Small businesses. Large businesses. Middle market companies. Women. Men. Young business owners. Pre-retirees. Executives. Homeowners. Anyone. Everyone. Someone.
When I ask sales professionals, typically financial advisors, who their target market is, I often get one of these answers. The problem is these “markets” make it difficult to, um, market. (Are you going to join the affluent market association?)
The affluent marketplace and the other categories I mentioned above aren’t necessarily bad or wrong; they just require more of an explanation. (“What do you mean by the affluent marketplace?”)
Without more of an explanation, your centers of influence (targeted referral sources), current clients, and other prospects simply won’t know what you’re talking about.
A term like pre-retirees can be vague. If we’re all working, aren’t we all pre-retirees?
I digress.
Reducing Your Target Market
I look at target markets as I do mathematical fractions. (Stay with me here.)
If you were giving directions to someone, you might say, “You’re halfway there.” You would probably never say, “You’re 16/32 there.”
The understanding of “halfway” is universal, and therefore meaningful. Why make the concept of “one-half” more confusing than it needs to be?
If you reduce your target market to the lowest common denominator (you may need to search here), it will be much easier to network and communicate with your centers of influence. Not to mention attending the right events, saying the right things, and meeting the right people. (See my last post.)
Here are some examples of how you might reduce the affluent marketplace fraction from 16/32 to one half.
INDUSTRY
Is there a specific industry that lends itself to your target marketplace? Perhaps it’s celebrity influencers. Or family-owned car dealerships. (I’m sitting in one now!)
PROFESSION
Doctors, dentists, attorneys, software developers, professional athletes, or other professions that generate a high level of income and may need a succession plan or creative investment strategy.
MARKET SEGMENT
Is there a specific segment of a marketplace that appeals to you? Heart surgeons. Or attorneys that exclusively work with celebrity divorces. Real estate developers focused on towns that retirees are moving to.
NICHE
Is there a specific industry, profession, or product that is so specialized that they are the only game in town? Maybe an engineer or has received a government grant to invent a new type of AI. Or a device to minimize cell phone usage while driving.
DYNAMIC
Retired professional athletes, investors focused on cannabis, art collectors, Fortune 500 Board Members. Or franchisors and franchisees interested in their next venture.
DEMOGRAPHIC
Are there initiatives that are specific to a cause, nationality, race, gender, socioeconomic status, age, or disability that may be an underserved marketplace?
GEOGRAPHY
Sometimes geography matters for industries like agriculture, liquor distilleries, pharmaceuticals, financial services, manufacturing, distribution, oil refineries, fashion, wine, beer, and automotive.
COMPANY NAME
Are there specific companies that are offering retirement packages to executives due to a merger or acquisition? Or companies that are being impacted by private equity? Drastic growth due to increased demand?
Bottom Line
Given your profession, some of the above examples may vary when it comes to your area of focus. Bottom line, it’s important to simply have a target market that is clear, specific, and referable. Otherwise, you’re just another sales producer looking to work with affluent people.
Final thought!
You can certainly have more than one target market. You may have two or three, but then networking and other types of marketing could become overwhelming.
It’s very difficult to market to everyone. And that’s the point.
If you establish yourself as the “go-to” in your clearly defined target market, you could just find yourself in the affluent marketplace.
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