Online Client Acquisition Pt1 – Getting to Know Your Target Audience
Online client acquisition should be easy in the 21st Century, yet… Not so much!
First, we’re not talking about simply putting up an uber-cool website and waiting for the clients to storm your virtual doors. That just doesn’t happen anymore (if it ever did). And, while a great website can make a huge difference in building your online reputation, you need content to fill it and products or services to offer.
And there’s the rub. What do people want/need that can’t already be found online these days – and that you have to offer?
While we would never presume to tell you how to run your business, we do have some experience with helping designers and furnishing dealers market themselves online. One of the things we’ve discovered is that, while you can certainly try to “walk a mile in their shoes” in an effort to understand what others are going through, your own experiences color your perceptions. This makes it almost impossible to truly grasp the pain points of the people you most want to help.
But hey, don’t take it personally. It’s just human nature to perceive the world from your own perspective. But, you can overcome that naturally built-in bias with tools that are readily available and easy to access in the virtual world.
Develop New Services Using Audience Feedback
We’re not the only ones with some expertise in this area. The digital forms creation service Wufoo and the email marketing platform MailChimp have put together some pointers to help you develop new products. The most important of these are surveys of your audience. (Needless to say, they both offer their services to help you get it done, too.)
Why surveys? Well, think of it like this. If you're like most entrepreneurs, you began your business intending to help others in mind. You perceived a need and sought to fill it. Unfortunately, for most, that vision goes unrealized, and they struggle to survive in a highly competitive marketplace. Either your audience doesn’t see the same need you do, or you’ve somehow missed the mark with targeting and/or marketing your ideas.
In this case, what you need is more information. You need a deeper understanding of what your ideal client is looking for and broader knowledge of how to present it to them in a more compelling way.
The best way to get that information is to ask them for it. That is what a target audience survey does. It gathers information that is critical to the success of your business in a structured way that enables you to process it coherently and effectively. Then, you can take that valuable data and massage your offerings to meet their needs in ways they will find hard to resist.
The result? Cha Ching!
The concepts we’ve shared today are an important start in getting to know your target audience. in our next post, we’ll get into the actual steps you can take to improve your online client acquisition efforts. Stay tuned for our next post or, feel free to check with us… Contact TD Fall today.