Diluted Marketing

The biggest issues are budget and message. If your target market is “men” it’s going to be pretty hard to find a single, clear message that appeals to all of them. And since men come in an endless variety of shades and flavours, with so many different interests, it’s near impossible to find a mix of marketing and advertising media that could possibly reach them all. Well, unless you have a bottomless budget and I’ve yet to encounter one of those.

Trying to lump everyone together simply doesn’t work. The solution is to think Truly Targeted Market. As in bull’s eye. That small, hard to hit, sweet spot in the middle of the target.

Finding the Sweet Spot

To reach the sweet spot, you need to start at the outer edge of the target and work your way in. The first step, when you start in business, is doing some market research to define as specific a description of your prospective customers as possible. You’ll get a pretty good idea of who is likely to purchase, but until you actually get going and test the waters, it’s still only theory.

Once you have a few clients in your portfolio, you’ll begin to get a sense of whether your initial ideas were on the mark or whether you encountered some surprises along the way. As you adjust your focus based on the feedback you’ve received (in the form of sales), you move one ring closer to the bull’s eye.

Fine Tuning the Customer Profile

It won’t take you long to build a larger database of clients to draw from, giving you an opportunity to get an even clearer, more specific picture of who is buying your product or service.

To fine tune your customer profile, first review your records and identify the obvious characteristics they have in common: age, gender, industry, geography, purchase patterns, etc. Any details you can glean from your customer data becomes valuable information in repeating your success on a grander scale.

Go Straight to the Source

Then, ask your customers. “What?! You mean, like, talk to them?”

Yes!

There is no better way to understand the unique characteristics of your customers and why they choose to do business with you than asking them directly. Find out what they like, what they don’t like, what’s working for them and what’s not. Truly put yourself in their shoes and learn what motivates their buying behaviour.

Niche Marketing

There’s a good chance even with the more focused target market you’ve defined from all the info you’ve gathered, still not all of your customers look exactly alike. That’s great news!

Now you get to take the final step and decide precisely which bull’s eye — which sweet spot — you want to hit. Of the shortlist of customer profiles you have identified as likely prospects, which one do you want to spend your time, energy and marketing budget focused on?

To make that decision, you’ll want to factor in the hard facts, such as which category of customer is most profitable, with the human facts, such as which customers do you most enjoy serving?

You can gather a great deal of research and experience to take you most of the way toward hitting your customer profile target, but in the end the final decision is up to you.

Enter the accounting equivalent of a knight in shining armour, Eben Louw of Meyers, Norris, Penny. Last week I found easy-to-read and easy-to-understand summaries for both the federal and BC budgets in my email inbox. Not only could I read them, I actually did.

MNP Federal Budget Summary [PDF]
MNP BC Budget Summary [PDF]

LWL Have You Got a Book in You?
Thursday, March 25
Always felt like you’ve had a book in you, but don’t know how to make it happen? Peggy Richardson of Humanus Publishing and Wizard of eBooks is here to enlighten us on how to successfully write, publish, and market your book or e-book. More…

Dress for Success Vancouver presents Stand Up! Leveraging Business Knowledge & Personal Passions, an opportunity to participate in an intimate chat with community leaders discussing the value of philanthropy and leadership in business. 100% of proceeds to Dress for Success Vancouver. Full details…

Rule #1 of the new Business Development Game…have fewer rules!

Isn’t life already bogged down with an awful lot of rules? Surely some of them aren’t necessary. How about trying this instead:

1. Make a list of your clients
2. Grade each with 1-3 stars based on how much you enjoyed working with them, the more stars the better
3. Cross off all the clients with only one star
4. Add an extra star to the remaining clients who are profitable to your business
5. List why you like the clients with 3 and 4 stars and look for commonalities like industry, type of work, age, gender, etc.
6. Start marketing to more of the clients who fit the bill for enjoyment and profitability.

That’s it. Yes, really!

Quit making up complicated rules that don’t actually exist and just start where you are right now with what’s already working. Do more of what works, less of what doesn’t.

And have some fun out there.

ARE YOU READY TO FACE THE DRAGONS?
Auditions for Season Six heat up in Vancouver on March 13th & March 27th

Do you have a hot new invention or the next million-dollar idea? Think you have the moneymaking chops to take on the savviest business tycoons in the country? Then DRAGONS’ DEN wants to hear from you!

The DRAGONS’ DEN production team will be in Vancouver scouting for Season Six of the hit series on CBC Television. The show gives aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their businesses to a panel of wealthy Canadian moguls for the chance to earn real cash and real investment – from the Dragons’ own pockets!

Open auditions are taking place on Saturday, March 13th and Saturday, March 27th from 11 am – 7 pm at the Peter Thompson Centre for Venture Development at BCIT downtown campus, 555 Seymour St.

No experience is necessary – just be ready to pitch your business in under five minutes. If you can convince producers you’re ready for the limelight, you could be invited to face Dragons when the upcoming season is filmed in Toronto. And as extra incentive this year — entrepreneurs with an eco-friendly business, invention or idea could qualify for a $100,000 Greenvention prize from Sun Chips.

Please apply online starting March 1st and bring your completed application form to the auditions. More details can be found on the show’s website at cbc.ca/dragonsden.

DRAGONS’ DEN airs on CBC Television at 8 pm Wednesday nights. Full episodes and web extras can be viewed on the DRAGONS’ DEN website.

For further information, or to book an interview with host Dianne Buckner, please contact:

Renee Mellow
Media Profile
416.342.1838
renee.mellow@mediaprofile.com

Justine Lewkowicz
CBC Dragons’ Den
416.205.5991
justine.lewkowicz@cbc.ca

With that description, who wouldn’t?!

I’ve just described the traditional Easter egg hunt, originally a pagan ritual later adopted by Christendom to celebrate birth and growth. But in this version, kids hunt down coloured eggs or egg-shaped candies that have been hidden throughout the house or yard. It’s a game kids love and adults delight in orchestrating.

How might your attitude toward the dreaded Business Development be changed if you were to change your perspective and view it as a game. A game where you are rewarded each time you find a prize.

Chocolate, anyone?!

Hunting up opportunity, i.e. business development can be fun. You just need to relax and turn it into a pleasurable game.

Most of us think of our passion as the thing we love, the thing that makes us supremely happy. But passion is actually anything we have a strong compelling devotion toward, which can also include the negative.

At a morning Coffee Talk recently, I asked the women in the group how many of them spent time criticizing themselves.

“How often do you go over and over past events in your mind, or with your friends, wishing you’d done this or that differently, beating yourself up about how you handled a situation, or criticizing yourself for a decision you’ve made?”

Sadly, the answer around the table was a unanimous, “All the time.”

When you spend time doggedly agonizing over the past and all the ways you screwed up, the ugly side of passion has reared its head.

Stop and think about how much time you spend criticizing yourself. It’s sobering to realize that your devotion — your passion — has become focused on passing judgment on yourself instead of acknowledging and embracing The Amazing You™. The evidence is in how regularly you find fault in who you are.

Yikes! Would you let someone speak that critically about your friends?! I’ll bet not.

Stop focusing your energy on shredding yourself to bits! Instead, channel the beautiful side of passion. Re-direct all that energy and power toward unearthing and appreciating the things that make you wonderful and unique.

————-
Okay, admit it. What makes YOU wonderful? Come on, it’s practically anonymous on the Internet, you can tell us. You know you don’t hesitate to advertise a weakness (that’s such a girl thing, just quit it!)

Take a moment to share what makes you The Amazing You™!

¹Source: Dictionary.com

In addition to doing a market research project, I recommend business owners keep a folder handy in which to capture bits of information as they come across it on an ongoing basis. It’s a great habit to get into, and will help you keep an eye on trends and stay up-to-date on customer feedback.

Here is a summary of a few kinds of market research you can gather.

1. General Industry Information – Take some time to learn about the industry your business will fit into and what companies with a similar product or service are doing both locally and in other regions. The Internet, newspapers and magazines can all be used to begin your market research project.
2. Trends & Growth – It’s important to learn about emerging trends, as well as challenges facing your industry. This may include information on pending changes to legislation, recent innovations, market shifts, and financial or economic factors that industry insiders would be aware of.
3. Industry Statistics – Statistics are valuable in providing a sense of where your business fits in the big picture. They are great for providing perspective, but will not on their own tell you whether or now, or how, to proceed. They do provide a backdrop to the other research you will gather.
4. Interactive Research – This category encompasses many types of primary research, the kind you get yourself. It can include online or written surveys, focus groups, and even verbal questions, such as “How did you hear about us,” at the checkout counter.

Related posts:

Be in the Know
How to Research Your Market

There are a multitude of things you’ll want to become knowledgeable about before you launch your business, including many operational, financial and legal considerations. Even before you start digging into the details on those very important logistics, however, you need to know that there is a market for the products and services you are thinking about offering.

Solid Business Foundation

I frequently remind entrepreneurs that a business idea without a clearly defined revenue stream is simply a hobby. You need to be able to answer some key questions to know which you have on your hands.

First determine the basic business concept:

1. Have I identified a need that isn’t being met?
2. Can I clearly articulate a benefit my business offers which meets that need?

These questions lead to a few more you’ll need to answer to resolve the hobby vs. business question.

1. Who are my direct and indirect competitors?
2. What makes my business different?
3. Who are the people who will purchase the benefit I’ve identified?

Each of these questions is important and must be answered. No shortcuts.

Well, you can ignore me and skip them now, but you’ll only need to come back and answer them later. And trust me, that is a HUGE time-waster. Not to mention, money-waster.

Like any journey, you can only make real progress
when you have a clear destination in mind.

Whether you’re just starting out, or have been at it a few years and need to adjust to meet market shifts, be sure you can easily answer these questions. Remember, what you uncover will determine whether you will have a viable business and not a hobby.

I urge you, do not wander! Instead, play the game smart and start out right. Then you can hit the ground running instead of playing hit and miss.

Related posts:

Tips & Tricks of the Trade: Market Research
How to Research Your Market

The greatest tools you can bring to your market research are curiosity and observation. Think of this valuable exercise as a fact-finding mission that will help you make well-considered decisions.

In addition to a spirit of adventure, here are some different types of research you can use to gather valuable information for your business:

General Industry Information

Spend some time both in person and on the Internet observing how companies like yours do business. Take a look at the local landscape, as well as how things may be done in other places. Learn what products and services are offered, how the company communicates with its customers, and how their customers feel about them. Note where there may be opportunities for you to fill needs that are not being met.

This includes a view of the competitive landscape. Direct competitors are those companies quite similar to you, but with some differentiating factors. Coffee shops are a good example. Each offers something slightly different but in essence they are there to provide coffee. An indirect competitor may be a juice bar or tea house. Each offer beverages, but they are not going head to head against coffee.

Trends and Growth

Read industry related publications, located at your library or business resource centre or online, to learn about trends and growth areas. This is valuable information as you continue on in business as well, to ensure that you stay current with what customers want and need, as well as ideas on how to grow your business.

The volume of information can be overwhelming, so remember to scan. Take note of new legislation, industry challenges, and economic influences which may affect the industry in future. And be on the lookout for up-and-comers who are trying new things. When an industry becomes saturated with competitors there are always a few early birds creating new trends. It pays to take note.

Industry Statistics

Statistics are collected by government agencies and provide perspective to understand the larger landscape in which your business operates. Statistics are available at your library or business resource centre, and include a variety of data including general industry and consumer demographics.

Statistics can be overwhelming, so look at them for specific information. For example, collecting demographics for your geography can help determine where to set up shop. The mistake of leasing retail space to sell children’s ware in a neighbourhood full of seniors can be avoided when you understand the demographics of the area.

Interactive Research

There’s nothing like learning about prospective customers directly. Officially known as “primary research” because you are obtaining firsthand information rather than relying on others’ data collection, it’s the only way to get a genuine sense of how people will respond to your product or service. Even then, it can be misleading if it’s not objectively gathered.

Face to face surveys (always keep them brief), online or print surveys, and even focus groups are all tools to engage with people and test both ideas and assumptions. “Do you prefer red or blue” is a leading, non-neutral question because the real answer may be neither. “Select the colour you prefer” and listing several options as well as “other” is a more neutral way to frame your question.

Keep an Open Mind

The key to gathering valuable market research, both primary and secondary, is remembering to stay objective. That means not relying on the people who love you to be your primary source of feedback. As much as they love you – because they do – they cannot be fully objective.

It also means staying flexible to adjust your business proposal, in light of information you uncover. Good market research ensures you have a solid business case with data to support your decisions.

Related posts:

Tips & Tricks of the Trade: Market Research
Market Research: Be in the Know