Achieving sales is probably the biggest
challenge a web business owner has. It requires
a balanced mix of the right products, competitive
pricing, optimal web design, aggressive advertising
and attracting the right online visitors.
While all of the above are equally important in
achieving abundant sales, none of them will work
at all if you don't target the people that are most
likely to buy your products or services. These
people are known as your target or niche market.
Focusing in on your niche market will allow you to
find only those that are ready, willing and able to
buy what you have to offer.
Your niche market provides you the competitive edge
over larger corporations because larger companies
tend to market to a much broader range of people.
Their promotions are more generalized and less focused.
For them, the smaller markets are not worth bothering
with. This now becomes your opportunity to capture
those highly defined niche markets that they left behind.
Defining your Market
In order to find these people you must first determine
who they are. This might sound like a simple or
perhaps insignificant question at first but it can
possibly make or break the success of your sales if
you don't give it some serious thought.
Here's how to get started.
Think about the following and jot down all those
that might apply to people interested in your products
or services. Don't rule out any category completely.
Think about each group of people and how they might
apply.
Age Group:
infants, Children, teens, young adults, baby boomers,
middle aged, elderly or all.
Gender:
Male, female or both
Marital status:
single, married, divorced, widowed or all
Ethnic or religious backgrounds
Occupations:
Executives, doctors, lawyers, housewives,
business owners, teachers, blue collar,
white collar, students, out of work, etc.
Health Status:
healthy, diseased, home bound, active, sedentary, etc.
Interests:
sports, hiking, music, arts, computers, reading
television, animals, home decorating, cars,
walking, running, relaxation, health conscious,
age conscious, physical fitness, etc.
Income status:
low income, middle income, high income, no income.
Education:
high school dropout, high school, college, MBA
PHD, hates school, loves school, etc.
Certainly all categories are not listed above,
however these can get you started on thinking about
all the possibilities.
Next, it's important to determine what benefits
you are offering. Examine your products or services
carefully listing all the benefits that you can
think of. Perhaps take a poll of your existing
customers and ask them what it is they like about
your products or services. What benefits them the
most.
Once you have a listed all of the benefits, think
about what people would be interested in these
benefits based on your list above. Then put them
together to assist you in reaching a market that
will bring you sales.
Reaching Your Target Market
Search engines are the best way of finding a
targeted market because those searching on the
web can type in exactly what they are searching
for and receive the targeted traffic the search
engines so proudly advertise.
But attaining good placement on the search engines
is often difficult and time consuming.
Ezines and newsletters are a very effective alternative.
Most ezines cover specific subjects such as finance,
marketing, health, internet, etc. Your job will be to
find an ezine whose topic matches your target market.
To do this you must locate an ezine directory. Directories
usually list contact information, advertising rates, and
circulation. Once you find a targeted ezine then place
your ad. Be sure your ad includes as many of your product
benefits as the ad will allow.
The idea is to define your target market specifically
enough so that you can find the appropriate place to
advertise and then create sales messages that
make your readers feel you are talking directly to them.
You'll be amazed at the amount of traffic you can receive
by finding your target market and reaching them in the
appropriate location.
Elizabeth McGee has spent 20 years in the service and support industry.
She has moved her expertise to the world wide web helping businesses
find trusted tools, enhance customer service, build confidence and
increase sales. Elizabeth's sites can be viewed here:
http://www.pro-marketing-online.comhttp://www.homenotion.com
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