It’s not a huge secret that having a killer product or idea is only the beginning of making your millions. Without a rock-solid marketing strategy, your business can only take you so far.

If you are not delivering your product or idea to the right audience, you are not going to be successful. PERIOD.

So many businesses fail at making effective marketing campaigns because they try to create clever messaging that misses what the market wants. Tuning into what the market is actually searching for is what will lead to success.

Start by defining your target market

This is one time when it pays off to think small. Many businesses make the mistake of trying to appeal to many people on a broad scheme. Start by focusing on a more narrow niche of people, understand them and their needs, and grow your campaign from there.

Be specific with your target. A vague marketing strategy may seem attractive to appeal to the largest audience possible. Unfortunately, it tends to have the opposite effect of being too general and drawing in no one.

Try a persona exercise. Start by imagining a clear picture of your ideal client. What is their daily life like? What motivates them? What problems keep them up at night? 

Then create an avatar or background story of your typical client that defines their wants, needs, and pain points. Your goal is to solve the problems in their life.

Change your perspective

To truly make an impact with a message, you probably need to shift your view.

You know what you’re capable of and what you offer that can help. But when you’re defining your target audience, instead of thinking of who you want to serve, think of who the people are who can benefit from your tools and talents. Who is out there that needs to hear from you? What can you offer that helps a defined group of people solve a specific problem?

Once you know who those people are, try to frame your message from their point of view. Instead of thinking, “What do I want to tell them?” pivot to thinking, “What do they need to hear?”

Appeal to their emotions

Humans are emotional beings and not always logical. You can use that quality to your advantage! 

What emotions do you want people to feel when they’re listening to you? What uncomfortable feelings can you help your clients avoid? What satisfaction do they want to experience?

Understanding what motivates people emotionally will give you huge insight into how to market directly to them.

Telling stories that appeal to them on an emotional level elevates your level of trust with your audience and increase brand loyalty.

Set yourself apart  

The market is bombarded with thousands of marketing messages every day. To truly be effective, need to set yourself apart. 

What can you offer that hasn’t already been done before? What are your unique talents that the world has been sitting around waiting for?

What makes you especially suited to serve your target audience?

Listen and learn

Pay attention to the people closest to you. What do your employees, your students, and your supporters crave from you? What is it about you that draws them to you? These are the ones who know you best. Build off the feedback you get here to fine-tune your marketing strategy. 

It never hurts to research your competition. Who are the thought leaders in your area of expertise? What businesses, organizations, and individuals align with your message? What works for them? What doesn’t? How does your target market react?

Continue to fine-tune your strategy 

Take time to regularly reevaluate your marketing strategy and your target audience. What’s working? What isn’t working? What aspects of your plan have led to the most successful, most meaningful connections? 

Revisit your target audience frequently. Have they changed? Have you changed? 

Let’s say your avatar is “stay-at-home moms in their 30’s with young children.” As their children get older, their needs change. Will you grow with them? This is the perfect opportunity to review your goals and objectives. 

If you want to continue to appeal to this group, it’s imperative for you to update your strategy. What can you offer them now that wouldn’t have been helpful to them before?

Even if you decide to remain with your original plan, you still need to revisit and revise. Stay-at-home moms in their 30’s have different needs and opportunities than this group did a few years ago . . . and their needs will be different a few years from now as well.

To continue to remain impactful, your business must keep tuning and fine-tuning its strategies.

A solid understanding of your market is the key to success

If you’re struggling to make an impact, your marketing message is likely to blame. Get to know your audience and their needs better. Always keep listening and looking for new ways to add value to the people you serve.

Many businesses fail to reach their full potential because they stumble with getting the attention they deserve in a sea of experts. They have a brilliant idea, but no solid strategy to get that idea out to the people who will most benefit from it. 

Andréa Albright is a leader in helping business leaders harness their star power. She started writing books and building websites in 2006. Since that time, she has written over 25 books and helped publish many more.

Andréa is so successful at what she does because she is devoted to learning and developing a keen understanding of how to make your marketing strategy work for the product you are trying to promote.

If you want to learn how to boost your business to the next level, check out Andréa’s latest video here.