Clint Powell
So if you want to fish there are a two ways to do it - dynamite (we don’t recommend and you will go to jail for) and fishing. And, if you really want to increase your odds of catching bass then you probably need to know some things.
What time of day is the best? What do they like to eat? What part of the lake are they found most? How deep are they? Bank fishing versus boat fishing – which is best? Seasons and temps can affect the fishing? Cloud cover versus sunny.
So with all that being said, what is the one variable (I am sure there are more, but for the purposes of this rhetorical article…we will pretend I left just one thing out) I left out?
What type of fish? I mean a lot of the things we mentioned above will change depending on if you want to catch catfish or if you want to catch bass. And there are different types of bass that goes into play as well. Now once you have that answer then the questions and variable above will start to fall in place.
Guess what? It’s the same with your marketing. You should just fish every day for client (especially with dynamite -that would be bad and again lead to jail and bad online reviews). You should have an idea of who your client is. Do you? Do you have a client profile? Do you have a primary client profile and secondary client profile and an influencer profile? This holds true by the way for you commission sales types. You should know who your clients are – how else do you know where to fish for them and what makes them bite the bait?
What is a primary client profile as defined by my simple brain?
Simplest terms – this is the profile that represents the least time invested with the highest return. If you could only have a store full of this one type of person or customer – that is your primary.
Maybe it’s a mom between the ages of 30-38 with a household income of $100,000+ with kids and a part time job. Maybe it’s a career woman with a family and household income of $250,000+ and lives in a certain zip code. Or a teen or a dad all with certain prequalifies. Bottom line is – if you could get more of these people then your business would boom. You better know how to fish for these.
How about that secondary client profile?
Usually their profiles will match your primary, but they may need a little more attention – a little more nurturing and they may not buy or engage as often, but they are important to the business and you make a good return. I would bet a lot of businesses make their bread and butter on this profile.
The challenge here is engagement. The more they are engaged then usually the more they will buy/shop. We want to pull them up to primary and more engagement. So it’s important to make sure you have touch system in place (texting program, newsletter, CRM, in store promotions, events, etc.) to make sure you are pulling them in more. These folks can graduate to your primary if you fish right.
And what is an influencer and why are they important?
Influencers may not spend much money with you, but these folks can influence buying decisions. The grandmother who hears about a day camp for her grandkid and tells the mom. A husband whose parents may need some financial help and sets up the appointment for them. They may not directly give you business but they can influence your target demos. These are good people to reach, important people to think about making your marketing plans.
So if you can start to answer these questions you can better adjust your advertising and marketing budgets to fish where they eat and make sure you are putting the right message (bait) in the water. Happy fishing.
---
Clint Powell is owner of Connect Marketing, an advertising agency in Chattanooga. He is a graduate of Carson-Newman College. He has spent years in radio advertising sales and management, built and sold a billboard company and works on a contract basis with other ad agencies writing ad copy and helping formulate strategies. Clint has worked with hundreds of local and regional companies over the years and helped them develop advertising campaigns. He believes that life is all about connections and spends his time connecting businesses and business owners to solutions. He sits on the board of Y-Cap (YMCA Community Action Program) and helps with several other non-profits. Clint currently resides in East Ridge with his wife and three children. He also host a weekly radio show focused on business and marketing – Marketing Mix Radio on US 101 The Legend @ 96.1.