Choosing the Right Target Market For Your Small Business

The first and most important step towards marketing success is to choose a group to market to. It's going to be easier for your small business to serve your audience's needs when you pick a small, specific group to market to. This is sometimes referred to as "niche marketing."

Basically, going after a niche means that you're going to dominate a market. Your business is going to do one thing better than anybody else can. Because you're specializing, you'll be able to focus on exactly what your customer is looking to find. However, if you try to sell everything to everybody at once, nobody will buy because you won't be able to fulfill any of your visitor's needs.

Here's the general game plan you should follow for your marketing efforts.

  1. Choose a specific target market.
  2. Research and understand the needs of that market.
  3. Fulfill the needs of that market.
  4. Refine your marketing system to maximize profit.
  5. Use your proven marketing strategy to other break into related niches.

All the content in the course relates to this general process. The rest of this first lesson is going to focus on the first step - choosing your small business's niche.

The Right Market For Your Small Business

For those who are just starting to use marketing to grow your small business, the first step is to choose an area of expertise. Use your current small business expertise to guide you in your search for a niche. These are the types of questions you should be thinking about:

  • Is there a common problem among your current customers that you can solve?
  • Is there an area that you can serve better than anybody else?
  • What type of customer do you serve well?
  • Is there something you know about your market that nobody else seems to know?
  • Is there a process you can complete faster than anybody else?
  • What separates you from your competition?

For example, pretend I'm a realtor in Southern California looking to use the internet to find new leads for residential sales. An inexperienced marketer would market to people in California looking to buy a new home. Instead, I would target first time home buyers looking to purchase a condo in the Downtown Los Angeles area. Why is the second market better than the first market?

First of all, think about how serious the buyer is. Who do you think is more ready to purchase - somebody who's searching for real estate in California, or somebody who is searching for condos in Downtown Los Angeles? Obviously the 2nd person is more likely to be ready to purchase, while the first person still may be shopping around. Those who are ready to buy are much more valuable to you than those who are still shopping around. This will lead to higher conversion rates and a more profit for you.

The next benefit of choosing a more specific market is that you'll be a much more appealing choice when comparing your business to a competitor. Going back to my realtor example, assume you're a website visitor ready to buy a condo within the next month. You're looking around for a realtor to represent you and landed on my website. Are you more likely to choose me if my market is real estate in California or first time buyers looking for condos in the Downtown LA?

Why Marketing to a Specific Niche Will Bring In More Business

Here's why visitors will almost always choose the 2nd option. First, I would focus my website on the specific area that you're interested in living. I'll show you that I am an expert in this area. Other realtors who focus on Southern California won't know as much about the intricacies of where you want to live. I am also an expert at finding buyers condos. I'll know everything you need to know about buying an owning a condo and all the benefits and potential problems of having a condo. Other realtors might be good at houses, but you might run into problems or delays since they don't regularly sell condos. Finally, I cater to first time buyers. I know what questions you're going to ask and what the answers are. I know what information you need to know before you start your purchase process. Other realtors might forget to mention things to you because they assumed you already knew and didn't ask. You're in luck. I happen to specialize in exactly what you're looking for. This is why you would always choose me over other realtors if you're looking for your first condo in the San Gabriel Valley. This is why you should choose a niche to specialize in instead of trying to be everything to everybody.

I hope this helps you get into the right frame of mind when thinking about marketing your small business. Think about what your ideal target market is. The next lessons go more in-depth about keyword importance, your audience, and relationship marketing. Usually, new marketers get a day to digest this info before moving on in the course. If you want the next lessons now, email Alex@DesignLX.com and I'll send you your next lessons as soon as I can.