Copyright 2006 Quick Turn Marketing International, Ltd.

Who are your customers?

What do you know about them?

Can you list at least five to ten traits they possess? If you don't know who your customers are, it's impossible to market to them successfully.

If you don't know who you're selling to, your marketing efforts will be generic, uninteresting, and untargeted' the three key ingredients to a failed campaign.

You've got to know your prospects inside and out. If you're already in business, the first step is to find exactly who your target market is. Small businesses drop like flies, simply because business owners haven't taken the time to hone in on their exact market.

Most entrepreneurs make the mistake of assuming that everyone is a potential customer. If everyone is your customer, then nobody is your customer.

To succeed, your marketing message needs to:

* Speak directly to people who want what you have to offer

* Make an indelible impression that leads them to conclude they must have your product or service.

Ideally, when your prospect starts to read your marketing material, he or she needs to say, 'Hey, this person really knows me! This person is talking to me!' To achieve this level of communication, you need to get into the mindset of your prospects.

Here are some questions that will give you a quick start towards identifying your target market. If you don't know the answers to these key questionsthen you'd better find out!

1. Who is my ideal prospect?

2. What is their age?

3. What is their gender?

4. What is their educational level?

5. How did they hear about me?

6. What is their income?

7. What's their work and job title?

8. Where do they live?

9. Where do they work?

10. What are their perceived wants, needs, and passions?

11. What are their hopes and dreams?

12. What are their hobbies?

13. What are their political affiliations?

14. What groups, clubs, or associations do they belong to?

15. What kind of advertising do they respond to?

16. What are the publications they read regularly?

Good marketing is specific marketing.

The more specific you are, the more powerful your marketing will be, the more likely your prospects will respond, and the more likely you are to get the sale.

Let me explain. Your product or service might have dozens of different kinds of potential customers. Each of these different prospects (being different in sex, age, etc.) may buy what you're selling' but they'll each buy for different reasons: price, value, peer pressure, etc. You need to get into your prospects' minds and find out what makes them tick.

It's your job to identify the reasons different people want what you're selling, and what different marketing techniques motivate them to buy. I suggest you start here:

* What are their greatest anxieties and frustrations?

* What are their greatest perceived wants and needs?

The more you know about your prospects' anxieties, frustrations, and perceived wants and needs, the more easily you'll be able to sell to them! When you solve their problems, you'll make more money!