I’m constantly prattling on around here about the importance of targeting your audience and there is no way for me to overstate the importance of this principle.
Targeting your audience is part of the foundation for the success of your business.
You can have the best product – the best service – the best solution ever seen and your business can still fail simply because you failed to target a specific audience when creating your marketing messages.
I’m in the middle of doing some research on a new business I’m preparing to launch with a colleague. The business idea is solid and it’s based upon solving a problem. I personally prefer this as opposed to a problem prevention business idea because human beings in general are exceptionally BAD about engaging in proactive behavior. In other words, marketing a problem solving business is much easier than marketing a problem prevention business.
Yeah! I’m starting another business and I’m currently in the research phase of that process.
In the course of my research, I’ve come across a company making an exceptionally well crafted offer. That in and of itself is reason enough to spend some time exploring the company’s site however, it’s possible that this company’s offerings may make sense for my new business.
I begin the process of gathering information from the company’s website with the enthusiasm of an archeologist entering a previously undiscovered tomb of an ancient pharaoh The opening page of the site is utilizing every conversion technique known to man. This is good – this is REALLY good. However, as I navigate the site, I find myself in a frustrating “loop”. Every link which promises “more information” takes me to a contact form to request a personalized demo.
Frustrated, I head to the company’s blog. Perhaps I’ll find the answers I need there. What I find there are a lot of “shameless self promotion” pieces – but still not a clue whether their solution is priced within our means or not. Another thing absent from the blog posts are anecdotes illustrating how real companies have reaped the harvest of the “solutions” promised in the company’s website content. It makes me wonder…
Are the so called “solutions” offered by this company simply platitudes?
For some reason, this morning I’ve had the Seals and Croft song, “We may never pass this way again” stuck in my head. It was there before I began this search – but now it seems to be hammering home a point: Visitors to your site may never pass this way again.
When I publish this blog post, I’ll close the two tabs – one for this site, one for the site I’m referencing – and soon that site will fade from my memory. It took five clicks to reach the site in question but it will only take one click of the button to close it. I’ve already spent more time on the site than I normally would simply because not only did this company’s site inspire this blog post – but it’s also serving as a warning to myself as I embark upon the exciting adventure of starting a small business.
