To be successful in business, one of the most important things you can do is to identify and understand the key groups you should be targeting with your marketing efforts. So, who are the people your marketing should target? Obviously, those who need your product or service. But that’s not everyone you should be talking to in order to grow your business as far as it can go. Here are all the groups you should be targeting to maximize your success.

Past and Present Clients

Past clients know, like, and trust you—hey, they’ve already paid you for the product you’ve delivered, or the service you’ve performed. Unfortunately, it’s easy to forget about targeting them with your marketing, because you figure it may be a few years before they need you again—or they may actually be a “one and done” customer. Whatever the case, past clients can be excellent sources for referrals. Best of all, the prospects they steer your way can be way quicker and easier to close, since they’ve been recommended by someone they know and trust.

Present clients are also a good audience to target, as they may know others who have the same need they do. And both past and present clients are great sources for the most credible testimonials. So, stay in touch with past clients and ask your current ones for their referrals and testimonials.

Other People You Know

Friends and family can be a ready source for new business. Of course, the people you know well can be challenging to work with, though they will often turn into your biggest, raving fans. Even if they don’t become clients, they can still be great sources for referrals and testimonials. Ask them to talk about what you do in shares, conversations, and testimonials. Suggest they tell how long they’ve known you, and what they’ve seen of your work.

Another good source of referrals and testimonials are the range of people you work with. This includes your employees, the professional partners you’re engage with in the course of business, your vendors, and the contacts you’ve made through networking efforts. But remember, working with partners, vendors, and networking contacts should be a two-way street. Provide them with testimonials and referrals, so they’ll be encouraged to do the same for you.

People You Don’t Know

This is your biggest group of people to target—people you don’t yet know. This group is important because if you want to grow, you need to keep adding new people to your pipeline. Define who these people are by describing the need they have that your product or service will meet. If you can, narrow the group down by age, gender, socio-economic level, geographic location, or whatever criteria describe your ideal customer. Think about which social media platforms they would be found on.

The most important group of people you don’t know are those who’ve reached you through one of your marketing channels—your website, social media posts, emails, videos, and mailers. Many of these could be warm prospects, so stay in touch. Give them more information and special offers, and if they’re not ready to do business, ask them if they know someone who might be.

Once you’ve segmented your target audiences, give them consistent, helpful information that’s relevant to who they are and whether they’re a prospect for a testimonial, a referral, or closed business. Use all your marketing channels. And most important, be sure to thank everyone for their support. Your AdviCoach is ready to help you take your target marketing to the next level of success.