Narrow Your Scope
Narrowing down your target market into one smaller segment is the best way to start any growing business. Applying your efforts to a smaller demographic can help you locate customers that share a common need. The companies with the most highly focused target audience are usually the most successful.
You cannot provide everything to everyone starting out; quality is more important than quantity at this point because you are building your reputation. It is easier to provide better customer service helping to brand your companies image and meeting the needs of your target customers.
After you have grown into your target customers over a year or so then you can branch off and try and target new ones, while maintaining your existing customer’s needs.
Questions to ask yourself
- Who are the best customers for my businesses products?
- What makes these customers an easy potential to buy my products?
- Can I meet these customers’ needs on all levels?
Branding your Business
Your marketing strategy should include ways to attract this smaller demographic you are targeting; however your sales pitch needs to be clean, professional, and ready to serve all.
I recently helped a friend of mine with his home based ecommerce business. He had a website that he was selling car stereo equipment and had his demographic narrowed down to low income males in their early twenties. His sales page was horrible because it had a lot of street talk and flashy images of rappers and women. He explained that he thought it would make his typical customer feel more at home and in a comfortable place. This is true but he failed to realize that the customer mostly just felt targeted and skeptical about the integrity of the company.
This was really hurting his reputation, not to mention his sales. People need to be able to trust the company they are buying from. You must sell yourself before you can sell your products. This is what is important to people and this is what brings repeat sales.
When starting a business, targeting your best demographic and building your reputation through those customers first is what allows growth and receiving new potential customers. Find the smallest pond and become the biggest fish in that pond.