TARGET PRACTICE: GETTING YOUR MESSAGE TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE

Classified ads, sales letters, press releases, and other written
marketing materials can be very effective tools when you're
trying to get the word out about a product or service. While we
all know this and have all used these methods with probable
success, how often to we think about WHO our message is actually
getting through to?

Placing ads and sending out sales letters is fine, but if you're
offering a dog walking, how much success are you going to find if
only a small percentage of those reading your message actually
have dogs? Instead of blanket mailings, choose communities or
neighborhoods that seem to have a high population of dogs.
Perhaps even better, take your fliers to the local humane society
and ask to place them by the entrance. That way, you'll be sure
to get your message through to dog owners.

If you have a press release written about your business
opportunity (usually not the best subject for a press release
anyway), but only have it sent to general interest media, what
kind of results should you expect? I mean, maybe you're trying
to reach the general public, but how many of those people would
really be interested in what you're offering? Unless your
business is so revolutionary that EVERYONE would want to know
about it, you'd probably be better off to send that release to
online or print publications whose audience is primarily made up
of businesspeople or online money-makers.

Targeting your advertising may not get through to as many people
as you think is necessary. In most case, however, you'll
actually get more bang for your buck by getting through to the
people who are most likely to buy. If your ad is seen by 20,000
people, but only 300 of them are the sort of people that would
really be interested, you've just wasted 19,700 exposures- like
doing a national news broadcast when only Tennessee is tuned in.

Sending your ad to a targeted list of people ensures you get the
highest percentage of response possible. So even if fewer people
get the message, you're likely to get more responses for your
money. While it may be more expensive and more difficult to
target your advertising, you're sill getting a better deal and
building a valuable base of loyal customers.