One of the biggest mistakes virtual assistants make when they’re starting out is to think anybody can use their services and everybody is in their market.
Are you making this mistake?
Although VA services can be universal and anyone in the world can use it, the question should not be if everybody CAN use your services, but if everybody WANTS to use it? And the obvious answer is no.
Let me explain and let’s take water for example. Water is a universal product. Everybody in the world NEEDS water to live. So you can pretty much argue that when you put water in a bottle and sell it in a supermarket, you will have a pretty big market, won’t you? Everybody drinks water, so anybody can buy it.
Again, the question is not if anybody CAN buy bottled water, but if everybody WANTS to buy bottled water. And again the answer is no. Because lots of people may feel, why should they buy bottled water when it comes out of their tap for free? So even in the case of a product like water, companies have selected target audiences to which they sell their bottled water to.
Thus my point is: nobody has a service where everybody is in their market and it is therefore important to target a smaller group of people who will most likely make use of your services.
Targeting a market simply means to break the world’s population into small segments or groups, e.g. people in similar industries or people with similar characteristics and then focusing your attention on one of these small segments.
Think of your target market as those people who are most likely to work with you. Ask yourself who would want your services the most and do not be too general. Do not attempt to offer everything to everyone, refine your service so that you attract a particular customer segment – your target market.
The key to targeting an audience is to identifying a market that you’ll enjoy working with, who’ll receive massive benefits from working with you and who also have the potential of being a profitable market – i.e they can pay for your services.
Your ability to target and then connect with this specific audience will ultimately mean the difference between struggling and thriving as a business owner.
Five advantages to knowing your target market are:
- Targeting a specific group of people provides direction for your service. Once you know your target market you can then direct all your energy and resources to this potential group of people.
- Your business will gain focus and you don’t waste your time or money on people who have no interest in what you are offering.
- It helps you decide where to find your clients and how and where to market your business.
- Potential customers who read your marketing materials will know exactly why they need to work with you.
- Your marketing strategy will be more effective and produce better results.
The bottom line for your business is: less time wasted on marketing efforts that will not benefit your business, more time dedicated to locating prospects and turning them into customers and earning a higher income.
Remember, there is a target market for everything.
Just think about it: Why would someone buy water in a bottle when they can get it for just about free from a tap?
So, have you identified your target market yet?
PS: What do you think about having a target market? Just put your comments below.
