Where is your businessright now? Is it where you want it to be? Do you know where you want it to be? Do you know what kind of people you want to do business with? Have you thought of how you are going to market to the kind of people you want to do business with?
These are very important questions that many business people have not taken time to answer – answers that can literally turn your business around.
Imagine what your business would be like if only did business with “perfect” customers. Does it seem unrealistic that you could have “perfect” customers? That is not to say they are perfect people because no one is. And yet, they can be “perfect” for you. Believe it or not you can actually attract to yourself the kind of people you really enjoy doing business with. Part of the attracting process is also knowing the most beneficial way to market to your “perfect” customer.
It’s amazing how much time people will use trying to cultivate business relationships with people they don’t even want to do business with. There can be several reasons for this. One is, again they just haven’t taken time to think about what they really want. Two, they think if they don’t do business with everyone who comes along they will miss an opportunity. Actually, the opposite is true. When we do business with people who are not a good match for us, we can spend a lot of precious time trying to fix problems we would not have with our “perfect” customers. Additionally, we can waste a lot of marketing and PR dollars chasing after a whim.
In order to move closer to doing business with the kind of people you want to do business with think of the following:
-Out of all the people you have done business with, who did you most enjoy? What was so enjoyable about the working relationship?
-What would your relationship with them be like? How would they treat you? How quickly would they pay their invoices?
-What are the primary qualities of your “perfect” customer? Are they honest, have a high level of integrity, value diversity, speak only the truth, refer you to others? What else?
As you get clear on who they are, you will now need to know how to reach them so they can do business with you? You will want to know what associations they belong to, what magazines and newspapers they read, where they “hang” out, and what drives them. By understanding these important points you will better be able to have a laser approach to informing them of your services. And that is what marketing and PR really is – informing others of your products or services.
What stops many people from marketing is limited funding. There are actually dozens, if not hundreds of ways to market inexpensively to your client base. The more you allow yourself to be creative with a specific focus in mind, the more you will attract.
Kathleen Gage is an award winning entrepreneur, corporate trainer and keynote speaker and author. She is the co-author of, 101 Ways to Get Your Foot In the Door; Success Strategies to Put You Miles Ahead of the Competition. To get more tips on how to get your foot in the door of your prospects and clients visit www.101waystogetyourfootinthedoor.com
