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Networking With Your Target Market
Ok, so once you select your target market – then what?
Go where “they” are. If it’s young moms, look for play groups. If it’s working moms, look for day care centers. If it’s college students, go on campus and to local eateries around campus. If it’s business executives, look for chamber of commerce meetings, BNI groups, after hours networking events, and etc. Perhaps your target market may be disgruntled current WAHMs looking for a change in venue; vendor events might be a good place to find them. If it’s seniors, you may find them at senior communities or at the gym.
Then next is very important. Do not go to your target market looking to sell. No, no, no. Let me repeat that. Do not go to your target market looking to sell your wax. Instead go with the intent of building relationships.
What is one thing that people, most all people, like to do most?
Talk about themselves.
So when you meet people for the first time (and this works both on and off line) and you’re attempting to network ask “What is your biggest business challenge?” or “What is your biggest problem right now?” People will #1 be shocked that you’re even asking and #2 not trying to hock wax.
Then listen to the response. Don’t just WAIT for your turn to talk, but truly listen and hear what the other is saying. What you have to offer may or may not be able to help that person. However you may know someone who CAN help.
In that first meeting you may not even get a chance to talk about yourself. But what do you think would happen if you asked what is your biggest challenge – and you could refer someone who could help? You’ve just helped solved his/her problem. Perhaps you could follow up with a phone call to ensure the referral came through and then mention “hey I never had a chance to tell you about what I do. Do you have a few minutes?”
The response is going to be received much better and the person will be more likely to be a customer or return the favor in giving a referral.
The first step to building an effective marketing campaign is to determine your target market. If you haven’t done that yet, take some time to determine which group you can most closely identify with or that you want to have as customers and/or team members.
About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business. You can find Laurie at http://la.Scentsy.us or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com
Understanding Target Markets
Who is your target market? If your answer is “everyone” or “several” then you don’t have a target market. If you try to sell to “everyone” then you’re hurting yourself and diluting your efforts. There are no shortages of markets. If you pick a market to hone in on, then you can refine your marketing and networking efforts for that particular group.
Some potential markets could include:
Moms with young children
Pet owners
Empty nesters
Single men
Corporate gift givers
People with disabilities
Military folks
High income
Low income
College students
Night Schoolers
Apartment complexes
Nurses
Senior Communities
Pregnant Moms
New Home Owners
Teachers
Community organizations
Etcetera
So forth and so on
Can you see how a marketing campaign for a college student would vary from that of a mom with young children? Can you see where you’d hang out in different places to find teachers vs. single men?
Another benefit to finding a particular target market is you’ll be come known as “the person to call” within that circle. Referrals will be easier to get.
Think of a target market like archery (or deer hunting). You have a particular target (bulls eye or Bambi) that you’re trying to hit. If you have “several of these” then you’re going deer hunting but just spraying bullets willy nilly all over the forest and you’d be happy if you hit a squirrel, or bunny, or toad or possum, or deer or elephant. Heck, I’ll take anything.
Having a target market means setting your sights on a particular, specific market – one six point buck – and then taking all the necessary steps to bring home the bacon.
You’ll be much more successful if you actually plan to hit a target rather than spraying your Uzi in hopes you might nick something!
It’s often a natural fit to pick a group that you can easily identify with. If you’re a grandma your first choice may not necessarily be to target young moms.
Targeting merely narrows the focus – like focusing a camera lens so that you get a better photo. And it also does not preclude you from selling to others.
If you were to choose college students as your target market – you’d not waste your time going to business luncheons or chamber meetings. You wouldn’t advertise at a WAHM forum but rather you’d look to advertise in the college newspaper. You’d make fliers that talk about dorm safety (or college smells) or speak in a language that co-eds use.
If you were to pick college students then you may choose to sponsor some event involved with athletics or get your information into the new student orientations. You could offer opportunities to students looking to earn some extra money while staying in the dorm. You could promote Mother’s Day gifts and girl friend gifts to the male college students. There certainly is no shortage of colleges across the states and country.
That doesn’t mean you can’t participate in an occasional vendor event to open up another vein or do a party for a group of moms – but if you spend a majority of your time and efforts on a target market then you’re more likely to have better success and you’ll be working smarter, not harder.
About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business. You can find Laurie at http://la.Scentsy.us or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com
Business Card Blitz
I received a phone call the other day from a potential customer. It started something like this, “My daughter left your card on the table, and we’ve been looking for something like this for a long time.” At the conclusion of the call, I asked her if she knew where her daughter received my card. “In the bathroom at such and such place.”
Bathrooms are my favorite place to advertise. Where else do you have such a captive audience? I leave cards in the bathroom staff above the toilet paper; and also on the sink near the soap. Absolute worst case is that some employee (or competitor) picks up my cards and throws them away; or perhaps I receive a phone call from management – which, by the way, in the seven years I’ve been doing this, has never happened. But if management were to call and say “No, no, shame, shame – everybody knows your name”, well then I am a firm believer in it is better to ask for forgiveness than for permission. Besides, you have a yet another prospect to listen to your 30-second commercial.
I even have my family involved. Now when we’re out to eat and one of them asks if she can use the restroom, she always follows it up with “did you leave cards yet, or should I do it?” Like mother like daughter.
Movie theaters are another one of my favorite places to do the mad dash. Our local theaters have over a dozen stalls per bathroom – perfect! I don’t frequent bars anymore, but there’s another place where woman frequent. No bathroom is sacred! Any place that has a public bathroom will receive my calling card: Grocery store, mall, bagel shop, dentist’s office, doctor’s office, chiropractor, zoos, gas stations, you name it.
Just make sure you always carry plenty of cards with you. I make it a contest to see how fast I can rid myself of each box of 250 cards; I challenge myself to 500 per month!
What are you waiting for? Equip yourself with your business cards and start blitzing!
About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business. You can find Laurie at http://la.Scentsy.us or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com
Is Anyone Reading Your Ad?
In the late 1970’s there was a TV game show called “Card Sharks.” In the game, the contestants predicted whether each card was higher or lower than the one that preceded it. Before they could start calling higher or lower on the cards, they had to answer a high/low toss-up question. If you’re old enough to recall this game, you’ll remember the insane monkey behavior of the grown adults as they kept shouting HIGHER! HIGHER! LOWER! LOWER!
I have had numerous opportunities to emulate these primates when it comes to discussing how to write a great business ad to post on networks and forums. “LOWER! LOWER!” I repeatedly shout, yet my thumbs down utterances seem to go unheard. What I’m referring to is the optimum number of words in a sales pitch.
Specifically, if you participate in networks, perhaps Ryze, Yahoogroups, or a plethora of others out there – most of them allow you to promote your own business on certain days. It’s your opportunity to toot your own horn and share specials offers etc. Got the picture? For years, and I mean years, we have talked about what makes a good ad. We’ve talked about what makes a poorly written ad. How do you ensure viewers will even read your ad?
One theme that comes up ad nauseam is word count. Anything more than 50 words is too long. Personally, anything longer than 25 words is too long for me to bother reading. Consider a newspaper classified – many of those are 13 words or less. If people are interested in what you have to offer they’ll click or call for more info. Simple.
Yet week after week I see gianormous, humungous dissertations masquerading as ads; paragraph after paragraph of blah, blah, blah. Who has time to read all that?! I get irritated when I see 800 words of text staring at me, that I have to scroll past just to get to the quick and dirty short, professionally written ads.
Truthfully, I’m amazed you’ve read this far in this article already – it’s 331 words. But still much LOWER! LOWER! in word count than what we continually witness on the networks and forums. So the next time you’re tempted to post an ad with more than 50 words of text – think of me, jumping around like an Orangutan, thumbs pointed downward, shouting “LOWER! LOWER!”
K.I.S.S. – Keep It Short, (‘n) Simple! Use bullets (and I mean text bullets not ammunition), Give them a BRIEF reason to visit your website (i.e. 15% off), perhaps post a photo and be done with it!
Why do I suddenly have a craving for a banana!
About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business. You can find Laurie at http://la.Scentsy.us or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com
Everyone Can – but not Everyone Should – Write Articles
If you don’t ward off competition your small business will be left in the dust. Your business needs to stand up and stand out! Take charge with article marketing.
You have something totally unique to your business: Your Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. Employ your talents with the written word. Article marketing is hot right now. It is a wonderful tool to gain a reputation as a subject matter expert. Articles can also increase website traffic.
Many entrepreneurs are jumping on the article bandwagon. Many site owners are crying for submissions. But here’s the deal: everyone can write articles. However not everyone should. Let me repeat that: Not everyone should write articles.
Just as a poorly constructed website will hurt a business, poorly written articles can do even more damage. Websites don’t always have a name attached to them. The public doesn’t know if you created the unprofessional site or if someone else created it. However with articles, you’re attaching your name to it.
Many so-called authors don’t even realize that their work is horrible. In attempting to promote their business they inadvertently damage their own credibility. Plus they just don’t look very intelligent. Below are some common mistakes:
- Run on sentences: Try to keep sentences to fifteen words or less – the fewer the better. You won’t hold the reader’s attention otherwise. I’ve seen some with thirty, forty and even fifty words or more in one sentence. That is one sure fire way to lose the audience.
- Long paragraphs: Keep it to three or four sentences maximum.
- Too familiar: It’s good to speak in a conversational tone. You should write like you speak – but don’t get carried away. Using phrases such as “let’s look …” or “We just talked about…” is too cozy. Minimize the use of pronouns.
- Misuse of words: Spell check is a wonderful tool but it won’t always pick up context. There and their are often not used correctly. Other errors often used are lay/lie, saw/seen and many others.
Before submitting articles anywhere, have someone else review it. Pick someone who will be objective and honest. Family and friends tend to always respond in the positive. If it is truly a horribly written article it is better to find out before it lands on the World Wide Web!
About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business. You can find Laurie at http://la.Scentsy.us or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com
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