The world and its dog

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The world and its dog

Don’t market to the world and its dog

Recently there has been a lot of discussion, in children’s activity provider’s forums, about the lack of children attending classes since the start of the year. Some providers have even talked about quitting because their numbers are so low. Others have been asking about where to advertise their classes, in a bid to boost their numbers and save their businesses.

Granted, it’s been an unprecedented couple of years due to the pandemic, but if you’re one of those people looking for new advertising routes, before you run off advertising to the world and its dog, ask yourself this question: “Who is my ideal customer?”

As a small business owner, you have limited time, energy, and money to market to the wrong people. This is why it’s so important to develop an Integrated Activity Marketing System in your business and understanding who your ideal customer is, sits at the very heart of that system.

Knowing who your ideal customer is, allows you to target them more effectively with your advertising. Their profile will highlight their needs and wants, what keywords or phrases resonate with them, what memes and emojis they enjoy and use, and what Google words they use when searching for activities.

You will also be able to determine where they hang-out in person and online. This information allows you to run specific advertising campaigns on Facebook or Google, or to list your programme on local and parent sites such as Club Hub or Happity.

Doing this well, means you put your offer in front of the right audience.

You will also be able to develop tailored content for these potential customers, that they can engage with on social media, thus converting them from followers into consumers.

Looking back to when you started your business, did you scope out your ideal customer? Did you sit down with a blank piece of paper and ask yourself, who is my ideal customer? Did you consider whether it was a woman or a man? Did you give thought to their financial circumstances or whether they were working or on maternity leave? Did they have children? Where do they hang out?

Or did you simply set up your business and start advertising everywhere you could think of? Facebook Buy/Swap/Free groups, leaflets on trees, fliers through every door, all in the hope that if you sowed enough seeds, you would sell out?

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been there and it works, to a degree, but it’s a splatter gun approach to marketing and is not an effective use of your time nor your resources.

Knowing your customer is so much more than simply targeting every parent and child in the country. Your goal is to put your offer in front of the people that you actually want in your classes and convert them into paying customers in the most timely and cost-effective way.

Once through your doors, the next part of the customer journey is turning your Ideal Customer into your raving fan, which is blog for another day.

In the meantime why don’t you take some time out of your busy diary. Download a copy of my FREE Customer Avatar Workbook and spend 30 minutes scoping out your customer and consider how you can attract them into your business through your marketing.

If you would like to discuss your ideal customer and your current marketing activity with me then book a FREE Discovery Call today and let me see if I can help you to fine-tune your marketing plan.

As a last thought, to those of you who are considering hanging up the towel. Now is not the time to quit. Now is the time to hone your marketing skills, begin grabbing the attention of your ideal customers and get yourself back in the game. Spring is fast approaching and the confidence of the nation is growing. Get ready to grow with it.

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE CUSTOMER AVATAR WORKBOOK TODAY!

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WORK WITH ME

Sometimes a short sharp blast of inspiration is what you need to help you regain your focus and get you back on track and back on target. At other times you may feel the need for something longer term, shoulder to lean on when the going gets tough.

Through to regular business mentoring you can have me one to one for as long as you need me to be there.

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Work with me through my Children’s Activity Business Club. This is a fantastic way to come and work with me through my membership. Learn more about the club today by clicking the link below.

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Download the courses that meet your needs and if you’re one of my Business Club members, send me your questions and we’ll cover them together in our monthly Q & A.