Target market – part 1

To grow your business you need to sometimes think and act counter intuitively and this begins with choosing your target market.

Rather than trying to be all things to all people (which is impossible) you need to first narrow your focus and niche. This is a very powerful marketing strategy which most business owners fail to understand and use.

They fear that cutting their market out will mean they will make less sales. However, they are jumping the gun; the first thing you need to do is get an opportunity to sell. And, if you are trying to be all things to all people you will be seen as a generalist and less interesting than the specialists.

Even if you get an opportunity to sell you will find you experience more price pressure because you are not perceived as an expert.

By focussing on a niche you make your business a perfect fit for a specific segment of the market and the expense of turning you back on the rest of the market.

But, keep in mind that when you have one segment of the market under your belt you can easily widen your target market. So, rather than be a small fish in a big pond you start as the only fish in a very small pond and grow the size of the pond.

For example, if you wanted to launch an Estate Agency in your area how would you stand a chance against the existing providers? Well, if you specialised in family homes with four plus bedrooms you would be able to identity where your target market is and  develop a proposition which they would find better than the competition.

In terms of doing what we say, Sackmans specialises in small owner managed business. This means we develop our knowledge to help these clients. I am no longer attending Inheritance Tax planning training. If a client needs this help I will bring in a specialist and work with them. They client will end up paying less and get a faster result.

The research you do before choosing your niche is probably the most important part of developing your business. If you have not done this then I strongly recommend you take one step back before looking at ways of moving forward.

The research will cost some time but not  a lot of money and will give you information you can build into your marketing. The time you spend on research will be the best investment you will ever make.

You need to research:

1. Existing Customers (if you are already in business)

2. Potential Customers

3. The competitors

The next article we will consider how best to research existing customers.

Remember, Sackmans are Accountants for North London for small businesses so if you know anyone looking for free business advice suggest they sign up to our newsletter.