Thursday, April 23, 2009

A Marketing Organization Chart

So many times I come across a business that wants to advertise to EVERYONE! While I can use my three radio stations to reach over 120,000 "everyones" age 12 and older, there is wisdom in defining who your ideal customer is. This is from Lorraine Ball at Roundpeg:

Marketing Organization Chart - A Closer Look at Strategy

In December, I introduced a graphic of a Marketing Organization Chart I found on a blog post by John Jansch of DuctTape Marketing .

This post has been extremely popular, and I thought it would be valuable to take a closer look at some of the elements of the diagram

So in a series of post, I am going to explore in a little more detail each of the four elements: Strategy, Lead Generation, Lead Conversion and Customer Service.

stratgeyThere are three main elements of Strategy:

  • Ideal Customer
  • Core Message
  • Marketing Material

Ideal customer. This is the element most small business owners wrestle with the most. They ae always afraid if they define the target too narrowly, they will be leaving people out.

The trick is to focus on your IDEAL customer. THis is not your ONLY customer. But the more tightly you define your ideal, the easier it is to build the other elements of the strategy. If you are too broad your marketing messages are too vagute.

Core Message. Once you identify your ideal customer it is easier to decide what to say. What does your core customer want most? What will they value, what problem can you help them solve. The more closely you can articulate their pain, the more likely it is they will listen to what you have to say.

Marketing Material. This is more than a brochure or we site. At the strategy phase it involves thinking about the most effective way to get the attention of your idea client. Is it print or electronic communication? Will you need to raech your client face to face.

Spend some time thinking about just these elements. Anwer these questions before you launch into lead generation.

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1 comment:

Lorraine Ball said...

Thanks for sharing the link. The idea of an ideal customer is one of the hardest things for small business owners to wrap their head around!