I didn’t take any marketing courses at university. I’m guessing you probably didn’t either!
It took me MANY years and MANY mistakes to learn how to market to my dream client – and to create marketing that actually converts into clients.
Today I want to share one of my BIGGEST AHA’s I ever learned in marketing that helped me attract more clients.
Like many of you, early on, I engaged in what’s commonly known as ‘here I am now’ marketing. In my early days of my retail store, I would place ads in newspapers (pre internet days) informing potential customers of where my store was located, what I sold and the opening hours. Today I often see practitioners such as bookkeepers, accountants, real estate agents and lawyers just to name a few doing this type of marketing.
However, this type of marketing is just informing those people who are looking for you or your services NOW where to find you, i.e. “Here I am now”. The truth is that only about 3% of your dream customers are actually looking for you this instant – right now! That means a GIANT 97% of your dream clients aren’t looking to hire you or to use your services now!
Let me demonstrate with this example with real estate agent, Susan. Currently Susan places weekly ads/marketing on newspapers & radio. On her social media she posts pictures of her current listings; and perhaps her infrequent newsletter talks about national or provincial housing trends. Basically, her marketing tells people what agency she is with, her phone number and perhaps email address. It’s typical “here I am’ marketing. Susan is only marketing to 3% of her dream market.
Then there are 7% of Susan’s potential dream clients who are open to THINKING about purchasing a new house and open to meeting a new agent or being introduced to one. They aren’t quite ready to make a move yet but they are ‘open minded’. Perhaps they are visiting the occasional open house.
Then there are about 30% of Susan’s potential dream clients who are newly married and thinking about raising a family sometime in the future, perhaps in 1-2 years. They are open to using a real estate agent but not just yet. In fact, the whole process is a little scary & overwhelming to them.
Then there are another 30% of Susan’s potential dream clients who are totally unaware that they might be needing a real estate agent in the future. It hasn’t crossed their minds that they are going to need to upsize in the near future when their apartment or condo becomes full to the brim of baby accessories and there is no playground nearby.
Then there’s the last 30% of Susan’s potential dream clients who will NEVER use her services – either because they won’t use a real estate agent; they have a family member or friend they would use; or they already have a preferred real estate agent.
In summary:
3% are looking now.
7% are open to introductions, special offers, etc.
30% are thinking about it sometime in the future, but not just yet.
30% totally unaware that they will need these services.
30% will be a no.
As I mentioned, most marketing/advertising is “here I am now’ based – focusing only on the 3%. That makes a crowded marketing place if all real estate agents are targeting the 3%. Most of this type of marketing is sales or PUSH marketing.
Now let’s ignore the 30% that are going to say NO anyway!
That leaves 67% of your potential market that are being ignored.
It’s time for a shift.
Instead of marketing to the crowded market, why not market to the other 67% – those that will eventually need you? Why not try something different? This type of marketing is called EBM – education based marketing – which talks about the benefits or educates the eventual consumer.
Let’s go back to our example of Susan, the real estate agent. Instead of creating marketing that talks about national housing trends and posting pictures of current listings (this targets the 3%), what if instead she targeted a specific niche i.e. first time home buyers, new parents, soon to be parents. She could then create marketing about how she helps new parents or expecting parents to find a larger home for their growing family; how she helps them navigate the scary mortgage & insurance challenges; what to consider when purchasing a new home; which neighborhoods have the best playgrounds, etc.
This type of marketing would address young couples who know that eventually they will need her services (and positions her as an AUTHORITY/EXPERT in that field; and addresses the 7% open to introductions; and the 3% who are currently looking now!
With this SHIFT in her marketing to education-based marketing, Susan accomplishes several things:
- Markets to a larger audience (67%).
- Differentiates herself from others in her field.
- Positions herself as the go to AUTHORITY for first time buyers and is more likely to get referrals.
- Reduces the amount of time, money & effort spent on marketing that isn’t working.
What could you do to SHIFT your marketing to educational based marketing so your efforts will be focused on the 67% instead of 3%?
What additional VALUE could you offer your dream client?
Do you have a specific niche? In other words, do you solve ONE earthshattering problem for one particular type of individual?
If you’re finding these questions difficult to answer, I’d love to be able to support you to SHIFT your marketing so that you attract more clients and are positioned as the AUTHORITY in your field.
YOU CAN DO THIS!
Diana
P.S. If you’d like more income and impact from your marketing, let’s chat. Schedule a call here!
Read how it worked for Cynthia here.
