One of the real "blessings" to targeting a niche market is how easily and effectively you can reach the members of your target audience. However, I've found a LOT of my clients have a really hard time wrapping their brains around the benefits of a tightly targeted niche marketing concept.

One client was determined that his "niche" market was small business owners. We kept going around and around as I struggled to communicate the essence of niche marketing. My client was DETERMINED that by defining his target as "small business owners" he was indeed focusing upon a tightly targeted niche market.  Meanwhile I was equally adamant that defining his target as "small business owners"  was NOT an example of a tightly targeted niche.

We went around and around for weeks on the subject. 

I tried to convince him to narrow his focus by illustrating the differences of  two very distinct "sub" categories... attorneys  and cleaning professionals. 

Attorneys and cleaning professionals share many characteristics.

1. Both are by definition "small business owners".

2. Both are "selling" an intangible service.

3. Both are constantly having to "fill" the sales funnel with potential clients.

4. Both are constricted in the delivery of their services by geographic restrictions.

While both business types are both technically classified as "small businesses" and "service providers"  few attorneys would view themselves as having similar "marketing needs" as a cleaning professional.

No matter how I framed my examples, my pleas for niche tightening fell upon deaf ears. All my client could see was that BOTH attorneys and cleaning professionals were ideal clients for his services, and as a result he clung stubbornly to his belief that his targeting of "small business  owners" was a good one.

It wasn't until we began exploring direct marketing or DIRECT MAIL LISTS that he began to see the REAL beauty in tightly targeting his marketing message.

The story continues here....

In this client's case, I began to price direct mail lists to deliver his message. Ah, there's no better "wake up call" than paying PER PERSON for the contact information of those you want to reach with your advertising message!

When faced with the prospect of purchasing a mailing list of 5 MILLION small business, suddenly my client began to understand why targeting every small business owner in the United States was NOT a tightly targeted market.

Even though he had web site, he still needed to drive traffic to the site which meant he still needed to view his choice of "niche market" through the direct mail lens for an effective illustration of how tightly he had narrowed his choice of target customers.

I was able to show my client that if he would tightly define his target, it would be much less "expensive" to send out a direct mail piece if he would tightly target his audience. For example, rather than target the very BROAD market of "small business owners" he could invest in a more targeted list, such as "chiropractors" or "accountants." Because each of those "categories" are included under the very BROAD heading of "small business owners"…. he would be reaching those target customers with his very broad "small business" designation but he'd also be reaching a lot of other small business owners as well.

The beauty of direct mail is it allows you to tightly target a specific market better than any other advertising medium. Because you've decided in advance who gets your message, when the message will arrive, and where they'll be when they get it, you can tightly target your message and DRAMATICALLY increase it's effectiveness.

Combining direct mail with the web is still undiscovered territory for MANY small business owners. Many small business owners would rather venture into the very trendy direct marketing medium known as Google Adwords than trudge through the dull and boring world of direct mail marketing.

It's important to note that the same elements that create success in a direct mail marketing campaign are the EXACT SAME ELEMENTS that create success with Google Adwords. As anyone who has dipped an uneducated toe into the Google Adwords waters can attest… a poorly planned Google Adwords advertising campaign can be some of the most EXPENSIVE advertising known to small business owners!