{"id":51928,"date":"2021-10-22T18:00:11","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T22:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=51928"},"modified":"2021-10-28T09:36:51","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T13:36:51","slug":"prospecting-customers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/prospecting-customers\/","title":{"rendered":"Prospecting Customers: The 3 Steps to Success"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What does it mean to prospect customers? How can you identify potential customers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prospecting customers<\/a> is the first step in an effective marketing strategy. It involves identifying your target audience<\/a> and developing a strategy for turning them into paying customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn about the three steps of prospecting customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Is Customer Prospecting?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the first marketing phase, you should focus on prospecting customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This involves focusing on those who\u2019ve likely never heard of your business\u2014prospects<\/em>\u2014so that they will discover you and respond to an offer, thereby becoming leads<\/em> and entering the second phase. (Shortform note: As noted earlier, each marketing phase entails three steps. To create your own 1-page plan, fill in each step or square on the author\u2019s or your own nine-square template as you read this guide.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three steps for prospecting customers are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Identify your target market<\/a>.<\/li>
  2. Develop a compelling message for this market.<\/li>
  3. Deliver the message through some type of direct advertising.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Here are the three steps of prospecting customers in more detail:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Identify Your Target Market<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    To prospect customers, begin by identifying your target market<\/a>. By identifying and focusing your marketing on the prospects most likely to buy from you, according to Dib, you\u2019ll receive a better ROI <\/strong>or return on investment for your time, money, and effort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As noted earlier, many small businesses try a mass marketing or branding approach of broadcasting their name widely and frequently in hopes that a small percentage of those who hear it will become customers. However, this type of marketing is costly and results are hit or miss. Dib recommends focusing narrowly on a single niche or subset of your market at a time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (Shortform note: Similarly, in The 21 Immutable Laws of Marketing<\/em><\/a>, the authors note that many businesses mistakenly believe that appealing to a wider audience will expand their customer base. However, the way to expand your customer base is actually to identify and focus on your strongest niche, because success in a niche expands the niche and beyond. For example, in advertising cigarettes, Marlboro targeted only men while other companies sought to attract both men and women. With its memorable campaign featuring cowboys, Marlboro led sales nationally among both<\/em> men and women.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Dib notes that you can keep serving<\/em> multiple market niches, but he advises focusing your marketing on <\/strong>one ideal segment first<\/em><\/strong>\u2014characterized by people you genuinely like working with, who value what you offer and are willing to pay a premium for it, and who exist in sufficient numbers to make the work profitable. After dominating your first niche, then target another niche. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can also create niche profiles, including characteristics such as age, gender, education, income, and geographic location. In addition, delve deeper by researching and interviewing people in this market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (Shortform note: An Inc<\/em>. article offers more detailed steps for identifying your target market<\/a> by analyzing the following: your customer base, competition, your product or service, the most-promising demographic, and their concerns, attitudes, and behaviors.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Create a Compelling Message<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Once you\u2019ve identified your target prospects, step 2 of prospecting customers is crafting a message that gets their attention (so they react, \u201cHey, that\u2019s just what I need!\u201d) and compels them to act. Dib offers several tips to create such a message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (Shortform note: Dib stresses that the purpose of direct-response advertising is to generate leads, or potential future<\/em> customers, rather than to sell immediately, but his tips seem aimed at creating messages that sell, so it\u2019s likely the two purposes overlap.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1) Develop a unique selling proposition<\/strong>: Your ads should flow from your unique selling proposition<\/em>, a concise problem-solution statement that tells prospects why they should buy from you rather than from a competitor. Dib contends your USP should position you so that prospects make an apples-to-oranges comparison between you and your competition rather than apples-to-apples. Your differentiator could be your product, or something else like packaging, delivery, or support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2) Create a compelling offer<\/strong>: Once you know your niche and USP, you need to structure an offer that will excite your target prospects. Don\u2019t go the lazy route of just offering a discount, or customers will default to an apples-to-apples price comparison. Dib identifies several essential elements of a compelling offer: <\/p>\n\n\n\n