Adrian is currently away on a holiday adventure so we thought you’d enjoy a dip into the archives to re-visit some posts that you may not have seen. Enjoy.

Originally posted on December 11th, 2009

First of all, let’s paint a picture…..

Are you setting up a business and/or have an existing business and are struggling to get clients or new clients?
Not sure what marketing strategies to use? Sound familiar?

Now, here’s the simple truth…..you have to get out and speak to new prospects whether you are a professional services business, an online business, a retail business or any other business. It’s all about learning about your target market.

But before you do that you are going to need to do some thinking and planning. Now I’m not into big and elaborate plans but I am interested in efficient and effective activity. Therefore, thinking about what we do and who we need to speak to is time well spent.

Doing this can be very straightforward but before jumping into thinking about how you are going to reach your potential customers – the ‘how’, I want you to spend some time thinking about your customers, what defines and characterises them, do they split into groups……This will help you be more targeted in the actions that you take and tactics you employ to engage with them.

Now, let’s be clear this sort of planning is not 100% guaranteed but if you focus on getting it 80% right and then get out there and start testing your thinking by targeting your identified potential clients then you’ll make faster progress rather than plumping for marketing strategies before you’ve even asked the question whether they are appropriate or not.

Are you clear on who is your ‘who’?

Thanks to Adrian Whelan for the image.