How do I start marketing to a niche target?
I need to create an extensive professional client database to sell authored books, resumes, job searches and job interviews. The ideal scenario is to address entire workshop groups interested in buying books or contracting my services. I don't know how to start marketing to this niche target, or how to prospect potential clients.
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Apr 24, 2015
All great answers. I would just add that you should market yourself on search engines and social media as well.
Sep 11, 2014
1.According to Philip kotler , “ Market segmentation is sub-dividing a market into distinct and homogeneous subgroups of customers, where any group can conceivably be selected as a target market to be met with distinct marketing mix.”
2.Group of customers seeking a distinctive mix of benefits who are ready to pay extra premium.
I will give a best example from that you can easily identify your niche market.
Girls mostly like what color? - The Answer is "Pink".
So Nissan Car launched "Pink color Nissan Micra" to target a "niche market = Women"
So very simple first of all find out the needs and wants of the total audience. In that you can segment the large market into small "Market Segmentation" by the customers common behavior, needs and wants.
Sep 10, 2014
Hi James,
Before i start giving you the advice. I would like to know little more details about the prospect like do you own any website or you would like to do it by arranging any kind of programs or events to get user participate ? etc, etc ....
Sep 10, 2014
In my view.. you need to create a website and design different groups for different requirement and plan and design the group functioning in such a way that people get all the requisite information or lead from that page
Your can promote your web site to various platforms like FB, LinkedIn, MosaicHUB. You can even contact various professional groups and associations through direct mailing.
Sep 10, 2014
Amazing number of highly valuable advices here, probably because you used the term niche. Segment marketing is the easiest type there is & the most fun because 1) they're usually very easy to reach at the most economical basis per eyeball 2) tend to have the highest return rate on outreach 3) provides the most passionate in-depth opportunity for developing laser-focused content for market effective storytelling
Sep 10, 2014
Once you have your target audience defined, I would be happy to prepare a targeted list recommendation for you. We could reach your prospective audience through postal, email and/or telemarketing channel depending on your objective. Please feel to reach out for a more specific conversation as I am happy to help you develop the reach to your target marketplace.
Sep 10, 2014
James,
"Professionals" who are potential clients hang out here:
Linkedin (and Linkedin groups)
Quora
MosaicHub
They also are members of local or national organizations.
World Trade Center
Chambers
CEO Groups
Executive Groups
Trade Associations
They also participate in trade shows (related to their industry)
www.tsnn.com is where you can track the organizations.
They also serve on boards for non-profit organizations with a cause.
This list is endless.
Meeting people is easy.
What I wished I had heard from your introduction:
"I have a mission to change the world for business executives working in manufacturing who are caught between a rock and a hard place. They are under the gun to get more with less. I have books, workshops and services to empower them to be more effective... guaranteed."
Because when you meet these executives face to face or online, they have heard it all before.
Stay narrow --- who do you best serve and who will you have credibility with?
Connect with the leaders of organizations to create a win-win-win. (joint venture)
Also connect with leaders and offer yourself as a guest speaker. Have a mission and hopefully they will recognize how they win.
What is the one big issue you will conquer / solve? (with the tools you mentioned?) Employment? "Everyone should be promoted"?
Help X number of people per week. (Make their day) If you help 10 people per week with an email, social, in person, etc... at the end of a month, you will have 200 new connections where people will respond with "awesome". This will give you more introductions and possibly a few testimonials.
Extensive always starts with one.
The challenge is not making new connections or growing a list. The challenge is about relevance and helpfulness... and whether or not you matter enough.
Ready to see you fly,
Sep 10, 2014
You need to leverage your time. I suggest you build your funnel of prospects by providing a free lead magnet. What works well is a free webinar. You can get participants through social media, networking groups, associations, or even buy lists.
Depending on the price of your ultimate product or service, you can sell at the end of the webinar or book them into a brief 'triage' call or an option of either. There are killer ways to provide a dazzling webinar and then pull the prospect to you on the triage call.
If your ultimate product or service is high priced, you then book them into a one-hour carefully crafted/scripted strategy call to sell them your product or service. Done right, the ultimate placement rate is 80+%.
Sep 10, 2014
James,
Lots of great advice here about a) getting to know your target market better by doing some research, and b) understanding their pains, wants, and desires in order to best position your lineup of products/services.
I like to use Facebook, Linkedin, & Google+ groups to "listen in" on the conversations my prospects are having , and the formulate a free (or low cost) offer to an opt-in that will help address their problem.
It's a great way to build an email list, though lots of people use fake or alternate email addresses for opt-ins... which is one reason I like using a Facebook marketing tool called 22Social (my referral link is: http://www.22s.com/free/43140 - I don't earn money from this, just the ability to use it for free)
There are, of course, list brokers, ezines, and other places from which to buy or pull traffic as well. In fact, the list-building possibilities are endless.
As with others here, this is my area of specialty, and would be glad to offer some of my time to help strategize and explore in further detail should you wish. Feel free to get in touch.
Sep 10, 2014
I agree with the people that said to determine who your ideal customer is going to be. If you need a list of questions to help you narrow that down, I can give you that.From there you can start marketing in various ways. Go to places your ideal customer will be. Do you have a FB page? A blog? Are you trying to collect emails with an opt in page? What is your give-a-way. Try giving away the first chapter of the book and then tell them how to get more. Do a speaking engagement. and offer a portion of your profits for that particular group. Of course it is going to be where your ideal customer is. That is just a beginning! May your launch be blessed!
Sep 10, 2014
Hi James,
I would start by doing an analysis of who your target audience is. Once you have that information figured out, I think a targeted direct mail marketing strategy would be very beneficial.
This way, you can buy a mailing list for individuals that only fit your target and send information/direct mail pieces to them. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, please don't hesitate to contact me, I'd love to help!
Thanks,
Kayla
Sep 10, 2014
That would seem to be several niches you are talking about. Sales of books, Writing resumes, Job listing and research services, and Job placement services. Nothing wrong with that, but each would need to be controlled separately.
I would suggest your invest in a mentor, one with knowledge in how to market independently, each niche. I am friends with several entrepreneurs who work several niches simultaneously. It can be done by well educated marketers, but if you are just starting out, I would not suggest it. Work one at a time to begin, adding on more as you become comfortable, and tried. It can be difficult if you are not completely computer savvy.
Sep 10, 2014
First, understand your target audience and what makes them tick. Create a a buyer persona, is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal custom. When creating your buyer persona(s), consider including customer demographics, behavior patterns, motivations, and goals. The more detailed you are, the better. Get a sense of what blogs they read, what conferences they attend and what social platforms they utilize.
Once you have a clear vision of your audience/buyer you can begin to infiltrate their market space. Speak at the conferences they attend, get press in the publications they read, post on the social platforms they participate in, and create content that will resonate with them. This can take a little time but will pay off in the long run.
Sep 10, 2014
I believe before you begin to market you first must figure out what will separate you from your competition. WHY will your target market want to come to your workshops and WHAT will YOU add to their business. With marketing, while it seems to be about how you can reach your target, you first must separate yourself from your competitors. If you are not identifying these key items, you will be wasting your money on a mailing list.
Sep 10, 2014
Hi James,
In order to provide you with the best possible advise would you mind sharing a few more details about your business? What kind of work do you do? I would guess now that you are in recruitment or a recruitment consultant, maybe even a career coach. Do you already have a website that you could share with us so that we can get a better understanding about your business? This would help me to make my advise much more customised to your needs. Thank you
Sep 10, 2014
Where does your potential prospect spend their time. What networks or associations are they a part of. Who do you know in those networks, or who can you ask to connect you with those networks.
Before you go and talk to them - answer the 'why.'
WHY are they interested in your product, and WHY are you selling it.
Next, answer 'how.'
HOW does this make their lives better after they purchase it.
First you find them, then you understand how to reach them.
This is agnostic to your scenario, but is a universal when target marketing.
Sep 10, 2014
You need to join that community. Be one of them and you'll gain credibility -- and their ears!
Sep 11, 2014
Tremendous amount of great ideas to digest. Looks af if there are four areas of these recommendations:
o Target Market(s)- -overall Industry
o Niche--your fit within these
o The Competitive landscape
o Identity.
I would group each into one of these categories. Then Prioritize, Plan, Perform(Execute).
Good Luck!
Edwin
Sep 10, 2014
Look for a company that is already selling to your market in a non competing business. If they are open to the idea - they can endorse you to their clients - you will likely have to provide a reward for this unless you have a client list you can endorse them to. We work with contractors and find that most ask for referrals from other contractors but they never take it to the next level - we had one plumber that endorsed a remodeling company to all 400 of their clients - this turned out to be a windfall for the remodeling company.
In the construction industry we have a list of 40 or more business that are going after the same target market - this is a great way to grow your business. Be aware that some folks will want the world to do this for you and many will be afraid that they might lose a client or 2 - move on from them.
There has to be a lot of trust for a company to do this - we have this type of relationship with a business coach and two web companies for example.
This is right on target! Great advice!