Marketing Strategies

Posted on 4/5/2009 at 1:07:34 PM

Choosing Your Client Base

In today’s economy we’re all trying to figure out how to attract more clients, persuade them to purchase our services or products and increase our income. Marketing is the same no matter what you’re trying to sell, whether it’s a personal service or a product.

In this article I’ll address how to know who your targeted client/customer is, know what they want and figure out the best way to catch their eye and convince them to purchase your product or service.

The best way to increase your income, obviously, is to get more customers, and once you’ve got them, to convince them to spend more money. But it’s not just a question of attracting more clients, it’s a question of attracting  the right type of client.  You wouldn’t advertise a bluegrass festival in the free ad paper of a college town in Seattle, Washington nor would you put up fliers for a free pedicure with the purchase of a manicure in a body shop.

You MUST reach out to and attract the attention of the people who are most interested in your services.

So exactly how does one go about doing that?

• Know the type of client you want to attract and what THEY want
• Make your product or service appealing to them; convince them that they not only WANT your product or service, but that they NEED it
• Price your products and services according to your targeted market
• Deliver above and beyond what the client expects

While the following tips and tricks can be applied to ANY product and service, I’ll be using the nail technician and the services she would offer as an example.

WHO DO YOU WANT TO SELL TO?

Let’s address the first point: What type of client do YOU want and how hard do you want to work?

The nail technician has many choices of targeted clients.  The bride-to-be, the businesswoman, the high school girl, the society matron are just a few … the levels of targeted clients can be endless and each one would respond to a different type of marketing strategy and price level.

The bride is a one time client, but she is a big-money client. Every bride want her wedding day to be special and most are ready to spend whatever it takes to achieve that goal.  The nail tech would do her research for this client by reading the wedding and engagement announcements of her local paper; she would then create an eye-catching advertisement and place it not ONLY in the service area of her local paper, but in local bridal salons, tanning salons – anywhere that a bride to be might see it. The ad would offer a special bridal package of all of the services the nail tech offers.

If the tech is affiliated with providers who offer similar services, so much the better.  Join with those providers – hair salons that don‘t offer nail services, tanning salons, estheticians, etc – to offer a spectacular package deal. They might even be interested in sharing advertising costs for a bigger newspaper ad.

The business woman would respond to a completely different marketing strategy: she’s in a hurry, she has money but not time, she needs to look good, she may or may not have a tight budget depending on her profession. To attract her attention, you might place your appropriate advertisement at the dry cleaners, the gym, etc.

Offer the business woman a quick service that can be fit in on her lunch hour.  She would also be a great candidate for a package deal of a different type – purchase nine manicures at a reduced price and receive the tenth one PLUS a paraffin dip for FREE.

Let’s look at the high school student – Prom, Homecoming, Spring break are all events where the student wants to look her best.  Unfortunately, the student’s budget can be tight.  You’ll have to alter your pricing accordingly and perhaps be willing to do her appointment at odd hours.  Word of mouth, however,  goes a long way in high school, so you may get a lot of referrals from the student.

Last, meet the society matron. What does she want, what does she expect?  The VERY BEST.  You will have to perform to her exacting  standards and you may even have to kiss up a bit. However she is willing to pay for it and she WILL brag about you to her friends and acquaintances.

One appointment with the matron will likely bring you the same amount of income as five business women or even ten students – in the same amount of time. PLUS, if you go above and beyond what you advertise, she will be a return client.

Now compare the four customers above with the similar customers who you are trying to sell  YOUR service/product to, decide how hard you want to work and market accordingly.