Everyone I meet these days and half the emails that hit my inbox discuss Lead Generation.
In recent months, I have also received four different connection requests via LinkedIn offering Lead Generation services, which seems to confirm that many businesses are struggling to get new clients.
For many, SME’s Lead Generation is the biggest challenge in their business, which is not surprising because, without new leads, you will always struggle to grow your business.
For some clients, the issue is converting leads, and for others, it’s generating the inquiry in the first place. However, regardless of the problem, the issue at the heart of it is usually Targeting your Ideal Client.
Businesses are either attracting the wrong client or not being clear about what they offer so that the right client can identify them as a possible solution to their needs.
Identifying precisely who your ideal client is will determine everything else in your marketing armour.
It will help you:
- Create your USP – why you do it better than anyone else
- Develop your marketing messages – what need you to address or desire you fulfil
- Create your 30-second elevator pitch – Your verbal branding when you meet a prospective customer
- Grow your business – happy clients will tell others about you
- Identify opportunities for product/service development – in what other ways can you assist your target market?
So, how do you identify your target audience?
I have found the following six steps extremely helpful in determining the target market for our clients:
- Identify who you believe has the most significant need for your product – the more defined, the better. If you try to be all things to everyone, you will be nothing to anybody.
- If you have been in business for a while, look at your customers from the last 12 months. Who did you enjoy working with? Who was a good referrer? Who was a good payer? Who embraced your product or service? Now group these people and identify what they have in common by demographics (age, income, gender, location, size, turnover, etc.) and psychographics (buying profile, needs, lifestyle, etc.)
- Look at your customers’ needs. Are there any gaps in the marketplace? View your product offering from their perspective. (The best way to do this is through research. It doesn’t have to be expensive or big. Some face-to-face interviews or self-completed questionnaires on a platform such as Survey Monkey will usually give you what you need.)
- Now, combine all you have learned in the previous three steps and create a profile of your ideal customers. Remember, it needs to
- Be well defined
- Align with your company mission/values
- Have enough customers/demand for a business
- Be capable of evolving
- Now, test market it. Ask your clients or if you are starting family and friends. Give them samples of your product or service and your messages.
- Refine and launch.
Identifying your target market and describing it in detail will be a challenge for many, but the rewards for getting your Lead Generation right will be immeasurable.
Some people fear that if they are too specific, they will miss out on opportunities. This definitely will not happen. You will save money because your marketing message will be clear and concise, and your choice of marketing channels will be easy. You will also experience the growth you desire, as prospective clients will be drawn to you because you have communicated what you can do for them.
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