How to Market to People Not Like You: "Know It or Blow It" Rules for Reaching Diverse Customers

Chapter 6. Use Technology to Reach Your Prospects: Micro Targeting

It's an exciting time for marketing now. Why? Because there have never been so many low-cost and no-cost options for marketing and so many exciting new avenues for business owners and marketers to explore. In the past, you had to have a marketing or advertising budget to get your message out to your target. And even when ads were placed in newspapers, magazines, on TV or radio stations, or on billboards, they weren't nearly as targeted as today's media allows us to be. Technology is your friend when it comes to marketing. It allows you not only to reach more of the "right" customers for your business, but to learn more about them and to harness their input and feedback to make your business and your products continuously better. In this chapter, you'll learn tips for using technology to reach customers who are not like you.

USING FREE OR INEXPENSIVE ONLINE TOOLS

1. Create Your Web Site and Keep It Up to Date

Every business should have a web site now. There is no reason not to have one. It's a mandatory. People search for what they need by going online, and you can't be found if you are not there. It's called "shelf consideration"—how can I choose a brand of toothpaste I want to buy if my store doesn't have it on the shelf? The same principle applies here: if I am looking for information about a product, brand, or service, I am going to look online, and if you're not there, I can't choose you. So it starts with having ...