It’s all about Targeting!

The question of “how” we want to reach a market never seems to be a problem for my clients.  In conversation, they begin to rattle off a million different ways that they want to approach and get in front of the masses: car wraps, TV commercials, direct mail pieces, email, social media, etc.  But this are a few things that they are forgetting — this all takes time and money.  Last time I checked, it appeared to me that clients have a cap on both.

Therefore, when developing your marketing plan, the number one thing that you should remember and focus on is: who is your target market!  What is the reason that you want to put yourself in front of someone?  if you understand the objectives for reaching out to group it changes the vehicles that you would decide to use, as well as the messages that you are putting out for your audience .

Often, I suggest that you segment your market into several (between 3-5) categories.  This will give you smaller and more manageable groups to work with and understand.  Let’s look at an example:

If I was working with a restaurant that has been in the marketplace for a while, and they are trying to figure out how they want to position themselves considering the fact that they perhaps have a new menu and wine offerings, who is the market?

One recommendation for defining your targets would be: current customers who drink wine, current customers who do not drink wine, and customers at large.  Here are some assumptions we could make moving forward on this.  Customers who drink wine would be interested in perhaps “tasting” the new selections or pairing with dishes. Customers who do not drink wine might drink something else, in which case we can persuade them to try new wines as a substitute for their current beverage selections.  In terms of customers at large we want to let them know that we have new wine at our location.

So here is what a campaign for our Restaurant X would look like:   1. Offer a sample of wine with dinner.  For this scenario it is critical that your staff has been training properly.  This introduces the wine to guest in your restaurant, if they have been unaware of the offerings.  2. Promote special wine events highlighting different wines. Utilize pairing such as several courses, or simply cheese or chocolate.  3.  Release press on the changes and events to inform the customers at large.

In conclusion when you see certain concerns in your business, step back and ask yourself, “who is my target, what am I saying to them ad how am I saying it.”