4 Questions to Keep You Focused

Looking for a fun way to waste some time (how’s that for a start to a post about focusing?)  Then check out www.nationaldaycalendar.com where you can see official and not-so-official holidays for every day and month of the year.  March is diverse being both National Peanut Month and National Umbrella Month and includes Dr. Suess Day (March 2nd), Pi Day (March 14), St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), and World Backup Day (March 31), just to name a few.  Some people love Dr. Suess, some love pi(e), some love both.  Some people like walking in the rain, some cannot be in the same room as a peanut, some couldn’t care less about St. Patrick.

Your customer base is the same, and even more diverse than the ever-growing list of national days.  If your marketing efforts are always trying to connect with everybody  at once you are almost certainly bound to connect with nobody.  Campaigns should be focused and targeted to the appropriate audience with an offer that will benefit them in a way they want to benefit.  On March 2nd, my campaign will be tailored to Dr. Suess fans, but on March 25, it will be targeted to Tolkien fans.

So as you run through the spring cleaning of your current and upcoming campaigns, ask the following 4 questions to be sure they are as focused and targeted as they can be:

1. Who?

• Who are you trying to reach?  Who would benefit from this product/service?  Who is qualified?  Who is not?

2. Why?

• Why do you want to target this group/individual?  Why would they care?  Why do you?

3. What?

• What do you want them to do?  What steps should they take?  Is it simple?  Is it clear?  What incentive do they have to respond?  What’s in it for them?  What’s in it for you?

4. How?

• How do they accomplish what you are asking them?  Is it simple?  Is it clear?  How will you follow up?  How will you measure the success of the campaign?

Focus on your customers as individuals, target your campaigns to them based on their needs, and you will earn their respect, their trust, and very likely their business.  And that is something worth celebrating.

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