Yes, the aim of marketing is often to help draw as many customers to your business as possible. However, this doesn’t mean you should be trying to target everyone through every method. Rather, taking the time to be more precise with your focus can lead to better success in the long term.
Know where your audience is
Naturally, your audience should be the key determining factor in what drives the main marketing decisions, such as where you focus your marketing attention. A key to this is asking yourself “where are my audience” and, when you have that answer, making sure you’re there, too. For instance, effective social media marketing requires you to figure out which platforms your target market is most active on and good search engine optimization means using keywords that correspond to the language they use in their own search queries.
Narrow it down to a specific solution
A great message is the key to the success of any marketing campaign. If you try to make your product seem like it’s a good solution for everyone, then it won’t look like the best solution to anyone. You don’t have to commit to one solution for an entire marketing campaign, but specific ads, pieces of content, and messages should narrow the focus down to “what problem does the product solve?” Looking back to your unique value proposition and creating an ideal customer can help you message with pinpoint laser precision, more accurately targeting the needs and emotional triggers of your biggest marks.
Focus on what works in your industry
Your brand is part of an industry. You can try to break out of the confines of what customers expect from your industry and some degree of individuality can be a major plus. However, you don’t need to entirely reinvent the wheel. Work with those that you know will work for your industry. If you’re a dentist, work with a dental marketing agency. If you’re a botanist, work with those that know botany, and so on. These teams will have the experience of honing down the focus of your marketing plan to hit your audience in the most effective ways.
Market to your specific aims
Why are you marketing your business? The answers might be less obvious than they seem. Yes, you want more customers, more visibility, and a better reputation, but what are your specific marketing goals? Is it to increase clicks, to get more conversions, to increase the lifetime value of your customers? Different marketing methods are better suited to different aims. For instance, social media is great for building customer loyalty which can lead to better lifetime value, whereas advertising campaigns tend to be the best for driving revenue in the short term. Your answer is likely to be “ a bit of everything” but you should weigh your marketing budget and efforts in the direction of what your aims are.
Laser accuracy when it comes to marketing can help you much more effectively convert more customers. A wide net isn’t always the best tool. Sometimes, you need a harpoon’s focus.
