Part 1

Is it really so hard to get good clients … or are you simply not looking in the right places?

In order to get good clients you have to know who those good clients are!

Once you know them, once you’ve identified them, you can target and connect with them.

Getting to know who those good clients are … your ideal clients, is really one of the first and maybe, most important steps for you, as a business owner. 

When we talk with new prospects and clients and ask if they’ve identified their various target markets, those markets that contain their ideal clients …  it’s kinda funny and sad really, how often we hear things like ‘my product or service is for everyone. If you can breathe you can use it.’ 

What many business owners don’t understand or realize is that their service or product may very well be for everyone but you can’t connect in any meaningful way to everyone with a single message.

Reaching the right people with the right message is key!

It starts with the process of identifying your Ideal Target Markets, which is really quite simple … it’s just not easy and this is one of the reasons why so many business owners skip this process … because they’re not sure what to do and it’s hard work!

Your Overall Target Market

Most marketing experts and consultants tell you to niche yourself down to a specific market … and it is important and very valuable information. But before you niche, you want to be aware of everyone you can sell to in your market. This is called your Overall Target Market.

So, who are all the people you’d like to sell to without qualification or limits? 

For all those business owners that say ‘my product or service is good for everyone’ as a default answer to Who their clients are … what they’re really talking about is their Overall Target Market.  The difference is doing it with intent and realizing, it’s just the start.

For instance our Overall Target Market or OTM, is anyone in business or anyone that may go into business. 

Once you’ve identified your OTM, your Overall Target Market, then you can look to identify your Ideal Target Markets that have these four characteristics.

• They have a particular need, want or desire.
• They have the financial ability to purchase your solution to their need, want or desire.
• They have the power to decide to purchase your product or service.
• They have access to your business, through a physical location, internet or catalogue.

Your Preferred Target Market

But you’re not ready to jump to your Ideal Target Markets just yet because there’s one more step … and it’s one that most of us do unconsciously.

Ask yourself these questions … 

Who do you want to work with? 

What industries or companies do you find attractive or interesting? 

The answers to these questions lead you to what we call your Preferred Target Markets!

It is so much easier to look at markets that you personally prefer to work in and then break them down into your Ideal Target Markets and find the companies within those markets that you relate to … starting with shared values and interests.

As an example, way back in the day when I worked in the photography business I marketed to everyone and anyone and the results were that I was marketing to no one! 

I was offering portrait photography, product photography, corporate annual report photography … whatever the client needed … I was their man.

Except I wasn’t!

I wasn’t connecting with anyone because I was trying to speak to everyone at once. My messaging was falling on deaf ears.

It wasn’t until I started to connect with what I now know as one of my Preferred Target Markets … Architecture … that my business marketing became so much easier and so much more successful.

I had a personal connection, desire and interest in architecture. I loved the structure of buildings. I loved how they fit into the landscape. I loved seeing how the interior space flowed from room to room.

It was because of these shared interests and values that I started to connect at a deeper and more personal level with architects, interior designers, landscapers, builders, and developers. It was within these markets that I found my Ideal Clients.

Your Ideal Target Markets

As you can see, it is a process. Start with your Overall Target Market … segment it into your Preferred Target Markets and from there determine your Ideal Target Markets that lead to relatable businesses that can use your product or service.

Stay tuned for the second part of this blog, where we’ll look deeper into your Ideal Target Markets and you’ll start to recognize those ‘good clients’.

What Values do you share with them? 

Do they have similar interests and lifestyles? 

What are their pain points? 

What solutions do you offer them?

Are you willing to do the work to see success in your business…

Finding your Ideal Target Markets is part of having a strong overall marketing foundation.

Our  5 Essential Marketing Tools Program will help you with just that.

Sign up now and be ready to bring your business to the next level… and stay tune for the next level of finding your ideal client.

Follow us on LInkedIn

Any questions… let’s connect.