Audience development

A car GPS system with the caption, "How can you reach your customers if you don't know who (and where) they are?"

Marketing targeting: how to pick an audience that won’t waste your money

There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up somewhere else.” Meaning that, while it can be fun to get in the car and go on an adventure, directionless wandering doesn’t work well if you’re trying to meet a group of friends at a new restaurant for dinner reservations which are set for a specific date and time. Instead, it’s a better idea to plug the address into Google...

Small business open sign, with the text, "It's always easier to business plan with the marketing basics in mind than try and figure out how to reach customers after the fact.

The new small business marketing checklist

Let’s talk about new businesses. Specifically, the marketing planning they (ahem!) should be doing. First of all, trust me, I know how many things a business founder has to think about. General business planning, of course, but also legal things. And tax things. And how you’re going to serve your customers best, and how you’ll make sure your product is the highest quality it can be, etc, etc. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that marketing can wait until after...

A redheaded young woman, with the quote, "Put a (real) face to your customers, and write your offers to them. It helps make your copy relevant."

Do you know what your customer looks like? (How to build a great customer profile)

I’m just going to leave this here: a really strong customer profile (or two) is even more important for a small business marketing program than it is for a bigger business. Why? Because larger programs have more money to spread around and therefore less need to be super targeted. (I’d argue that is lazy marketing, but there’s no need to go there.) But you, as a small business owner, need every last marketing dollar to strike straight to the heart...

An audience under a quote that says, "If you don't know who your customers is, YOU CAN'T MARKET TO THEM."

Want small business marketing that works? Get to know your customer.

First, the bad news: the statistics on new business failure are pretty grim. About half by year five. Yikes. Think about that for a moment, but don’t panic. Because there is good news. The good news is that many experts (Forbes and Business Insider among them) cite a failure to understand and connect with customers as a top reason for a lack of success. And, while you can’t control macro shifts in the economy or really even market demand, you...