How to define your Target Market

How to define your Target Market

Strategic Marketing Plan | How to Grow Your Small Business

Often considered one of the more difficult decisions you will face in positioning your business, small businesses and entrepreneurs usually struggle in defining their target market.

It can be a confusing bitter process because people don’t fully understand why it is important to focus on a fraction of the market. There are some small business owners that choose to ignore the concept of a target marketing, and claim that their product or service is for everyone. The small businesses that choose this route usually get stuck competing on price, coping with small returns on advertising investments, and ultimately struggle to keep their business alive. By narrowing your advertising focus you can more effectively motivate people to buy your product or service.

What is a Target Market?

 

Target Market Definition:
A target market is a group of people with similar characteristics that a business singles out to increase advertising return on investment and to maximize their product or service value.

Target markets are often clustered by a shared characteristic that gives the business an advantage to motivate them to buy. These characteristics can be in the form of:

  • Geographic Areas – City, Zip Code, Urban vs Rural, Etc.
  • Demographics – Age, Gender, Income Level, Marital Status, Race, Religion, etc.
  • Psychographics – Lifestyle, Beliefs, Values, Interests, Etc.
  • Industry Type – Automotive Manufacturers, Legal Firms, Family Doctors, etc.

  • Why should you pick a target market for your business?

    When running a business it is common to have a limiting budget that can be spent on bringing in new sales. The question that every company needs to answer is, “How do we maximize our return on advertising investments (ROAI)?” One of the most effective answers to this question is to narrow your advertising efforts to focus on a target market. Advertising itself is only a form of communicating a message to the outside world, for the benefit of your business. The most common end goal of conveying a message to the outside world is to simply increase your sales; therefore, your message needs to motivate your consumer to consume your product. So the question we need to answer is, “How do you motivate the consumer to consume?” Your answer to this question will depend on who you are trying to convince to buy your product or service. It is much easier to motivate people who are of similar interests, rather than a diverse group. By selecting a group with similar interests, you will have more success in converting people with one message. Another reason it is important to select a target market is because it will force you to guarantee that there is a need for your product or service. When creating your products or services it is important that they are filling the specific needs of a specific target market. This allows you to leverage the value your product creates to compete on more than just price. If you can fill the complete set of needs for a specific target market, you can create more value than if you fill a small portion needs for everyone. Create the amount of value that motivates to buy, not just the amount of value that gets people to notice you.

    Can my business have more than one target market?

    The short answer is yes. Your business can have many target markets. Some businesses offer multiple products/services that cater to different target markets. Also common, businesses will create multiple advertising campaigns that cater to different target markets, all for the same product or service.

    There are many ways to strategize which target markets you should go after. Some businesses will diversify to reduce risk. Some businesses will go after target markets that are similar to reduce costs and complexity. There is no right answer for all scenarios, and each company needs to put the work and thought into what is the right combination of target markets for them.

    The bottom line you need to remember is you need to single out one target market for each advertising campaign. Additionally, you need to have a developed strategic marketing plan for each target market.

    What is a Strategic Marketing Plan - Infographic

    How to select target market(s) for my business?

    The most practical way to select a target market is to follow a SWOT analysis approach. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. We must tweak the SWOT approach to make it a more practical evaluation in selecting our target market. To do this, I simplified the approach to keep everything easy to understand and realistic. 3 steps to selecting your Target Market:

  • Determine who needs your USP (Strengths)
  • Estimate Potential Revenue from that Target Market (Opportunities)
  • Evaluate your competition for the target market. (Threats)

  • Strategic Marketing Plan - The Positioning Stage Infographic

    Determining who needs your USP

    If you have not already defined your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) for your business and/or products or services, do that first. Once you have your USP defined it is time to figure out who really needs what makes you unique. To read more about how to select your USP, click here. Your unique selling proposition is the secret sauce that a certain group of people can’t resist. If you can find the right group of people that need your USP, all your marketing efforts will produce much better results. Start your search by choosing the characteristics of people that would be attracted to your USP. Use the type of characteristics I listed earlier to help you form your list. Once you have your list of characteristics, now is the time to pull them together and identify the group of people that possess most of those characteristics. If you can find that group, you have the basic building blocks of your target market.

    Estimate Potential Revenue from that Target Market.

    Make sure the field can reap a harvest. Before selecting your target market you must estimate the potential revenue that can be obtained through a specific target market. You need to take into account that your target market has to have enough monetary potential to support the investments in that area. Real revenue potential for certain target markets may be surprising, and an experienced professional would not make a decision without first researching those numbers. You can make it a very complex calculation if desired, but even a simple equation to evaluate potential revenue is better than not taking it into consideration at all.

    Evaluate your Competition for the Target Market.

    After estimating the potential revenue, it is vital to consider the competition you will be up against. If the potential revenue you calculated was more than exciting, just calm yourself until you take into account the competitors. Much like life, we must consider the number of competitors and the size of them to truly get perspective on our odds of winning. Put some effort into compiling a list of the competitors and their size. Next calculate the amount of market share left over for you to feast on in a realistic sense. This will help you make the final decision on which target market is best for you. When you have finished all 3 steps of the process, it is now time to select your target market. Sometimes all the research can leave you more skeptical than before you started this process. Don’t let the worries get you stuck, and simply make the most logical decision you can based on the information at your fingertips. Selecting a target market is a big decision for your strategic positioning of your business, but without one you could greatly reduce the return on investment of your advertising campaigns.

    Our company name Pursue Pro was inspired by the idea of individuals pursuing professionalism through their marketing efforts, and continually aspiring to be the pro in their field.

    Article written by Jacob Hirschman

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    Selecting Communication Channels

    Many businesses struggle with selecting communication channels that are right for them.

    Strategic Marketing Plan | How to Grow Your Small Business

    What’s the best way for your business to communicate to its audience?

    With extremely diverse advertising all around us the options are endless. It can be a large project when it comes to selecting your communication channels. When you find advertisers to use, it can be hard to really know which one is the best for your target market. With large numbers of reach and exposure, it can be tempting to choose an advertiser that “makes sense” and has a competitive price. Properly selecting the communication channels your business uses to promote itself is a high value task that needs to be done carefully.

    What are communication channels?

     

    Communication Channels

    The methods a business uses to convey its message to the world.

    Examples of communication channels:

    • Social Media Platforms

    • Newspaper

    • Face to Face

    • Emails

    • Lawn Signs

    • Radio

    • Newsletters

    • Google Ads

    • Text Message

    The list goes on and on….

    Why should I take the time to evaluate my business’s communication channels?

    Don’t just pick the first channel that feels right or costs the least for your business. Most people think the step of selecting communication channels for their business is not that important. That is why most of us skip this step and just choose the cheapest option with the best sales pitch. The businesses that take their time in their strategic marketing plan and carefully evaluate their advertising options are the ones that end up with higher return on investment (ROI) on their ads. Make sure your time and money is spent using the right tools to convey your message.

    It’s all about ROI. You work hard for your money. Don’t settle for channels that are easy or familiar without knowing if they are the best option. By taking your time and researching into the best method to reach your target market you maximize your ROI of advertising.

    It doesn’t matter how great your advertisement is if you selected the wrong channel to communicate it. Don’t assume your gut feelings are always right. Qualify each channel you select and make sure it is right for your business. Without proper research, you could be missing the boat with your advertising strategy and your competition could get a leg up on you.

    How do you determine what communication channels are right for your business?

    First and foremost, if you have not completed the first four steps of your Strategic Marketing Plan, do that first.

    Read this article to learn how**

    Once you have defined your USP, Target Market, Character Profile, and Message, you are ready to select the best Communication Channels.

    There are 4 steps to properly selecting your businesses communication channels:
    1. Select
    2. Research
    3. Rank
    4. Evaluate Resources.

    Select Potential Channels

    The first step in the process is to select potential communication channels that feel like a good fit for your business. Select however many channels are “potentially” a good fit and write them down. Just know that you will have to research and rate each selection in later steps.

    Here is a list of communication channels out there that you may want to consider. This list is only to give you some ideas, there are many other channels out there.

    Published / Print Physical Social Media Digital Media Other Media:
    Newspapers Events Facebook Posts/ads Email Ads Radio
    Magazines Trade shows Twitter Posts/ads Websites Television
    Journals Face-to-face Sales call YouTube Posts/ads Blogs
    Yard Signs Cold Calls Instagram Posts/ads Newsletters
    Brochures Pinterest Posts/ads Mobile App
    Direct Mail LinkedIn Posts/ads Text Message Marketing
    Billboards SnapChat Posts/ads Google Advertising
    Podcasts
    Strategic Marketing Plan - The Positioning Stage Infographic

    Research:

    Once you have a list of potential communication channels, it is time to do your homework. Start researching important information for each channel so that you can position yourself to rank them. Get creative with how you research and write down your findings.

    Before you research, set a goal for specific information you would like to obtain:

    • Target Market Reach – who the communication channel reaches.

    • Demographic reach
    • Psychographic reach
    • Geographic reach
    • Etc.
    • Monetary Cost – the amount of money it costs your organization to use that specific channel.

    • Time Cost – the amount of time it takes your organization to use that specific channel.

    • Skill Level Required – the skill level required to properly utilize that channel.

    Start your research on the internet. You will be able to find helpful content from business owners like yourself who have already gone out and tried these particular channels. With blogs, youtube, and podcasts you can find helpful information, and possibly even a list of the best communication channels for your type of business. Always make sure you fact check suggestions online and look for quantitative data.

    Most communication channels run by advertising agencies have done the statistical evaluation for you. Advertisers like Facebook or your local radio company will have large amounts of quantitative information for your reference.

    Ranking:

    Phase three is where you rank your selected communication channels. Ranking is important because it will allow you to determine where your resources will be designated. Communication channels are not made equally; some will provide more value to your business than others.

    Rank each channel with the following scores:

    • Target Market Focus – Each Communication Channel needs to be somewhat focused on your target market. There are varying levels of how focused certain channels can be. The more focused it is to your target market, the greater the ROI. You won’t waste time and money with people who don’t need what your selling if you find channels that are highly focused on your target market.

    • The easiest way to rank this in on a scale of 1-10.

    • 1 not focused on your target market at all.

    • 10 very focused on your target market.

    • Monetary Cost – The amount of money needed to spend on communication channels is always a concern; unfortunately, often times this is the only measure business owners will consider. It’s obvious that the cheaper options are more attractive, but we must make sure to take all measures into account to determine true ROI.

    • The best way to measure this is to assign a dollar amount to a specific goal or time frame (ie: $100/month, $50/1k person reach, etc.)

    • Time Cost – Oftentimes, time-cost can be an underlying expense to your company that is more detrimental than the surface costs. Make sure to do your homework and have a good understanding of how much time a certain communication channel may require.

    • The best way to rank is with time/time measure (hrs/week, hrs/month)

    • Skill level required – Always do your research into the amount of skill required to properly communicate in each channel. Many bosses and owners are slow to realize that there can be detrimental effects on their company image if they did not possess the resources skilled enough to properly communicate in their communication channels.  

    • The easiest way is to rank on a scale of 1-10.

    • 1 being complex to use – requiring a lot of skill and expertise.

    • 10 being easy to use – hardly requiring any skill to use well.

    Evaluate Resources:

    Once you have ranked all your communication channels, now is the time to evaluate your resources. Evaluating your resources is important to do before you build your sales funnel. It allows you to take a realistic check at what is feasible in the short term. Your business will save time and money in the long run if you make sure you can implement the strategy you are creating.

    Create a list of the resources you already have at your disposal. These resources can include:

    • Employees

    • A Monetary budget

    • Potential products or services to assist you.

    At this point you are ready to start selecting your communication channels as you build your sales funnel. Based on the ranking you gave your channels and the resources you have available, you will now be able to decide what communication channels fit together in an effective way. Keep in mind that your strategic marketing plan should be uniquely catered to your business and all your communication channels should support each other.

    Article written by Jacob Hirschman

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    Strategic Marketing Plan | How to Grow Your Small Business

     Strategic marketing plans are incredibly important for successfully achieving your marketing goals.

    Strategic Marketing Plan | How to Grow Your Small Business

    Have you ever found yourself trying to wrap your head around what a true marketing strategy for your business would look like?

    Often times small business owners and entrepreneurs struggle with the concept of marketing or understand only bits and pieces. Marketing is much more than simply advertising or branding and it doesn’t have to be difficult to apply it to your business. This article will help you see a clear picture of what marketing should look like for your business, and how to make your very own strategic marketing plan.

    What is a Strategic Marketing Plan?

     

    Strategic Marketing Plan

    A plan that positions your business in the marketplace, optimizes your sales funnel, and maximizes the value created in the goods exchange process.

    As you can see in the definition, there are three stages of a Strategic Marketing Plan:

    • Positioning– Determining how and where you take your stance in the marketplace.

    • Sales Funnel – Where you create a plan that maximizes your lead capturing, lead nurturing, and lead conversion efforts.

    • Goods Exchange – This stage helps you obtain the most value possible from the exchange of goods between you and the customer, for your future benefit.

    Why does every business and entrepreneur need to have a Strategic Marketing Plan?

    A strategic marketing plan acts as three key elements to a business:

    1. A compass to move all facets of a company in a unified direction – much like a Mission Statement or Core Values. The Positioning Stage is primarily used for this reason.

    2. A tool to map out your advertising campaign efforts, and to make sure that all efforts support the overarching plan. The Sales Funnel Stage is primarily used for this reason.

    3. A policy for key systems that are vital in creating the most amount of value in the goods exchange process.

    What is a Strategic Marketing Plan - Infographic

    When should I use a Strategic Marketing Plan?

     

    Every business should have a marketing plan in place before even entering the marketplace. I know that most small businesses do not initially do this; in fact, some long standing business often have neglected this step as well. The bottom line is if you do not want to be squeezed out by your competition or you want to maximize your advertising ROI, every business should absolutely have a strategic marketing plan.

     

    Once you initially create a strategic marketing plan, you should review and update your strategic marketing plan every time you are about to spend money on promoting some facet of your business. Whether you are hiring to fill a position, promoting a new product, or raising brand awareness in a local community, make sure you review and update your Strategic Marketing Plan. Treat it as a living document and keep it up to date with all your promotion efforts to have a clear picture as to whether they are aligned in supporting the overarching plan.

    How to Create a Strategic Marketing Plan:

    Strategic Marketing Plan - The Positioning Stage Infographic

    Positioning stage:

    The positioning stage is arguably the most important part of a strategic marketing plan. If you position your company for success in the marketplace, all your other marketing efforts will come much easier. Additionally, the positioning stage is also one of the more difficult areas to plan for your business. It will make you answer the big questions that can be hard to make a decision on. It will be the backbone of everything else making it the area you should make sure you get right. Take your time in this area but don’t get stuck on it. It is always better to have a plan and realize later it needs to change, than to not have a plan and have no idea if you are succeeding or failing.

    1. Define your Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

    A unique selling proposition is one of those things that force you to be brutally honest with yourself. My grandfather was always a great advocate of this practice. When he heard I was starting a marketing agency he asked, “Why should I spend my money with you and not the guy who has a lower price?” After I gave what I thought to be a pretty good answer he followed with, “How are you going to convince me of that?”… His questions are exactly the ones we need to answer. Communicate to people what makes your business unique and better than your competitors.

    *Read this article if you want to learn more about How to create a USP.*

    2. Determine who needs your USP. AKA Define your Target Market.

    What type of person needs what makes you unique? By narrowing in on a certain target market, you can create a message that is specifically catered to what the person needs to hear. Small business owners often make this statement, “My product/service is for everyone. Why would I want to limit my advertising to a small group of people rather than reaching everyone?” If your goal is to increase profits, you want your advertising to be effective at converting consumers into customers. The advertisements that are best at converting sales are the ones that best capture what motivates a particular consumer to buy. The most effective way at creating an advertisement that speaks specifically to what motivates a consumer, is to select a target market and keep it focused. It is easier to motivate a specific group with similar interests than a large group with diverse interests.

    Mass Marketing is only an alternative to the Target Market approach if you have an enormous amount of money to invest into advertisements. Most small to medium sized businesses are not positioned well to use a mass marketing approach.

    3. List out the Character Profile of your Target Market.

    Once you have pinpointed a target market, it is now time to walk in their shoes. This is a very important point in the process and makes good marketing campaigns become great. Answer the question, “What motivates this person to buy what I am selling.” You need to pretend you’re the customer (sometimes literally) in order to feel certain emotions or wants that they might feel. Next you need to list personality traits / characteristics / needs / desires / behavioral patterns / and any other key identifiers that the individual might have.

    4. Determine your Message to your Target Market.

    This is the point where you take your character profile and determine how to best communicate your unique selling proposition. Your message includes more than the text that you write or the words that you say. Have you ever heard of the rule that communication is 7% verbal and 93% non-verbal (body language 55% and tone of voice 38%). That concept applies to advertising in that there is more to communication than what is written or said. In other words, your brand is a pivotal piece in your advertising efforts. Combine your brand with words in a way that speaks specifically to your target market and motivates them to take action.

    5. Determine which Media, aka Communication Channel, is most suited to reach your target market.

    Select the right communication channels for your business. There are many communication channels out there that can be used to advertise. From newspapers and cold calls to Facebook ads, advertising comes in all shapes and sizes. Selecting the right channels for your campaigns can make a huge difference in the results and directly affect ROI.
    Do your research. Most advertisers will give you information on who their ads will reach and how many consumers will see their ads. Sometimes it takes a little creativity to determine who will be reached through certain channels; for example, many local counties post data on road usage for you to determine how much exposure a sign will get. The research can sometimes be very straight forward and sometimes it takes creativity to get the best estimations.

    Strategic Marketing Plan - Sales Funnel Infographic

    Sales Funnel:

    This stage is all about how you capture, nurture, and convert leads. You should make sure all your campaigns are documented and supporting each other. Often times CRM software and other tools are used to easily streamline this part of your plan. You should be reworking your sales funnel as you continue to market your business over time. Other areas tend to change less often than your sales funnel will.

    6. List out the tools you will use to Capture Leads and draw people into the sales funnel.

    Sometimes the sales funnel (capture>nurture> convert) will happen very quickly, and sometimes it takes a long time. In most cases, the higher the price tag, the slower the process takes. Either way you must capture the lead to begin the process. In order to capture a lead, you must motivate the consumer to consider consuming. The worm on the end of your hook better be enticing enough to draw the fish in closer. In other words, your message that you came up with must be combined with one of your communication channels in order to catch your target market’s attention. While trying to capture a lead it is important to get some small, physical commitment of interest. For example this could be their email address to get more information or to schedule a meeting to discuss details. You can leverage more points of contact if you get this commitment. Psychologically, humans look to justify their own actions. By getting them to physically move toward purchasing your product or service, they will begin building an argument in your favor as to why they should buy. Once you have their interest, it is time to woo them into commitment.

    7. List out the tools you will use to Nurture Leads.

    Once you have the consumer’s attention, you must make the experience a positive one. For example, a good car salesperson will dote on you with coffee, treats, and pleasant conversation while you sit down to hear more about the new vehicle you are interested in. A key factor in nurturing a sale, is you want to make the information gathering and transaction steps as quick and painless as possible. You must provide a balance of details and speed. This step is just as important with digital advertising as it is personal selling. Once you get your customer to click on your social media ad, you must present them with the information they may desire, while moving them along to make the decision to buy. Because of this, landing pages have become a great tool to use with digital advertising.

    Another way to look at lead nurturing is by creating multiple contact points for the consumer to be slowly convinced to buy. It is very common that consumers need to have multiple contacts with your product or service before they are convinced of purchasing. Many leads will walk away from your advertisement after showing interest, but if you manage to collect a way of reconnecting with them, your chances of converting are even better the second time.

    8. Determine your Conversion Strategy to convert that lead into a sale.

    If you have done your due diligence in determining what motivates your target market, your conversion strategy should be easy to identify. Most often, converting leads will happen organically if the capture and nurture process are effective. If they were, then all you have to do is ask to close the deal. But if they were not effective it is important to have one last offer in your back pocket. That last offer can be a price discount, added value, or something to sweeten the deal.

    Strategic Marketing Plan - Goods Exchanged Infographic

    Goods Exchange Stage:

    This stage is all about maximizing Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). Businesses often move on to the next potential customer as soon as they close a deal. By taking the time to create a plan to maximize CLV, you will increase your advertising ROI. Upselling and promotional offers for a repeat buy are the two most common ways to increase CLV. For example, gas stations often times offer you to wash your car for a discounted price while you are filling your tank. Additionally, many stores have discounts attached to receipts in order to get your repeat business. Increasing brand loyalty will also increase your CLV. By creating a brand that people start to adore, and creating a customer experience that makes them feel like part of a group, people will become advocates for your brand and will greatly increase their CLV.

    9. Determine how you can Create Value-Add during the customer experience with your product or service.

     

    To create more value-add to your customers, you need to figure out how to make your product or service more valuable with as minimal cost increases to you as possible. Most businesses underestimate the value of spending time to increase the value of their product without increasing their costs. Your success in beating your competition could come from the ways you innovate to create value-add in the customer experience.

     

    Usually going above and beyond what is “expected” in the consumer experience, is how businesses achieve brand loyalty and repeat customers. Go the extra mile and add in small unexpected benefits in either your service or product. The minimal added cost to you could mean a world of difference to your customer. When your customer is taken by surprise with an added benefit it creates a feeling of joy and appreciation that can transform into loyalty.

     

    For example, even an Italian restaurant can be seen as very elegant if the servers are dressed in fancy suits and dresses. The next door restaurant that serves the same quality italian food with casually dressed servers could receive very different reviews. The small details can create positive emotions towards businesses and ultimately create brand loyal customers that come back and spend more money later on.

     

    10. Create a plan on how to Upsell.

     

    Upselling is a widely used and very effective tactic to increase ROI of your advertising efforts. Once you have a customer that has committed to the transaction process, it is your opportunity to inform the customer of more purchase options. Why should you spend large amounts of money and effort to get the customer to buy from you only to miss your opportunity to inform them of more options to purchase at the point of the transaction. You don’t have to be pushy – you should try to maintain the good feeling you created in the sales funnel. Simply have a preplanned step to inform them of other purchase options. Don’t underestimate the effect on your sales this step can have. Make sure your formalize it and create a policy for your employees to follow.

     

    11. Create a plan on how to get Referrals.

     

    Referrals are the lifeblood of many businesses big and small. Generally, companies who are successful have either intentionally or unintentionally motivated their customers to refer them. You need to create a plan to equip and motivate your customers to recommend you to other people. For example, many businesses will offer incentives to refer your friends in the form of finders fees or discounts on future purchases.

     

    You must get creative in coming up with ways to motivate your customer to refer you. Make it easy for them or make it incentivized. If you do an excellent job at providing value-add and an amazing customer experience, referrals will start happening by themselves. It is your job to maximize referrals by having a plan in place.

     

    12. Develop a string of Data Collection Points throughout your sales funnel.

     

    Data collection is a hugely overlooked part of advertising efforts that businesses rush past. All companies want to know the bottom line data point of how much sales increase there was, but ignore all the other points. Don’t spend your money on an advertising campaign if you don’t plan to learn how to make it better the next go round. The value of the lessons learned in your campaigns, is almost as important as the end results.

     

    Make sure to integrate data collection in to every step of the process. Try A/B campaigns and continue to improve the way you advertise by looking at the data. Make your monetary advertising investment increase both your sales, and your knowledge about how to make better campaigns.

    Our company name Pursue Pro was inspired by the idea of individuals pursuing professionalism through their marketing efforts, and continually aspiring to be the pro in their field.

    Article written by Jacob Hirschman

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    Marketing is not just promoting your company, it’s about making your company “better than the rest.”

    Don’t get caught up trying to make sales by simply focusing on promotion of your company. Take a step back and make sure your business is strategically communicating what makes you better than the rest.If your business is not positioned better than the rest, use marketing to determine a better business strategy. 

    One easy step is to be better than the rest, is to see if you have a Unique Selling Proposition. (USP) 

    A Unique Selling Proposition is defined by ("Unique Selling Proposition (USP) Definition - Entrepreneur Small Business Encyclopedia") as: 

    The factor or consideration presented by a seller as the reason that one product or service is different from and better than that of the competition”

    Your USP needs to be Specific and Real (Tangible). Some businesses will just settle for “What makes us unique is that we are Trustworthy…” Businesses may claim a lot, but where is the tangible proof? If your making claims, you better show some proof. 

    You don’t want to settle with a vague USP. You want the special sauce of your company to be something that people can taste! 

    A better way to use Trust as your USP is to create systems or behaviors that reflect the characteristics of Trust. For example, taking your customers security when it comes to payment information very seriously, and investing into security systems to make sure there is never a breach.

    You can communicate that more specifically, and it is tangible for the customer. Boom! 

    Sounds good. Here’s the thing, maybe your customers don’t care about a trustworthy company. After all, customers going to McDonalds are more interested in filling their stomachs as fast and cheap as possible. 




     

    It is important to take your time in the process of defining your USP. 


    #1. List your strengths and weaknesses.

    Make sure your USP makes sense for your company.Your company culture, mission, brand, and USP should be aligned.

    #2. Evaluate your competitions USPs. 

    make sure you are not directly competing on the same USP as a close competitor. 

    #3. Walk in your customer’s shoes.

    document the needs and desires that the customer has. 

    #4. Use data to check your assumptions.

    Don’t settle on a hunch, your business depends on it.

     #5. Lastly, find the sweet spot.

    Position your business in a spot where the demand is high, supply is low, and where you have the strength to become the best in that area.


    After you get your USP defined, make sure to build your Integrated Marketing Communication Plan (IMC Plan).

    If you would like help creating your unique selling proposition, contact us and we will walk you through the process of developing your marketing plan.

    Written By: Jacob Hirschman

    "Unique Selling Proposition (USP) Definition - Entrepreneur Small Business Encyclopedia". Entrepreneur, 2018, https://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/unique-selling-proposition-usp. Accessed 12 Oct 2018.

    How To Build A Website For My New Business -5 Tips For Small Business Owners

    One of the first questions new business owners ask themselves is:

    “I know my company needs a website, but where do I start?”

    If you’re reading this article, chances are good you are the owner of 1 in 30.2 million small business in the US today. The good news is you are not alone and do not have to navigate the whole scene of entrepreneurship yourself.  Websites can be complicated, but they are one of the first crucial foundations to lay as a business owner. I want to demystify the website process.

         

     

    The Process Of Building A Website For Your Business: 


     #1. Deciding your budget.

     

     Regardless of what you want, it is always important to first sit down and plan how much you are able and willing to spend on your website. If you build your own website on WordPress using cheap hosting plans such as HostGator or BlueHost, you are able to host a website for as little as $3/mo. If you are in a position where you want professional designers and SEO (search engine optimization) experts to handle it for you, it can cost up to several thousand. The decision is yours, just keep in mind that if you are not a professional web developer or graphic designer, you often get what you pay for.  

     

     #2. Deciding Your Platform  

     

     “There are hundreds of options to chose from for website platforms how do I choose?” If you are looking to go with the “do it yourself” option, here are my personal suggestions:
    WordPress - If you decide to go with WordPress you will be in good company - 74,652,825 websites are currently build using WordPress and can be a very powerful tool. Many professional web developing companies use WordPress as their preferred choice. Now technically, WordPress is not a hosting service, it’s just the software. You still need to find a hosting service to run your WordPress on. I prefer BlueHost for its ease of use, and it’s price. (Make sure you choose a theme that is mobile responsive so it looks good on all devices)
    Wix - if you are not necessarily good with computers and do not enjoy spending a lot of time customizing your website, WIx is an excellent option for those who just want a website  to be easy and look great. Wix websites are generally more expensive on a monthly basis, however, considering how little time goes into Wix, the websites ‘design can be excellent.  
    Square Space - another option similar to Wix. The websites are basically pre-made, you just have to drag and drop information and pictures to customize it.  
    Shopify - if you are starting an online store or ecommerce website, you will definitely want to choose Shopify. It streamlines the process of payments, keeping track of inventory, tracking shipping information, fraud detection, and much more. You will need to buy premium themes to get a good look but they are generally affordable.   

     #3. Find inspiration 

     

    I always ask my clients to provide me one or two of their favorite websites for inspiration. Now, it is important to remember you are not copying their design or taking their images. We are simply looking at what other websites in our niche look like. We do not want to reinvent the wheel. Look for key components of the design:

    What color schemes do they use.
    What do they include on their home page
    What are the main differences between the home page design and the secondary pages’ designs
    What does their menu look like
    What kind of imagery do they use

    Once you understand what they do, make it your own. Choose a theme that works well with the layout you want to provide.  

     #4. Fine tuning the website 

     

     After you have a rough draft of the website - the images are up, you have text, and a menu. It’s time to work on the details. Open the website on your phone and / or tablet. How does the website look on those devices? Is the text easy to read on your phone? Do the images take up the whole screen? Does the layout make sense? Adjust all these as needed. 

     

     #5. Make sure people can find it

       

     One of the most important steps is making sure other’s can find your website. 
    Keywords - Make sure that your pages include words related to your line of work. If you are in lawn care make sure you have words related to “lawn mowing, landscaping, mulching, etc” so when people are searching with those words, your business shows up. If you are using WordPress download the free plugin “YOAST” to help with key words.
    Place on search engines - make sure to place your website on search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. You are leaving customers on the table if you think people still only use Google today. A large demographic of internet explorer users use Bing and Yahoo for their every day searches.

    If you are a physical brick and mortar business you will also want to place your business on Google My Business, Apple Maps, and Yelp:      

     I hope that gave you some helpful information for navigating the world of website creation for small business. If you would like help advertising for your new business, Pursue Pro has specialists in web developing, SEO, social media, print marketing, graphic design, general advising and more. contact us  for more information. Let us know in the comments if you followed any of this advice to build your own website for your business! 

     
    Article Written By Isaac Byard