[4] Target as many Market Segments as you can Identify:

So now all you have to do is accomplish three simple tasks:

(A) Figure out which people – or groups of people – are likely to be prospective customers for whatever you're selling;

(B) Figure out how to reach as many as possible of those people within your various targeted subgroups who might want or need what you have to sell; and

(C) Establish your business identity as "good guys to do business with" in order to motivate qualified prospects to buy it from you, and to keep buying it from you on a regular basis. (This is called "branding" ... and it's an integral factor in effective advertising on a long-term basis.)

That sounds easy enough, doesn't it? Maybe not quite as easy as shooting fish in a barrel, but probably a whole lot easier than saving the whales or achieving world peace.

It really is as easy as A, B, C ... but not necessarily. Sometimes it can be damnably difficult. However, if you strive to address these three issues effectively, your business will prosper beyond your wildest dreams.

One of the Most Challenging Aspects of Running a Business is Determining What Groups of People Might Be Likely Customers For Your Particular Business:

Well, obviously you wish everybody would buy from you. But some types of people will be more likely to buy from you than others, and you want to carve out your niche in the marketplace.

Begin by analyzing the demographic characteristics of your current regular customers. Try to determine their age range, income range, interests, hobbies, ethnicity, and whatever additional factors that might relate to each customer's ultimate "buying decision." Be discreet, but gather the information whenever you can. Take good notes and keep statistics.

Yes, it's usually called "profiling" these days, but it's only considered a human rights violation when law enforcement agencies do it.

Whenever new customers come in, ask them where they came from and how they first learned about your business. This should give you some insight into new potential advertising venues or marketing approaches that might work for your particular business.

Analyze the Demographics of Your Customers' Neighborhoods:

If you live near your business, you may already have a pretty good idea about what's going on in your neighborhood. Otherwise, you could probably use a little help. Once you have an idea of where your customers are coming from, and how far they're traveling to do business with you, it's time to start analyzing the demographics of the areas that your business serves.

Here are four data resources some of our Staffers have used for years in their own marketing research, both for BFC as well as for other marketing projects they've handled. Check out what each of these resources has to offer. Each is a little different. All are highly recommended.

City-Data.com

Sperling's Neighborhood Profiles

e-Podunk

Morgan Quitno Press

Each link above will open in a "new" window, so you won't lose your place on this page.

Develop Workable Profiles of Prospective Customers:

As you gather this information, you'll see patterns emerge regarding your present customers. Then think about what other groups of people have similar characteristics, and therefore might also logically be prospective customers for your particular business. Be diligent with this effort on a regular basis, and your data will soon reveal these patterns. As you develop more profiles. you can target more groups of people with your marketing effort.

And if you should happen to meet a customer who doesn't seem to fit one of your already existing profiles, chat them up and pay close attention to what they have to say. You may have just discovered a new potential marketing target for your business.

Here's a case in point: When we began BarrierFreeChoices what now seems like an eternity ago, our focus was on serving people with disabilities and those businesses who could accomodate them. And that was as far as it went. But within 2 or 3 years we started getting feedback from parents of young children, who told us they were using our service because getting around with a small child in a stroller presented some of the same navigational challenges as getting around with someone in a wheelchair. Consequently, our target service market was broadened to include a number of family and parents' organizations. We had identified a new target market.

We Recommend a Diversified Marketing Approach:

As they say (whoever "they" are), don't ever put all your eggs in one basket. There are a number of advertising opportunities that can effectively help you grow your business, and we recommend choosing as many diverse advertising venues as your budget allows that will enable you to [a] get an effective message out repeatedly to people who could be within your prospective target market, AND [b] enhance your company's image to the general public.

For example: If you have a $5 million total advertising budget for the year, don't spend it all on two 30-second Super Bowl spots. There are probably better ways to invest your money.

And yes, we said "invest." Every advertising purchase or marketing promotion should be regarded as an investment in the future of your business. Select your marketing opportunities as carefully as you would pick a stock or mutual fund, or any other investment.

And if you are planning to hire a marketing director or an advertising agency to help you make marketing decisions, choose them as carefully as you would choose your banker, stockbroker, attorney, or doctor ... because the life of your business will be in their hands.

Further Important Information (oh, no, more stuff to read!):

Since you've read this far, we assume that you're either [a] a current BFC advertiser seeking to learn more about how to grow your business (or more about BFC, or about disabled people in general); or [b] a prospective BFC advertiser seeking to learn more about why people with disabilities are such an important marketing target. In either case, we hope this article has provided some helpful information you can use

Below are links to two more important articles that will tell you more about disabled Americans and explain in more detail why you should be actively marketing your accessible business to America's disabled community.

"Who's Disabled in America", our Guide for disabled consumers, while written specifically for consumers, provides additional information about America's disabled community today that might be very helpful to businesses seeking to do more business with disabled Americans.

The next topic in our Business Section, "The Demographics of Disabled Access", is our comprehensive Marketing Guide for Business. It presents a more detailed discussion of the economic importance of "Americans with disabilities" (a Trillion Dollar market segment), and how to market to that 22% population segment. It also includes links to a multitude of "disability studies, statistics, and related issues."

No, you don't need to read either article right now. Not unless you want to. But they'll be ready for you when you're ready for them. Links to both articles are also available on the Menu Page of our Business Section, and also from our main website's Navigation Page.

Return to the top of this page or return to our Business Menu for links to additional areas of our site, if you like. Or click our Logo below to get back to the BarrierFreeChoices Main Home Page. You can go wherever you like. It's your choice, and "choice" is what we're all about.