The Three M's that will change your business.
Every single purchasing and marketing decision you make should be based off the principle of the 3 M's of Marketing: Market, Message, Media. Ask yourself:
- Who is my target audience (who am I selling to)?
- What am I trying to communicate to my target audience?
- Where is my target audience really getting their information?
Recognize a pattern? Who, What, Where...Maybe your English teacher had a point. Establishing our market, message, and media platform is essential to making better business decisions.
Market
As obvious as it seems many business owners have no idea who their target market is, let alone, what they need to say and where to say it. Before you can sale a product or service you have to know who you are selling to. Many of us have a broad audience. The key is to break your market down by demographics (age, location, gender, etc.) I like to break my audience up by age and then break them down by other demographics from there.
Message
It's not always what you say, but how you say it. In an effort to save money, many people will advertise to anyone and everyone in one advertisement. In most cases this is ineffective and a total waste of money. The things that appeal to your grandmother aren't always the things that appeal to your cousin in college. They may both have a need for your product but if you can't speak in their language your message will be lost. It's like climbing to the top of a building and scream your message to the passersby below. You don't have any idea who's down there or if they even heard you. You should just throw money out while your at it.
Media
Once you've established who you are talking to and what to say, you then need to figure out where to say it. There are hundreds of social platforms in the world today. It can seem overwhelming but if you have targeted your audience enough it will be easy to decide where to market. Just because you use one platform to communicate and gather information doesn't mean your target audience is. Do your research. All social media and advertising platforms know their user and reader demographics. So before you commit to one make sure they'll reach your desired audience. If your target audience are tourist that visit your area then the local newspaper may not be your best platform, however the local magazines that get left in all the rental homes, by real estate agencies, might be. Get creative, start to think like your customer.
Don't forget the other two words that were drilled into your head during story writing. They too have their place in marketing. Why: When forming your message create a sense of why someone needs or wants what you provide. When: A great message on the right platform to the right audience will get no where if it's not shared at the right time. Again, do your research. Make sure you are speaking when people are listening.
The three M's can change your business, drastically. Small, thoughtful, decision making can produce effective & profitable results.
If you are having troubled figuring out who to market to or just can't come up with creative ideas that work, contact us! We'd love to help.