Network Marketers: Identify Your Target Market

Traditional business owners are familiar with target markets, but for many multilevel marketers the concept of focusing sales efforts on a select group of people is a new one. After all, haven’t most of us have been told by our companies that EVERYONE is our target market?

Well, everyone is NOT your target market. Identifying who is will allow you to focus your sales efforts and can mean the difference between success and frustration.

Who is Your Target Market?

Simply stated, your target market consists of people who already have a perceived need or desire for your product.

Notice the words “already” and “perceived”.

It doesn’t matter if people really need your product or not. Nor does it matter if YOU think they need your product. The only thing that matters is that THEY think they need it.

The real key, however, is to find people who ALREADY want whatever it is you are selling. Trying to convince someone that they need your product is a huge mistake that usually ends up with a lost sale – and your potential customer running the other way! Remember: people love to buy, but they hate to be sold!

Finding People Who Want Your Product

To find people who want your product:

1. Brainstorm. Start by making a list of the groups of people who would most likely want your product. If you are selling high-end kitchen items, for example, you might think of brides-to-be and gourmet cooks. Brides-to-be are setting up housekeeping and are likely to be looking for kitchen items while gourmet cooks might be interested in upgrading to higher-end products.

Once you have your list, narrow it down to find the one group that is most likely to purchase from you or is the most cost-effective to advertise to.

For example, if you are selling your kitchen products through home parties that give discounts or free gifts for the host or hostess, your best bet might be brides-to-be since they tend to be younger “party- oriented” people looking for both kitchen items and for discounts. They are also likely to have friends who are newly weds or brides-to-be so, in addition to selling your products, there is a good chance you will get additional bookings from their parties.

2. Look for people who have purchased your product or a similar product in the past. People who have purchased a particular product in the past are the most likely people to purchase that product again. So, if you’re selling vitamins, look for people who have purchased vitamins in the past and so on.

One good way to find such people is to check out your competitors. If, for example, a major competitor is slanting their advertising to young male executives, (they advertise in magazines that are read by young male executives or run ads targeting this particular group) this tells you that young male executives are purchasing the type of product you sell.

3. Follow-up with your customers. Your previous customers have not only purchased your product in the past - they purchased it from YOU. And, they are the most likely people to purchase that product from you again. They will also refer others to you - IF they don’t forget you! So regular follow-up with your customers can pay off handsomely!

A great way to follow up with your customers is by sending them greeting cards. You can do this for birthdays, holidays, anniversaries – or just to occasionally say hello and wish them a great day. (There is a fabulous on-line service that I personally use to do this, and you can sign up for it for free. To learn more about it just send me an e-mail at the address listed below.)

Directing Your Sales Efforts

Once you have identified your target market the next step is to direct your sales efforts to that particular group.

Using the example of brides-to-be, you may wish to advertise in publications that target brides or leave flyers with people who regularly do business with that particular group such as cake decorators or wedding photographers. These are also great people to help you find the best ways to reach your target market since they are likely to have experience reaching out to that particular market themselves.

Follow these steps and you should be on your way to successfully marketing your products.