"Marketing Strategies from the Most Successful Small Businesses in America"

Imagine practicing archery with your eyes closed or throwing a football with a blindfold on. In both cases, being prevented from seeing your target would make it nearly impossible to hit it. This concept can easily be applied to business, as well. Doing business without knowing what your target market is will prevent you from reaching your objectives: increased sales, market share or brand awareness. Where the blanket approach of mass marketing was touted by marketing professionals of years past, today's industry experts are singing the praises of one-to-one, or relationship marketing. And rightfully so. Today's consumers, as you've heard many times, are savvier than ever before. With access to nearly any piece of information they want via the Internet, consumers don't want salespeople spouting off scripted presentations. Rather, they need advocates who are willing to help them find real solutions. How can you do that? By learning who your customers are; by finding out their real needs; and by offering them tailored products and services that work for them. The first step in attaining those lofty goals is to choose a customer base that is appropriate for your business. Identify Potential Customers There are two types of customer groups that you can target: individual consumers or other businesses. Individual consumers are somewhat more difficult to target because they are diverse and unpredictable, they typically have small individual budgets, and their buying preferences may change as they age. Businesses as a target market tend to be fairly stable over time and have large budgets to spend on various products and services. It is not necessary to choose just one customer group. You may choose to target both businesses and individual consumers if it makes sense for your company. However, modifications may need to be made for your product or service if you choose to go this route. For example, the owner of a gift basket business may target mostly individual consumers as her main source of revenue, but have a secondary revenue stream from corporate customers. For the individual consumers, she may offer many customized options to satisfy their diverse tastes, and she would probably charge a higher price to ensure a good profit margin. For her corporate customers, she would likely offer a more limited product line