'Easy' markets have following three characteristics.

1)Easy to reach.

2) Have a burning 'need' for what you've got.

3) Have demonstrated through their past behavior, an ability and willingness to spend money on kinds of things you plan to sell.

The closer market you choose corresponds to this description, 'easier' your life will be.

The wrong way. Many entrepreneurs - beginners *and* experienced – get tripped up here. They create a product that they're sure world will love. Or they hear that Internet is a great marketing medium so invest in creating a super web site.

Both these approaches remind me of old expression 'putting cart before horse.' The fanciest 'cart' on earth - best product, slickest web marketing campaign - won't get you anywhere without a good 'horse' to pull it. In contrast, with right horse, you don't have to worry too much about cart. Nature will take care of itself.

Richard Sears who started famous Sears catalog and single-handedly kick-started direct marketing and mail order industry over 100 years ago put it this way to a colleague once: "If it's right offer to right person at right time, I can write it on back of an old paper bag in crayon and it will sell."

That's how important picking right market is. Now I'm not suggesting that you do your advertising on back of old paper bags in crayon, but I am suggesting that you radically change your FOCUS.

By all means, continue to study marketing, but - starting right now, today - resolve to put at least half or more of your entrepreneurial time and energy into studying specific MARKETS. And while you're at it, look for 'easy' markets which means:

Groups of people who you can easily reach...who have a burning 'need' for what you sell...and who have already demonstrated willingness and ability to buy kinds of things you plan to sell to them.

I call it 'shooting fish in a barrel' marketing.

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In developing your logo and designing your print materials, think about what lines, shapes, typestyles and colors represent image you want your target market to develop. If you coach people in developing leadership skills necessary to reach executive suite, you probably don’t want to use primary colors in your logo. On other hand, if you help people bring more joy into their lives by discovering their inner child, primary colors may be perfect. If you assist people to organize their lives, you would not want a cluttered business card. You would want a very clean and understated look. If you help people bring out their hidden creativity you could use a fancier, more elaborate typestyle and incorporate flowing lines or curly queues into design.

Step 3: Begin communicating your brand identity to your target market. Everything you say and do -- from way you answer your telephones to specialty advertising or promotional items you give your prospective clients – should reinforce brand image you want to develop. Use your logo and colors on everything. Develop a tag line that conveys your message and use it on all your printed materials from your letterhead to your invoices. Your website should have same general look as your letterhead, business cards, e-mail newsletter, brochure, and direct mail pieces. Continuously look for ways to incorporate your logo, colors and tag line into everything. Be creative. I know business partners who drive bright yellow Volkswagen Beatles to match their corporate colors. Almost daily I find an opportunity I’ve been missing to incorporate my brand image into my materials – and I do this for a living!

Step 4: Maintain your brand identity. Once you have begun to develop your brand identity, resist temptation to make major changes or to even do too much tinkering. About time you start to become bored with your look, your target market is just beginning to recognize and identify with it. Consistency over time is critical. Not only does it build awareness, it also develops credibility. In this respect we need to learn from masters. While Coca Cola® and Betty Crocker® have updated their looks many times over past 100+ years basic elements have remained consistent.

What picture develops in mind of your target market when they see, hear or think about you and your service? Is it fuzzy and out of focus with pieces of puzzle missing? Is it inconsistent and ever changing? Or is it crisp, clear and in living color?

© 2004 STRATEGIES-BY-DESIGN. May be reprinted with credits and contact information.