Your product or service focuses on a specific need, right?
And that need belongs to a particular target market, yes?
So…your job is to move the prospect from a vague awareness of that need all the way to action to handle the need. In other words, you’ve got to get him to buy. This is commonly known in marketing as the AIDA formula: Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action. You need to move him through each stage. These stages look roughly like this:
Well, this series of steps assumes the prospect starts out unaware. Your task is to move him through all four stages. This is not necessarily so. Your prospect could already be at any one of these four stages. Your marketing strategy and plan should take into account not only who your target market is and exactly what need you fulfill, but where in those four stages are you targeting? If you target one particular stage, you can better tune in to the prospect’s mindset and concerns.
You could position your entire company toward those in a particular stage. This would narrow the size of your market, but it should be easier to increase the conversion rate for those you do engage. A generally more profitable approach is to launch specific sales campaigns, perhaps specific websites, focused on one stage only.
An example:
You specialize in camera equipment, and you want to target those ready to buy now. A customer who is ready to buy has been researching different models and has narrowed it down to his top choice, a Canon PowerShot S95. What will he search on? His search terms will be “Canon PowerShot S95″, “Canon PowerShot S95 discount”, “Canon PowerShot S95 warranty”, etc. You set up a quality website just about the Canon PowerShot S95, optimized for his exact searches.
You want him to buy from you. He may be very educated about cameras and the model he wants, but he has no awareness of, or trust in you. How do you handle that? It is actually not very difficult. He is already sold on the manufacturer and model, and there are other factors that engender trust, such as the BBB, warranties, awards. Your site needs to parallel and reflect what he trusts. Perhaps the look should have the same colors and feel as the Canon site. Warranties and awards should be displayed. And, of course, your site must have the professional look of an established photography site.
Another example:
You are targeting the beginning photographer, the person who has probably not yet bought his first serious camera. You are starting out with the goal of bringing up his awareness of what he could do and how rewarding it will be. And you will need to identify his early needs and how to move him through awareness, interest, desire, and finally to action. The site design, copy, and emotional appeal will be quite different from the first example. When you recognize this and embrace an exact audience, your sales will go up.
One of the most common mistakes in marketing is to target too broad a market. The narrower your focus and the more exactly you address that need, the easier it will be to make sales.
