Do you want to know what two of the most important things you’ll ever establish in your business are? The things that have the potential to determine whether you succeed in growing your dream business or not?
I’m about to tell you the two things you need to define as early as possible in your business so that you can build a brand that stands out in the crowd and have people lining up to work with you or buy from you.
(Ps. At the bottom of this post you’ll find a gift waiting for you that is going to help you nail these two things!)
Your Target Audience
This is the specific group of people that you are aiming to sell your product or service to. Researching and defining your target audience will help you understand their goals, their aspirations, their problems and their pain points (be it; needing to understand something to propel them forward, needing someone to capture their wedding photos, needing to make more sales, needing to know where to eat out this weekend or needing a statement piece for their home).
Understanding these things helps you in every area of your business; from creating a brand that appeals to them, to what products and services you offer, as well as knowing where and how you will market to them.
(GRAB YOUR FREE TARGET AUDIENCE WORKBOOK BELOW!)
When you know them well, you can tell them so clearly how you and your business help them overcome their pain points, and you are able to craft this message in a way that makes them feel like you are speaking directly to them, and that you are the only answer to their problems.
Remember, you need to get super clear on the specific group of people you are targeting, because:
“When you speak to everyone, you speak to no-one.” – Meredith Hill
Your Unique Selling Proposition
(your Secret Sauce)
Often referred to as “your secret sauce” your unique selling proposition (USP) is how you are going to stand out in the crowd.
It’s a summary of your strengths and how you can serve your customers better than anyone else. It focusses on the one thing that you want to leverage most in your messaging and marketing, the thing you want to be known for, the thing that will entice your customers to pick you over anyone else.
Your USP can be your customer service, your values, yours or your brand’s personality, a feature of your product/service, the quality of your product/service, the results your product/service will achieve for your customers or anything else that will make you stand out. It can even be you! The only thing it cannot be – is price. That’s a race to the bottom where the winner loses. You have more value to offer than that! You just need to learn how to communicate it!
Once you define what makes you unique and the way that you can benefit your customers like no-one else can, this will form the basis of all of your marketing and messaging. Having a clear USP in your messaging will attract customers to you when it comes to deciding whether or not they should buy, and who to buy from.
Now put it into practice
Your homework is now to spend some time considering these two things, your target audience and your unique selling proposition. Think about the specific group of people you want your business to serve and the way in which you can serve them better than anyone else can.
Once you’ve figured it out, start using it in ALL your communication in your business. From social media posts to emails to how you frame up your products or services. Write and speak as if you are speaking to your ideal target audience, and make sure you are telling them of the value that you can offer them as you help them with their challenges.