Recognising Your Target Market

Achieving good sales is the ultimate target of any firm. Many criteria, such as competitive pricing, near perfect product, reaching out to correct audience and motivational advertising, are responsible for this and should be dealt with in marketing.

First things first, all the efforts will go futile if the correct audience is not recognized. It is the major factor in getting abundant sales, because the right customers aren't targeted, they won't buy the product. The right customers are known as targeted customers or niche market, those who will be happy to buy products that fulfill their needs and is also less pricey.

Small businesses shouldn't fear competition with large companies as they produce products considering a bigger spectrum, which sometimes won't be customer specific as the products are more generalized and they don't much care about the competition they might get from others. This gives an opportunity to the smaller firms to produce products, which can cater to the need of a section of people whose needs aren't met specifically by the large companies.

Although it seems like a silly question, but firstly, a firm should understand who are the people they want to target. The success lies behind understanding this, which requires thorough research and analysis. Various factors must be considered. The age group is the first factor, whether the product will be useful to babies or children or teenagers or youngsters or middle aged or old. Sometimes there is a possibility that the product will cater to the needs of all age groups. Next thing to consider is gender. Marital status, occupation, ethnic background, health status, income status, education, hobbies, etc., are some of the factors that should also be pondered upon.

After decided upon the customer group to be targeted, the benefits that can be provided by the product to this group should be jotted down. A thorough examination of the service or product should be done for this purpose. If there is sufficient time, a survey can be conducted on the current customers and pose them with questions like what they liked in the products they are using, anything discomfort they are facing, do they want anything to be changed to make the product better, etc.

After making a list of all the benefits, thought should be applied to which of these benefits will actually help the targeted audience. Make a short list of the benefits that will be advantageous and send it to the marketing department. It can surely help in their marketing plan and can boost up sales.

Internet has made reaching out to the targeted customers can be very easy. Search engines can be utilized to the maximum extent for this purpose. The thing to be exactly searched can be typed as a keyword or search phrase in the search engines and the results brought on the first three pages will be of great value. But lots of time and investment is involved in this process, as different keywords will fetch different search results. So efforts should be made to finally get what is desired.

Next best thing is reaching out by newsletters and ezines. Many ezines are related to marketing, finance, shopping, Internet, etc. A number of ezines websites can be found in an ezines directory, which even contains the contact information, advertising price, etc. The list of ezines website sites should be cut down to which are relating to the target market and ad should be placed in the ones selected which should include all the product advantages if the ad allows that many words.

Recognizing the target market is crucial to any successful advertising and sales campaign. Once it is recognized, they can be reached through different channels like websites, newspapers, magazines, etc. This makes the customer think that he is being directly addressed to. And since the whole approach will interest them, the amount of traffic received in return will be simply overwhelming and the whole effort will be worth it.  

To really stand out from the crowd - http://www.kiss-creative.co.uk 

Why I believe you should think like a Pirate for Business Success

The original title for my book was The Pirate, Gambler and Entrepreneur (which became shortened to The Pirate Entrepreneur when published). This is the introduction to the book and explains why I wrote it, and how I believe that the pirate mindset can be applied in business - the spirited, determined, ambitious and adventurous qualities.


I confess that my inspiration for writing the book came about because I needed an outlet for creativity and emotion. At the time of writing the first draft of this book, my professional life remained my bedrock, however, my personal life was in pieces.

I retreated to gain some inner composure and reflection time. That is when The Pirate Entrepreneur book was born.

The location I chose to write the book was a place called Nash Point in South Wales, just under a hundred miles from the birthplace of the notorious pirate, Bartholomew Roberts (Black Bart).

I hired the keeper’s cottage directly beneath Nash Lighthouse, which was designed in 1832 to mark the sandbanks off the point at the entrance to the Bristol Channel. The decision to build it followed a public outcry after the passenger steamer Frolic was wrecked with heavy loss
of life in 1830.

The lighthouse was ideal because I’ve always felt a great affinity with the sea. I also felt ‘emotionally’ safe there and the location allowed me to draw inspiration for my writing.

For one, solitary week, I looked out to sea, walked the coastline and immersed myself in the mindset of the pirate and drew on my own experiences as an entrepreneur. I read and researched as much as I could on the different character traits of successful entrepreneurs in history, past and present, and delved into the traditional pirate’s mindset.

As I stood looking out at the great expanse of water and its constant changing face, I was reminded that the analogies of business are all around us in life, but no more so when you look at the sea.

Business changes constantly, just like life. It ebbs and flows; it can be calm one minute and a monster the next. Just like business, if it doesn’t evolve, it dies. The sea and its different moods can affect everything in its path; an analogy of business life, if ever there was one.

For me, the pirate epitomizes the spirit of the entrepreneur. I suppose in some way it’s because I’ve been lured by the popular imaginary and stereotypical characters that exist on film. But saying that, I can’t help but love the rebellious, mysterious and determined characteristics that I believe lay at the heart of every pirate.

The mindset of risk and thrill seeking is also a common denominator for both the pirate and the entrepreneur. This mindset is the one of chances, playing the odds, trying to beat the competition. And yes, the ‘gambling’ part of the pirate’s mindset is highly competitive and full
of energy.

The only difference between an addicted gambler and the entrepreneur, in my opinion, is the level of control. The entrepreneur’s mindset, I believe, is very similar to that of the trader and the stock market!

The entrepreneur loves being a ‘leader of men ... and women’ and playing the business ‘game’ at a high vantage point, predicting all the moves. They are very calculated with risk in business, which doesn’t prevent them from losing, it just means they get better odds.

Many entrepreneurs choose to pursue extreme sports in their spare time – take Richard Branson, as a prime example. Successful entrepreneurs like pushing the limits, playing the game of chances.

I’ve tried hard not to stereotype the entrepreneur, as there are always exceptions to the rules, however, there are many successful business men and women who love calculated risk and the ability to ‘feel the fear and go for it anyway’.

This book is NOT a ‘how to’ manual of how to start a business – there are more than enough books on that subject. It was written with the intention of inspiring ‘would be’ entrepreneurs and also to support, encourage and keep the spirits high of those of you who are already ‘sailing on the high seas’ of business.

The Pirate Entrepreneur demonstrates the importance of thinking positively in business and how to use the most powerful thing you have at your disposal – your mind. By learning about the power of the mind, you can tap into that ‘super computer’ that you carry around on your shoulders!

If you would like to learn more about the Pirate mindset and how it can be applied in your business, click on this link to The Pirate Entrepreneur website: http://www.pirate-entrepreneur.com

Promoting Your Brand

Remember the importance of branding. If you haven't already initiated a brand for your company, now might be just the time. Use these simple techniques in the promotion of your special brand

Make your brand as unique as possible. Catch the eye of the public by creating something different- something that people have not yet seen. Instead of doing what has already been done, go the opposite direction and be creative.

Don't forget the legal dangers of copyright infringement related to borrowing or stealing from another firm's design. Although, it is always good to look at colours, use of fonts and competitor brands to get a feel for industry 'formats'.

Display stability. Take time in the development process to establish your brand and accomplish the look you really want. It's better to spend sufficient time in the beginning fine-tuning your design to the desired outcome, rather than to play with it after it's been revealed to the public.

Changing your brand, and all that's involved with it, including colors, slogans, logos, and tag lines, doesn't support an image of reliability and long-lastingness

Stability should be maintained with branding. If you have integrated a brand into your company's marketing, then use it all over the place. It should appear on all of your marketing materials, business cards, web site, and printed items. The same is true for your packaging. Your brand should appear on all of your products. .

Give your brand away to the public with diverse promotional products. You can help your brand to saturate the consumer population by handing out precious, yet low-cost, items. Promotional products encourage possible customers to keep in mind your brand and your gift every time they are used. Consider useful devices such as letter openers, flashlights, first aid kits, and CD cases.

Brands are an extremely effective marketing tool. Make them come alive - think of the brand 'personality' that you want to create (if your brand were a person, what would they look like, talk like, dress like?).

When working with your concept, consider the above to ensure the development of an effective brand.

For more information about marketing tips for small businesses, please visit: KISS Creative Communications at http://www.kiss-creative.co.uk