It is my best advice for recruiting volunteers. And on the plane ride home from BlogWorld, it inspired three more stories. Here's the first one:
Quit hanging around with your own people. Go find the customers.
I see many business owners or freelancers talking to their peers online and not talking to their target market.
For example, I hear photographers saying they are hanging around online photography forums. Unless other photographers are your target market, that's not marketing. (It might be research or networking, but those are different goals.)
Think about (better yet, track) where you spend your time online. Are you talking mostly with peers? Do you spend your time talking with others who do the same thing? That time does not count as marketing. Redirect your marketing time to listening to and interacting with your target market.
How do you find your target market online? You ask them. Sounds simple, but few businesses actually do it.
Another way to find your target market online is to use a tool like Gist.com. Gather up email addresses for a small sample of your target. Go to Gist and look at their public profiles. That will give you a quick feel for your target.
Next week in part 2, we'll look at why what you like doesn't matter as much as what customers like.
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Quit hanging around with your own people. Go find the customers.
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| Are you hanging around with peers, or customers? |
For example, I hear photographers saying they are hanging around online photography forums. Unless other photographers are your target market, that's not marketing. (It might be research or networking, but those are different goals.)
Think about (better yet, track) where you spend your time online. Are you talking mostly with peers? Do you spend your time talking with others who do the same thing? That time does not count as marketing. Redirect your marketing time to listening to and interacting with your target market.
How do you find your target market online? You ask them. Sounds simple, but few businesses actually do it.
Another way to find your target market online is to use a tool like Gist.com. Gather up email addresses for a small sample of your target. Go to Gist and look at their public profiles. That will give you a quick feel for your target.
Next week in part 2, we'll look at why what you like doesn't matter as much as what customers like.
New here? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Subscribe.
Funny, I was just having this conversation with someone today... Thinking back on Blogworld LA I mentioned how I find it silly that some people hang out with the same group of peers that they see all the time rather than taking this event as an opportunity to meet and connect with new faces.
ReplyDeleteI find that such a shame.
And yes, I can see this happening just as much in the online space. In my niche (real estate) it's Agents connecting with other Agents. And though yes, that's a form of networking, it's not as effective as working to build relationships with consumers.
Ricardo, having made a lot of friends in the BlogWorld group, I understand why we want to talk to friends, rather than meet new people. It's not easy, but I do work to balance the two.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely something that I need to remember - to find the customers and build a relationship with them, instead of spending all my time networking. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteCourtney, thanks for reading and commenting!
ReplyDeleteSocial media is a good place to get feedback from your actual customers.
ReplyDelete