The internet, to me, is sort of like a huge shopping centre where the web surfers are the shoppers and websites are the shops. Only, in this shopping centre, the shoppers aren’t automatically provided with a directory and map of all the shops, and the shop owners aren’t able to see the faces of the customers that actually enter. What we have here on the internet is a bunch of lost shoppers bouncing around until they randomly find themselves at a checkout counter. We also have a bunch of shop owners with no real idea of who composes their main customer base. So, in this scenario, business just doesn’t operate to its fullest potential as businesses and customers aren’t able to find each other.
This is the problem with the internet. Just because you have a website doesn’t mean that web visitors will automatically find you, and if they do come, it doesn’t mean that they are potential customers. Businesses on the web need to get in touch with their target market in order to entice the shoppers with the biggest chance of being converted to customers into their shop. But, how do you do that?
Define your niche. What do you have on your website that makes it special and different from others? This would be your niche, and those website owners with a more targeted niche will do better in marketing.
Define what your product or service offers customers. What is the main reason customers will choose your product or service? These reasons can be anything from the fact that the item fixes a problem, makes them feel good, or satisfies needs.
Describe the customers. What type of person is searching for your niche, and how does the product help them? It is best to really lay out the potential customer in detail, especially by analysing the following characteristics:
- Age Group
- Gender
- Marital status
- Ethnic or religious backgrounds
- Occupations
- Income status
Find the customers on the internet. Where do these potential customers like to frequent in the virtual world? Just as you wouldn’t try to advertise for paintball outings in a children’s playground, you most likely wouldn’t find it beneficial to search on baby forums to find customers for your motorcycle website.
- Think about the issues your target market is concerned with, how much money they have to spend, and even the types of products or services they are most likely to buy. Gather websites, forums, newsletters, ezines and more that deal with these topics and advertise your website.
- If your target market is into social networking, it is wise to investigate which social networking method they are most likely to use. Some recent and interesting studies have been released pertaining to the varying degrees of income and education levels that compose the user base of Twitter, Facebook and Myspace, for example.
- Investigate the keywords this target market will type into a search engine and then try to optimise the website for those words. The higher up in the search engine results pages your website is, the more likely it is to have more traffic, and more business.
Analyse and update data often. Write advertisements that appeal to the emotions of your target audience and place these in the appropriate locations on the internet. Use URL trackers and coupons to see where the best traffic is coming from on the internet and make changes to marketing tactics as necessary.
Proper scrutiny of a business’s target market will help them be better able to guide potential customers to a website on the internet. Without understanding who exactly they provide a product or service for, there is no way to make consistent and worthwhile attempts for online growth and success.
