Stop Being Everything to Everyone and See Your Profits Soar

The good news is that you can market to almost everybody. The bad news is that you get to spend more and still connect to just a few of your recipients.

This is one of the most common mistakes of many business owners and marketers. Most try to market to everybody, hoping that they can attract a few along the way. Most also try to be something to just about everyone. The downside to this is that you are wasting a big chunk of your marketing budget to a door hanger printing for example without any guarantee that your message will stick to your target clients or anyone of them for that matter. Although you have distributed your marketing paraphernalia to everyone and believe that you can serve any need possible, you still fail to have your products and services purchased. The reason for this? You've become a jack-of-all-trades without master of one.

When marketing, it's not about conveying your message to the biggest number of recipients with your door hangers for example; and it's definitely not being able to serve any need possible, although that would be great indeed. It's actually about having made the connection with the right people who actually can buy your products and services from you. The wider your message, the more you'll have a hard time offering your services to your target clients.

Don't think that the wider your message, the more clients will buy from you. The downside to this is that you spread yourself so wide and too thin, hence, you create a not so powerful message to your target audience. Just like butter - if you spread it on your sandwich too thinly, you cannot very well taste it. Nothing sticks. So does your message: no one remembers it because it's too general; and nothing sticks to the minds of your recipients because you're not different from all the other stores with a discount offer.

The key is to be distinct from everyone else. Make sure that you stand out and that your specialty can distinguish you from the rest. If you ask your target audience what you have as a specialty, don't make them say that you sell cars or sell houses. It's too broad. This just goes to show that your advertising fails to make a point.

Instead, have your target audience distinctly say your difference. Put it in your service. Whether you offer free shipping to all states and cities; or have a half-day turnaround when printing door hangers - what makes you stand out from the rest of your competition should be very evident in your marketing strategy.