THE IDEAL CUSTOMER: ME
My experience as a customer got me to thinking about how nutraceutical marketers seem to ignore me˳
I’m in a market segment best labeled as “grumpy old men” (GOMs)˳
No, seriously˳
I know I’m in it because my wife keeps telling me so˳ Old˳ Irritable˳ Curmudgeonly˳
And I feel ignored by supplement companies˳
How so?
For one thing, I’ve subscribed to numerous online newsletters about alternative health˳ What I’ve received is invariably so generalized that I get the impression the businesses sending them out don’t even know I exist˳
This is surprising, since I exhibit two of the top criteria of an ideal customer˳
First, I have spendable income that I allocate to supplements˳
Second, I’m very, very concerned about how to slow down age-related health challenges˳
That’s just a start˳
If you’re doing good research, you’ll know a few additional useful tidbits for marketing to me and my fellow GOMs˳
Like everyone else, we have certain typical needs˳ We want to feel significant˳ We want you to know us and acknowledge our biggest health concerns˳
Talking to me and my fellow GOMs will also tell you that we don’t think of ourselves as “old˳” We despise feeling obsolete or removed from the mainstream youth culture˳
We are increasingly concerned with longevity˳
We are readers and information seekers˳ This characteristic alone makes us responsive to advertising˳
Okay, right there are some major characteristics you can use for persuading me to know you, like you, trust you… and buy from you˳
GOMs represent more than 10% of the U˳S˳ population˳ Adding our age-group females to the equation more than doubles the market size˳
I’m more than just a customer who’s feeling ignored˳
I’m also a marketer who has figured out how to hit the market bullseye for my segment˳ And the strategy I discovered works for all other market segments, too˳
My experience marketing a paid subscription newsletter illustrates what I found˳
The conversion rate hovers right around 30%, with subscription renewals at about 75%˳
That’s a pretty good conversion and a very low churn rate˳
What I did was to first survey my free-subscription list to find just one demographic – fellow seniors with my same health concerns˳
Then I sent that group to a landing page specifically designed to address their needs˳
That’s it˳
EASIEST WAY TO HIT THE TARGET
What I’ve described is widely known among marketers who use email marketing˳
This practice is known as list segmentation˳
In other words, carving out one particular segment of a bigger subscriber list, then addressing the particular needs of that segment˳
Conceptually it’s nothing new˳ It simply capitalizes on the old marketing adage about finding out what people want, then providing it to them˳
What I did has three key components that apply to all markets˳
1) Define and select a target segment from a larger list˳
This is pretty simple, since email hosting services have already set up the technical steps for list segmentation˳
2) Create persuasive marketing copy that pushes all the hot buttons for that segment˳ This is crucial for getting people in your target segment to take the action you want them to take – i˳e˳, buying your products˳
In a nutshell, this step is all about communication˳ If Anthony Robbins’ definition is correct (and it is) – communication is the results you get˳
If people aren’t buying, you’re not communicating˳
3) Rinse and repeat for every segment you want to hit˳
There’s no limit to how many segments you can define in your list˳
I’ve mentioned just a few˳ The number seems limitless˳
My best-ever copywriting mentor, Joshua Boswell, once mentioned that he sliced up a client list into 72 segments˳ 72!
My experience is not unique˳ It’s a common story that applies to every marketing segment in every industry˳
Wait, there’s more!
BONUS BENEFIT TO YOUR ROI
Uncovering high-value customers via list segmentation also has a beneficial flip side˳ It lets you cull out ‘deadbeat’ subscribers˳
I don’t mean to be cynical here˳ The truth is you probably built your list based on a bait piece, a free offering of some sort˳ That’s a good start˳ People love free stuff˳
However, the vast majority of people who get free information won’t buy from you˳ They’ll most likely even ignore your emails, without ever unsubscribing˳ They just hang around on your list forever, buying nothing˳
While that may be puzzling and maybe even annoying, it can also be costly˳ Email hosting providers charge more as your list grows˳ Eliminating ‘eternal non-buyers’ lets you trim your list down to actual and likely buyers˳
Thus, the cost savings can be substantial˳ And spending time and money just on who’s left can skyrocket your ROI˳
NEXT STEPS
So far I’ve merely outlined the concept of list segmentation and what you can expect from it˳ It’s clearly a fundamental strategy behind successful email marketing˳
Of course, all the high-tech bells and whistles of list segmentation still depend on persuasive copy˳ Ultimately, that’s what drives every marketing strategy, no matter the platform˳
That’s where I come in˳
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?How-to-Hit-Your-Target-Market-Bullseye-Every-Time&id=10462978
