If you can’t profile your target, then you can’t make smart marketing investments. If your business is new, look at the competition for a profile of the most profitable part of their business.
If you have existing clients, figure out which ones are most profitable. Just because 50% of your current business comes from a single source or type of client doesn’t mean that you want more of them. Continue to use the same marketing tools and messages to promote your business and you’ll just get more of them. And as hard as it may be to step away from what you know, sometimes you have to take that leap of faith to get the change you want from your business.
Your best prospects are not EVERYONE. They are people or businesses who live, work, do, believe and breathe different things every day. The more specific you can be in your identification of your one or more best prospects, the better marketing decisions you will be able to make.
It may sound great when the ad sales rep tells you they reach tens of thousands of women every month if you need to sell to women, right? Not if the women they are reaching are the wrong age or income, live in the wrong geography or have the wrong socioeconomic status. It is not just about female consumers. The same argument could be made for a vehicle that reaches hundreds of CEOs, etc.
Once you have an understanding of your audience, you are that much better prepared to evaluate the merit of individual opportunities that come your way.