"Have you 'Identified' your customer"? "Do you have your 'Target Market' defined"? "Know your 'Niche' "!

What do these three statements have in common? Zeroing in on your specific customer!

I can hear you now...."But my product or service is good for everybody!...I don't want to limit myself or my product. I just want to sell, sell, sell! Besides, I don't know about all this 'target' and 'niche' stuff."

Targeting your market does not stop or limit you from selling to people outside your target market. Any one who sees your product and is interested, will purchase your product.

However, what target marketing does is guarantees you a customer base interested in what you have to offer. It is much easier (and cheaper) to market customers that are already interested (qualified) in what you have to offer.

In other words, you can have best grilled chicken patties in world, but if you are marketing it to vegetarians you aren't going to get anywhere. You are looking for customers who eat meat. Specifically chicken and even more specific, those interested in grilled chicken.

Does that mean, customers who eat beef or fried chicken won't buy your product? No, not at all, it just means you are targeting grilled chicken lovers, because you have what they are looking for...the best grilled chicken there is!

Anyone who eats meat is a target. Grilled chicken lovers are your "targeted-niche" market. Not only are they interested in what you have, they are actually looking for you as well!

As you know, I am continually on look out for innovative marketing ideas that bring a high return on investment. This one is truly creative! Thanks to Roosevelt Best of UK-based Naturally First and Astrology First for sharing his ingenuity – and his results – with us.

KARON: Hello Roosevelt. Thank you for taking time to give us some details about this unusual (and highly effective) marketing idea.

ROOSEVELT: Good afternoon, Karon. Certainly – always a pleasure.

KARON: Tell me about what you’re doing, and how this “package” works.

ROOSEVELT: Oh yes. It began approximately four years back. I was approached by “Woman’s Own” [a British magazine]. They inquired as to whether I would be willing to make a free offer to their readers. It sounded like an idea with potential so I devised a way to make it worth my while! The layout was to be a full-page, editorial style reader offer. After a little negotiation, it was agreed that magazine would use first 1/4 of ad space to promote free offer, and I would use remaining 3/4 for up selling items.

KARON: So, magazine would give you a full page of advertising space free if you would provide something free to their readers. And you received 3/4 of spread to offer paid, up sell items as well, right?

ROOSEVELT: Yes, exactly.

KARON: Did it work?

ROOSEVELT: Yes, it did. The response was excellent. However, I had some tweaking to do to make up sell offer more appealing.

KARON: What was free offer? Was it an expensive item?

ROOSEVELT: The free offer was a one-week’s supply of a natural energy vitamin supplement I sold on one of my sites at http://www.naturallyfirst.com. It was valued at around £6.95 (approximately $10.50US.)

KARON: Ahhh! So as long as free offer holds value to reader, it need not be extremely expensive? That’s good to know. Now, how did you tweak offer to perform better for you?

ROOSEVELT: I decided to change two aspects of offer. I added several up sell items, and I narrowed gap between free offer and first product offer. So, for example, week’s supply of vitamins was free, first product up sell was just a few pounds more, second product was just a few pounds above that, and last offer was a “bundle” with a substantial discount off cost of all products.