Are You Reaching Your Customers Where They Are?

“Location, location, location!”

        ~ attributed to Harold Samuel

No one is 100 percent certain that Samuel, an early twentieth–century real estate mogul, actually said these words, but they hold true nonetheless. If you’re going to be successful in business, you need to be where your customers are. In the old days that meant putting up a store in a convenient spot and making sure your signage led would-be buyers right to your door. You might think the digital age has changed things, but it really hasn’t. Now the best real estate is made up of electronic ones and zeroes.

Your advertising budget isn’t unlimited, so to set up the best location, you need to know who you’re selling to. It does you no good to invest in an expensive radio and television ad campaign when your customers are glued to their cell phones. Try to construct a profile of what your ideal customer would be. How old would they be? What places would they frequent? How do they get their information? What are their favorite apps and social media hangouts? How much time do they spend on these sites? What influencers do they listen to? The more specific you can get, the better off you’ll be. Knowing this information helps you to micro-target potential customers so your advertising dollars go farther. 

There are a ton of media platforms out there, some better than others. Each one is different, with its own customs and parlance. Some are well regulated and family friendly. Others are the digital equivalent of the Wild West. Before launching a big advertising campaign, try to find out as much as you can about the platform you want to use. You’ll consider advertising cost, of course, but your research should go beyond that. What works on Facebook may not work on TikTok. What are the platform’s rules? What types of media can you use? How many people use the platform and what is its reputation? Look to see how others have used the platform. How did they do it? What results did they get? 

Many of these platforms provide analytic tools so you can get a better idea of how effective your efforts are. Learn to use them and be prepared to make adjustments if things aren’t working the way you planned. You may want to change things up anyway, since fresh, quality content is always in demand. 

Location still matters. Essentially, you want to be right there with a solution in hand when a customer has a problem. Figure out where they are and how to talk to them and you can take your business to the next level.