You provide outstanding services to your clients. You're unique in the quality of the results you get for them. You're empathetic and compassionate and want to help as many people as you can, but you find that you are having problems attracting a steady stream of new business. You are puzzled by the gap between the results you achieve and the dearth of clients. It does not make sense to you. When you think about it, first you think it might simply be bad economic conditions. Then you realize that other providers - who are not as effective as you - have plenty of clients and are thriving. What could be happening that you're failing to attract the flow of new clients that your business needs to thrive?
It could be that your marketing writing aims to attract everyone and is not tailored to a target market. It's a common mistake for service providers to resist explicitly aiming at a target market. No one wants to lose out on the potential of new business, so you think you'll aim broadly and have a large target market. What happens then though is that you are seen as a generalist. There is nothing memorable or unique to distinguish you from all other providers. When a prospect looks for a provider, you get passed over for someone else who is more specific in describing their target market. Let's look at the reasons why trying to attract everyone as a target market fails to attract anyone.
1. Prospects are looking for solutions to specific problems, not general ones. If they don't see in your marketing writing that you work specifically with the issues they want solved, they aren't willing to take a risk that you might be able to help them. Instead, they keep searching for a provider who addresses their specific issues in their marketing writing.
2. If your target market is everyone, your marketing writing necessarily cannot provide the degree of detail that attracts specific types of prospects. There's no way that generic language will ever resonate with a targeted market. It's not possible. Give up the fear that targeting will lose you business, and get specific.
3. It's not possible to describe the real issues and challenges of targeted prospects - unless you choose a target to aim for. Without making these choices, your marketing writing cannot go into depth about the specific suffering endured by a defined market.
4. You cannot be explicit about the solutions you provide if you are trying to attract everyone. Without those details, you cannot create desire and interest in your market. You can only use "fluffy", meaningless promises that are not going to help your prospects long for the results you can provide to them.
5. We all like to have our individuality and uniqueness recognized and understood. Your prospects won't be attracted to marketing writing that doesn't take this into account.
6. Your services cannot be tailored to the needs of your market unless you target a market. Surely your services are designed with specific issues and types of clients in mind. That in itself helps you define a target market. If it helps you target more sharply, start with the services you provide and work backwards.
7. When prospects are searching for a provider, you will not stand out in a crowded field of competitors. You've no reputation for expertise in anything specific. Think about it. When you search for a provider, don't you have a tendency to go with those who look like they'd be best at solving your type of problem?
When you are doing your marketing writing to sell your services, make sure that you do not make the mistake of trying to attract EVERYONE as a target market. You will simply be creating the situation where you do not have a consistent and dependable flow of new clients. Don't do that to your business.
It could be that your marketing writing aims to attract everyone and is not tailored to a target market. It's a common mistake for service providers to resist explicitly aiming at a target market. No one wants to lose out on the potential of new business, so you think you'll aim broadly and have a large target market. What happens then though is that you are seen as a generalist. There is nothing memorable or unique to distinguish you from all other providers. When a prospect looks for a provider, you get passed over for someone else who is more specific in describing their target market. Let's look at the reasons why trying to attract everyone as a target market fails to attract anyone.
1. Prospects are looking for solutions to specific problems, not general ones. If they don't see in your marketing writing that you work specifically with the issues they want solved, they aren't willing to take a risk that you might be able to help them. Instead, they keep searching for a provider who addresses their specific issues in their marketing writing.
2. If your target market is everyone, your marketing writing necessarily cannot provide the degree of detail that attracts specific types of prospects. There's no way that generic language will ever resonate with a targeted market. It's not possible. Give up the fear that targeting will lose you business, and get specific.
3. It's not possible to describe the real issues and challenges of targeted prospects - unless you choose a target to aim for. Without making these choices, your marketing writing cannot go into depth about the specific suffering endured by a defined market.
4. You cannot be explicit about the solutions you provide if you are trying to attract everyone. Without those details, you cannot create desire and interest in your market. You can only use "fluffy", meaningless promises that are not going to help your prospects long for the results you can provide to them.
5. We all like to have our individuality and uniqueness recognized and understood. Your prospects won't be attracted to marketing writing that doesn't take this into account.
6. Your services cannot be tailored to the needs of your market unless you target a market. Surely your services are designed with specific issues and types of clients in mind. That in itself helps you define a target market. If it helps you target more sharply, start with the services you provide and work backwards.
7. When prospects are searching for a provider, you will not stand out in a crowded field of competitors. You've no reputation for expertise in anything specific. Think about it. When you search for a provider, don't you have a tendency to go with those who look like they'd be best at solving your type of problem?
When you are doing your marketing writing to sell your services, make sure that you do not make the mistake of trying to attract EVERYONE as a target market. You will simply be creating the situation where you do not have a consistent and dependable flow of new clients. Don't do that to your business.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Suzi_Elton
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