Basics of Targeting your Market
Unfortunately, when it comes to marketing your coaching practice, one size marketing does NOT fit all!
Everything you do in online and offline marketing flows from not only who you are, but who your clients are! From the content you feature on your blog (not to metion the design and usability) to the events and seminars you attend, to every other mode of advertising you use to create your business….. there is nothing more important than understanding who your potential clients are and what’s important to them.
The Basics of understanding your clients begins with basic demogrpahic information.
- Geography: Will your clients come from the local area? Are they grouped regionally, nationally, globally?
- Cultural and Ethnic Considerations: Does ethnicity affect their tastes or buying behaviors? What language(s) do your potential clients speak?
- Economic factors including income and/or purchasing power. The first question everyone wants to ask is "What is the average household income of your clients?" However, a more important consideration is what is the disposable INCOME of your potential clients. All coaches seem to want to target the individual who makes $100,000 a year or more, however a six figure income doesn’t necessarily translate into a lot of disposable income. Financial advisors report it’s often easier to create a budget for a family making $40,000 a year than it is for families who make over $100,000 a year. The reason? The higher income families have a hard time distinguishing between "essentials" and "nice to haves".
- Age and family structure: What is the age range of your potential clients? Are they married? Do they have children? How many children and of what age are in the family?
- Values, attitudes, beliefs. What are the predominant values that your potential or target clients have in common? Are they already familiar with coaching? How about self improvement?
- Learning Styles: How do your potential clients learn new things? Via the newspaper? Via the internet? Paul Harvey on the radio?
Once you have a better understanding of who your clients are, then you can get down to the work at hand: Promoting your Practice!
- Talk to your existing clients. Find out why they hired you in the first place.
- Talk to existing clients about all the services you have to offer. Are they satisfied with the work you are doing for them?
Make sure all is well with your current clients before you begin recruiting new ones. Better to fix any flaws BEFORE you begin your marketing campaign.
