Many small business owners who take a holistic approach to business struggle to grow their business because they have not asked and answered the question why is marketing important to a business?

Answering this question will make them realize that they must be clear on who they are trying to reach and communicate with. More often than not they are tying to be everything to everyone and end up serving no one.

If you fall into this category you need to understand that people purchase products or services for three basic reasons:
•    To satisfy basic needs.
•    To have their problems solved.
•    To make themselves feel good.

No matter how good your service or product is not everyone wants it. That is why you need to find out if there is a market out there for what you have to offer.

So it’s really important that you are crystal clear on you who you will be communicating your message to because it helps you design your offerings in your marketing.

The words ideal client, tribe, specific audience, target market, and niche are often used interchangeably. However there is a difference between the terms niche, and target market. Let’s begin by defining some terms.

Here is a good working definition of target market and niche.

Niche is your target market (who) combined with the problem you are solving or the need you are fulfilling (what)

Your “who” is your target market.

When you combine your “what “with your “who” you have your niche.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to gain clarity on who you want to work with.
1.    Where do they live –local, regional, national?
2.    What industry are they in?
3.    What is their pain/ struggle? What is top of mind for them?
4.    What services/ products do they spend their time on?
5.    Can they pay for your services and offerings?
6.    What kind of significant life experiences have they had?
7.    What kind of education/training do they have?
8.    What do they do for fun?
9.    Where do they hang out?
10.  Who needs to hear your message?

When you are absolutely clear on who your niche and ideal client is you will be able to communicate exactly what you have to offer them when you are marketing to them, no matter if it’s in a brochure, website, sales page, when networking, video etc

If you target too many types of people you are actually coming from a lack mind set. E.g. If there are 3 different types of people who have 3 different needs, your message will  be diluted to fit the needs of all 3 types and they won’t know who you are talking to. They will be confused. There’s a saying that goes “A confused mind never buys”

Your message has to be so clear that your prospective clients say to themselves “boy she really knows what I’m feeling and what I’ve been going through”, “she’s been there herself”

Your goal is to make it so clear, that you, your service or product can solve their problem so it’s going to be easy for your ideal clients to self select.

The other thing to remember is that you can’t create a compelling message until you are clear on who your target audience is.

Please comment below and share if you are clear on who your target market and your niche are.

Perhaps you have asked yourself this question, “why is marketing important to a business”? Building a business helps you to explore the many aspects of who you really are. It allows you to find out how you can use your gifts and talents to make an impact on those you want to serve.

To be effective at marketing will depend on your ability to get your message out to the right people in such a way that they will want to invest in your services.

Step 1 is to get clear on your gifts and talents and what you have to offer. What do you do that is unique or better than anyone else? What lights you up? What are you passionate about? How can you make the greatest impact?

Finding out what drives you and your deepest life intentions can help you to move with greater focus and clarity in your life. One way is to answer a series of questions through journaling. Sit with the energy of unfolding, writing down the first thing that pops into your head.

Let the answers flow freely without editing, judging or analyzing them.

1.    What are the favorite things you did in the past?
2.    What activities do you do that make you lose track of time?
3.    If money wasn’t a problem, what would you do with your time?
4.    What did you do repeatedly in the past (even as a child) that you had fun doing and made you happy?
5.    Has anyone asked for your help because of something specific that you did?
6.    What are you naturally good at? (Skills, abilities, gifts etc.)
7.    If you had to teach something, what would you teach?
8.    What have you done in the past that really helped people?
9.    How do you think you add value to or improve the quality of their lives?

As you answer these questions look for the common threads that surface up in your answers. Make a list of all the people, organizations, groups, and causes that you believe you can be of service to.

Going through this process will help you get clearer about how to work on your business in a way that inspires the people you serve and at the same time generates a good income for you. Trust the process and allow for the right answers to arise.

The answers that you seek are already within you. Look within your heart to find them. Search for what gives you meaning. What is important to you? What drives you?  In your unique way you are destined to make a difference in this world.

I’d like to leave you with this quote “Finding your purpose in life… is your road map to your destiny.

I invite you to leave your comments below.