When you are networking, meeting people for lunch, or creating content for your social sites, what is your assumption for your target market?
That everyone around you is ready and waiting for you and your products or services, right? They simply can’t wait to do business with you.
Yet in reality, you know that isn’t so. If that were the case, marketing and sales would be easy. Anyone could do it.
If you sell cars, you know not everybody is ready and waiting to jump into a brand new car today.
Or if you sell water heaters, not everyone is ready to convert to your super energy efficient model right now, even if you offer them a $50 coupon.
Or if you offer massage therapy, not everyone is ready to sign up and have a 60-minute hot stone massage later this week.
It’s simply not realistic. Not everyone wants what you have right this minute.
So why do most people market with the assumption that most people want what they have RIGHT NOW?
You see, at any given moment in time, if you reach out to a market, only about 3 percent of that market that winds up hearing what you have to say are truly in the marketplace right this moment. That means only 3 percent of the people you talk with, connect with, and try and influence will ever be ready to convert right away.
What about the rest of the people … the other 97 percent?
About 30 percent of them will never be your customers. They don’t like your product/service, have no desire for your product/service, or simply don’t connect with you. Yes, wipe them off the list. You can’t reach them so why bother trying.
Which leaves us with the other 67 percent of the people you meet with. What about them?
These are the people that like you, are impressed with your product/service, and may even enjoy what you have to offer or how you say it. These are the people that:
- Didn’t even know your product/service existed
- Never thought about buying your product or using your service
- Never knew you offered a product/service that could help them
- Have put off buying your product/service until a later date
- Have other more important things on their minds right now than buying your product service
- Have other priorities in their lives
Yes, these are the people that aren’t opposed to buying from you; its just not a top priority and so they’ve never actively sought out looking for someone to do business with.
This is your sweet spot.
This is where you want to focus.
Because everyone else is focusing on the 3 percent – the people that are hot-to-trot and are ready to buy right now.
Yet the 67 percent is where the real money lies. The 67 percent is where your longevity comes from. This is the target market that will convert to paying customers over and over again, as long as you keep your name fresh in their minds, and provide the right type of information that keeps them wanting more.
This is where your blog posts come into play.
Imagine you sell supplements. I’m focused on good health, but I’ve never really paid much attention to supplements before other than my multivitamin. But I’m intrigued by what you have to offer, so I start following you. Week after week I get great content on your blog:
Why Organic Supplements Offer Better Nutrition
3 Supplements Every 40 Year Old Woman Should Be Taking
The Only Supplement Necessary For Teenage Girls
Why A Supplement Is Better Than A Trip To The Doctor
And so on. Yes, I made these titles up for this post. But you can see how well these posts would motivate someone with a desire for good health.
The second blog post might not do it.
The tenth blog post might not do it.
The twenty fifth blog post might not do it.
It might be the fiftieth.
Or the one hundredth.
Then all of a sudden something clicks, and that customer moves from the 67 percent to the 3 percent.
They have to have it. And they have to have it from you.
Don’t worry if you can’t do all the writing yourself … you can hire a ghost blogger for that!