From The Lightbulb To The Laser

Posted by Chris Kauza on June 1, 2009 under Marketing Monday | 3 Comments to Read

Light bulbs provide a weak, diffuse light that can light up a large area.  Lasers provide a very narrow band of light that has the ability to cut through the hardest materials.  Neither is better than the other, but when it comes to your Marketing, one could be better than the other.

With the introduction of “The Long Tail” into our common culture, and tools like the Internet promoting an increasingly wide variety of information and choice, your customers can shop for – and very often customize – products and services into solutions that best fit their needs.  And it’s usually without your knowledge or permission!  But there are tools you can use and steps you can take to make this work to your advantage.

A home remodeling business owner identified and developed a specialty around remodeling homes for people who were physically challenged.  He over-weighted his advertising dollars to target online and offline publications and venues that were naturally targeted towards these markets.  He also participated in discussions on blogs and forums that people who were physically challenged were visiting, often giving free advice and referrals (without giving away his business).  AS a result, he saw a marked increase in his business activity.

There are a number of popular Social Media tools out there (like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) that enable conversations between people with common interests.  But did you know you can have these work for you, on your website?

Action Step:

Look at your market and find all of the different niches that are in it.  Then, take your top 2 and find online communities and blogs that cater to these specific niches.  THE MORE SPECIFIC THE BETTER! Take 30 minutes to really define and refine each one.  Now, create profiles on each of these communities and actively participate in the forums and the community at large.  Give good advice and be helpful.  If there is an opportunity tot support he community by advertising your business, pursue it and show your support of what is interesting to that community.  It very often will prove to be a good allocation of your Marketing dollars.