The months from September to December are always a busy season for consumer and business-to-business companies with new budgets and the impending holidays. Now is the time to rack up some great sales figures. But how do you begin to find new customers or clients? Target marketing is a potent way to identify potential customers that are most likely to purchase your goods or services.
What is "Targeting?"
"Targeting" is the process of defining people or companies most likely to purchase your goods or services. In the past, many companies talked about serving their "demographics." Targeting goes one step further by defining the characteristics of current customers and then extrapolating that data to find other likely clients. Information that is typically used for targeting includes research on age, profession, income, hobbies and educational level. Have you noticed all of those survey forms used on web sites? Companies, especially on the web, are constantly targeting new customers and so should you!
How Do I Target Customers?
Targeting begins with a lot of research. Start by pulling information about your current and past clients. Look for commonalties between them such as:
- Are they all from one type of industry, like the welding industry or the hotel and restaurant business?
- Are most of your customers with wholesale or retail businesses?
- Do most of them provide a similar kind of service?
Asking questions along these lines will draw you to the basic configuration of your clients.
Reaching Customers
Once you have determined the profile of potential customers, you need to ask yourself some questions in terms of how to reach them. If you are interested in contacting them via the Internet, do they have email accounts and Internet access? Is it easier to reach them with a direct mailing, print ads, television spots, brochures or some combination of these? If you are trying to generate more sales, look into industry associations, mailing houses or list brokers. All three can provide you with a profile, demographic information and up-to-date email, mailing addresses, fax numbers, phone numbers and other contact information for potential customers. Don't forget to use past customer lists as another good source of leads. While past customers are often the best source of sales, they may also know of others who might be interested in your products and services, leading to income-generating referrals.
Above all, don't be afraid to target new customers. If you truly believe in the product or service you are providing, people will be happy to hear about it and you'll have a great fall selling season.
