MARKETING Series: 6 Steps to Successful Target Marketing

A Short Overview to Help Begin the Discussion About Target Markets

DISCOVER * DISSECT * DISCERN * DESCRIBE * DEVELOP * DIFFERENTIATE

Discern

Evaluate rationally the choices customers have in the marketplace.

The question you want to answer is: where are they currently getting their needs met? Why there? This step may be harder to accomplish than you realize. You must step outside of yourself and your intimate knowledge about your product (how very special it is and how well you think it meet needs) and walk in the shoes of the customer.

What drives them to choose your competitor?
How many choices do they have in the market?
What habit patterns might you have to overcome so they choose you? Be rational, not emotional.

Think about the data you have collected to date, and absent any special knowledge about the provider or the product, why would someone choose a particular competitive offering? Answers to these questions will help you discern the needs of your target market and then craft a strategy to met them in a better way – offer greater value - then the competition.

IF you need some objective, 3rd party help in working through walking in your customer’s shoes, click here – the initial contact is FREE.

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SHARE YOUR STORY

Please, share your journey of the Discern process by using the comment section for this blog. These questions are only thought-starters: you may have something else to share.

Was it easy or hard to step out of your shoes and put on the customer’s shoes?

How do that process make you feel?

What do you believe now that you may not have believed before?

What did you learn in the process?

What was the result (what changed)?

What advice do you have for others who need to do this?


Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell