Are you sure you’re targeting the right people?

Making a sale relies a lot on knowing who your potential customer is and what they need. That means that you have to do your research.

We got a call yesterday from a gentleman who noticed that Enquiro “is a sponsored link on Google” and was sure we’re “paying good money to be there”. He was calling because his company has “the ability to take clients’ websites and put them on page one of Google, organically, in 90 days or less.”

He did his research a little too late. About 30 seconds into the voicemail, he suddenly realized that search engine optimization is one of the primary client services that we offer. He apologized and quickly hung up.

What does this have to do with targeting your website and online marketing to the right people? If you realize after you’ve built your site and campaign that the people you’re talking to don’t need your services, you’ve already tossed a whole bunch of money out the window.

There are two key things to keep in mind when you’re talking about a new website or marketing campaign:

Who are you targeting?
What is the demand for your services? Who in the online space needs what you have to offer? Make sure that you speak their language, meet them in the right places, and provide what they need. Which leads to point #2:

Why are you targeting them?
What benefits (that’s right, I said benefits, not features) can you offer your potential customers? What can you do to help them address their pains?

So the moral of this voicemail is, make sure you’re targeting the right people – you’re probably going to have a tough time selling your products or services to people who don’t need them.