etc.
• Lifestyle: conservative, exciting, trendy, economical
• Demographic: Business, Family, Church, Social
• Activities and interests: sports, physical fitness,
shopping, books
• Attitudes and beliefs: environmentalist, security
conscious, faith based, etc.

Key #3 Know Which Bait Works Best

Keep in mind that marketing isn’t always about the quantity of the people you reach, but rather the quality. If you are the owner of a small business, you can't expect to compare your strategy to a
multi-million-dollar conglomerate. That is why your marketing or "bait"
will need to be thought out, precise, and proven to draw the fish
(clients) you are hoping to land.

One of the first things you need to do in marketing the right "bait" is to narrow your focus so that you are NOT trying to be 'all things to all people.' Become a specialist! Here are three basic reasons why
people make purchases of products or services:
1. They have a specific need.
2. They have a specific problem.
3. They are looking for personal enjoyment or satisfaction.

When you can determine how your product or service can answer one or all
of those areas, you will have the bait you need to move into the pond
of people that you most want to reach.

Key #4 Identify The Right Time To Go Fishing!

In fishing AND marketing, timing is everything. For examkple, in the Indiana waters of Lake Michigan the salmon are very particular in their habits. During February, March and April, catching
salmon can be really exciting! A skilled fisherman can catch the
fifteen-fish limit of 2 to 3 pound salmon in under an hour.

Later in the season, however, (May and June) the salmon action slows down and moves 6 to 10 miles offshore. Fish in the 7 to 12 lb range can be toyed with at that time, but it will take 3 to 4 hours to bag a 15
fish limit in those months. Not to mention the increased difficulty of
not being able to just cast from shore.

Knowing when to fish for clients in your target market is VERY important. If you have the right bait, in the right pond, at the right time, you will be able to clearly offer your customers something they
need AND want. Identifying the "right pond" or location is a
combination of being in the right place at the right time. Your
marketing promotion is your way of throwing bait to your customer and
doing so effectively.

Key #5 Know The Cost Of Catching Big Fish

The last thing to consider is the price you will want to pay to reach the target market you want to attract. With online marketing, Facebook, twitter, and other social media outlets, there is SO MUCH you
can do to reach your target market without paying a fortune. You need a
budget that satisfies your profit margin without draining you of the
resources and energy you will need to keep your product or service
excellent, unique, and "in the pond" of availability.

Ok, I am off to go fishing again. Caught a nice 3 pound bass before righting this post. Funny little fishie.....wouldn't bit on anything but a top water lure from Wal-Mart! Each to his own. Glad I had what
he wanted!
Living Everyday With Passion,

Staci Wallace, Professional Fishermom