by Michel Fortin
If your web-based business solves a specific problem, then your
chances of online success are good -- this is not a facetious
statement because you'd be surprised to know how many businesses
go online with no clear objective whatsoever. But in order to
increase those chances, an immensely important step in marketing
effectively online is required -- targeting.
This is where many marketers fail, for they are trying to be
"all things to all people." Their web site may offer a product
that solves a specific problem. And unquestionably, the
marketplace -- and the potential -- on the Internet is huge. But
it is also for this very reason that general offers either get
easily drowned in this boundless electronic ocean or fail to
capture the netizen's attention due to the vagueness of the
offering's nature.
Since the marketplace is so vast, attention span so short and
competition so enormous, there is no better place for market
targeting than on the Internet. Today's rapidly changing,
technology-driven marketplace mandates a sharper marketing aim.
If your business doesn't have one, you're going to either have a
really tough time or require a huge marketing budget.
Therefore, try to discover the demographics as well as the
psychographics of your niche -- your niche being your core,
largest or most profitable market. If you don't have a narrowly
defined market, then identify it or isolate one. And once you've
defined it, it will then be easier for you to market your offer
in front of an audience that will most likely be genuinely
interested in it. Otherwise, without one you'll be merely
shooting blanks.
Demographics are the basic qualities and characteristics of your
market. They include age, gender, culture, employment, industry,
income level, marital status, location and so on. For example,
does your product cater uniquely to women? Is it more appealing
to a specific industry? Does your product complement another
type of product? Is your market mostly made up of French
Canadians? In other words, who buys from you specifically?
If you were to answer that last question with "everyone," then
you are falling in the "all things to all people" trap mentioned
earlier. Avoid it as much as you can. But if you do cater to a
diverse market, then the trick is to find out who buys from you
the most or the most often. Above all, ask yourself this
all-important question: Who is my perfect customer?
On the other hand, psychographics consist of the emotional and
behavioral qualities of your target market. They include
emotions, rationales, buying histories, psychology and thought
processes behind the decision to buy your product. For example,
they include your customers' interests, associations to which
they belong, previous purchases they've made, other similar or
related products they've consumed, activities in which they're
engaged, the length of time they remained with a particular
company in the past, and so on.
Stated differently, demographics define the qualities of those
people who may *need* your product, while psychographics are the
qualities of those who may not only need but also *want* your
product. Before you target your market, profile your customer --
your perfect customer. You can start by conducting some
marketing research among your current client base, potential
clients and clients of other similar products or companies. But
never underestimate the gold mine that can be found in your own
backyard -- your clients.
In order to illustrate the difference between demographics and
psychographics, let's look at cosmetic surgeons and particularly
hair transplant doctors. Hair restoration caters typically to
men who have experienced hair loss and are able to afford such
an operation. In other words, men and bald men specifically are
potential patients because they may need more hair.
But psychographics on the other hand go a little further. In
this example, they are comprised of men who not only need more
hair but also want more hair. This is important since not all of
them do -- it's a matter of personal priorities, just as the
type of clothing one chooses to wear. If you think about it,
would you consider all bald men as potential clients? Hopefully
not.
Therefore, in order to target this specific market as precisely
as possible and thus generate higher quality leads, doctors must
take their patients' psychographic profile into account.
Elements include their lifestyle, their interests, the type of
industry in which they work (since certain industries are more
image-related) as well as their previous buying habits (such as
men who have already invested in other forms of hair replacement
solutions).
Once done, they can easily find places on the web where this
perfect customer hangs out. They fish where the fish swim. For
example, there are web sites and even "vortals," which are
niche-based portals, catering to bald men seeking a hair loss
solution (like http://www.regrowth.com/). There are even
discussion lists and ezines whose subscribers consist of people
suffering from thinning hair. And of course, the list goes on.
Nevertheless, keep in mind that less is more. Narrow your focus
to a specific niche and, paradoxically, you will broaden your
sales. Arm yourself with as much information as possible about
your perfect customer, and then target *that* customer more than
any other. While you can't be everything to everyone, you
shouldn't be targeting everyone for everything.
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Michel Fortin is an internationally acclaimed and highly
sought-after consultant whose marketing advice has helped
countless clients earn millions of dollars in record time. He
is also the Senior Editor of Internet Marketing Chronicles, a
weekly newsletter with 125,000 subscribers, as well as the
author of four books. His latest book, "Power Positioning Dot
Com" reveals how to keep your product or service indelibly
carved into your prospects' uppermost consciousness at all times.
Check out the cool, interactive device on the site that puts your
business "center stage."
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