Know Your Niche' & Great Marketing Ideas

Each week Wendy and I join about twenty other business professionals for our networking meeting: No Nonsense Networking.  This spectacular group of professionals knows how to have fun, get it done, and most importantly are an incredible resource of guidance and information for each other.  Our agenda is a little different from the traditional networking groups.  We include a professional development discussion – about twenty minutes to explore a business related topic.  We just love this part of our meeting each week.

Last week our topic explored how well we really know our niche market.  A member recently compared his actual customer base to his niche market characteristics, and was surprised when they didn’t match.  In fact, although he was marketing to a specific group of technical professionals, he realized his client base was actually comprised of the wives of his niche market.  What a great reminder to reality check your marketing efforts against the actual results!  That way you can make modifications to your marketing efforts for an even greater return on investment.

As part of the discussion, we went round robin, and each member shared their best marketing strategy.  We’ve provided the list below for your inspiration.

• Real Results Parties – host a party where people can see the actual results and benefits of your products.
• Make a friend with a reporter – gain exposure by encouraging your local city paper to write an article about your company.
• Attend a trade show – prepare a great follow up plan before you attend the show, also set appointments with prospects who you know will also be attending.
• Pick up that cold phone – sometimes you just have to put yourself out there, and make a few cold calls.
• Collaborate with other professionals in your industry – volunteering with an organization that serves a community that matches your niche market.
• Don’t forget to ask for referrals – everyone is busy, and it’s easy to forget to share – remind your customers you love referrals, it’s as easy as mentioning it in your email signature.
• Focus on your personal growth – attend meetups just to meet others, and improve your networking skills in general – you never know who you may meet!

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