There are many, many aspects to marketing - your brand, the marketing activities you undertake, measuring your outcomes, the budget you have available to spend, not to mention taking the time to actually 'do' the required marketing activities in your business.

But all of those aspects are irrelevant if you don't get the foundational pieces right. And a critical (and I do mean critical) corner-piece of any marketing strategy is understanding exactly

"who you are talking to"

You have no doubt identified your target market by using standard demographics - gender, location, general wants and needs etc. For example, our target market is female business owners in the wider-Sydney area who want help with their financial management.

However such a definition doesn't really create a crystal-clear picture of exactly 'who' we are talking to - it's still a 'faceless' mass of people sharing similar characteristics. Drilling down further, I like to identify and describe my Ideal Target Market (ITM) - the people I really want to work with. There are a couple of reasons for this.

Firstly, I know there are people I don't want to work with, and I therefore don't want to 'catch' these people in my marketing fishing net.

Secondly, when I clearly define who I do want to work with I then can create marketing campaigns that really connect with that ITM.

Thirdly, and possibly most importantly, when I clearly articulate my ITM, I create an imaginary 'hoop' that potential clients need to jump through before they can work with me. Sound tough? Maybe. But think about how many times you have complained about a particular trait or behaviour of a customer and said 'if only I didn't have to work with people who do that'. Well, you don't - that's why you're running your own business!

So my ITM not only gives me the benchmark against which to measure my potential clients, it also sets the standard for those 'looking in'. And what I've discovered is that prospects then come to me 'pre-qualified' - they want to 'make the grade', so they 'step-up' to meet my standards, rather than me having to lower mine.

So how do you define your ITM? For me, I asked myself what the characteristics were that made someone really enjoyable for me to work with. The list was quite comprehensive and went something like this.

She:

• is a 'she'
  
• runs her own business
  
• acts on the information I provide
  
• respects my expertise and value
  
• raves about me to others
  
• values self-actualisation and wants to achieve this largely through her business
  
• has a service-based business
  
• is engaged with her life, her business and community ... she is engaging
  
• stays in touch
  
• is personally responsible
  
• is savvy - wants to find out about things
  
• harnesses IT and isn't afraid of trying new IT platforms

I also gave my ITM a name - Jordan. So now when I write my marketing messages or my campaigns, I know I'm talking to 'Jordan' ... not a faceless group with some shared characteristics.

When you really know who you're talking to, your marketing campaigns become so much more potent and less likely to'miss the mark. For example, I believe that the current Fernwood 'fox' campaign misses its mark because it hasn't "gotten into the head of" its target market (read more comments about that campaign here). On the other hand, the Carlton-Dry 'Dry Dreams' campaign is spot-on - the 'Rocket-Rubber-Chicken' ad may make us women shake our heads in disbelief ... but ask any young beer-drinking male if that's the kind of thing they 'dream-up' when they're sitting around with their mates drinking ... you'll discover that Carlton-Dry (or the creative team at least) have an excellent understanding of who they're talking to.

So before you commit to another marketing strategy, write another marketing article or attend another networking event, take a few minutes to clearly define:

'Who am I talking to?'

Cat Matson's successful consulting experience ranges from the nuts and bolts of business such as HR, administration and operational processes to the less tangible aspects such as motivation and company culture. She has achieved exceptional results in helping clients to develop effective teams and profitable operations without losing sight of the human aspect of their business. Cat is as comfortable advising on high level strategy issues as she is on the critical aspects of a successful business such as attaining, training and retaining employees to creating the right corporate culture and work environment.

In addition to her comprehensive experience, Cat holds a Masters of Business Administration with specialisations in Strategic Planning, Entrepreneurship and Marketing. She also holds a Diploma in Small Business Management, a Diploma in Training and Development and a Practitioner's Certificate in Neuro-Linguistic Programming.

Website: www.alito.com.au
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