This month’s Marketing Tip will help you analyze who you’re selling to and how effectively you’re doing it.

The key goal of marketing is to address your best customers in ways that appeal to them. The more specifically you can tailor your offers to their needs and interests, the better the response. This kind of “targeting” leads to more repeat purchases, bigger orders, and a larger customer base.

Who are you selling to?
To speak to your target market(s), you first have to figure out who they are. How do they use the Web? Are they tech-savvy or novices? Why did they choose to buy from you rather than someone else?

• To find out who your current customers are, start by looking at the advertising you did last year that worked (for tips on reviewing your advertising, see last month’s Marketing Tip). If your most successful ads appeared, say, on an industry blog about real estate, you know your customers are realtors looking for ways to promote their realty businesses.

• Use the Site Analytics tool that came free with your Reseller Account to find out which key words people are using to find you on the Web (look under “My Settings” in the RCC). If “Cheap Web sites” is a big search term for you, you know price is important to your customers.

What do they want?
Let’s say your research leads you to the following conclusion:

“My target customer is a realtor who uses the Internet for business.”

The most reliable way to find out what your customer wants from you is to ask him. Use the Express Email Marketing™ program included with your Reseller Account to create and send a simple survey to your customers. Some tips:

• Keep it short, since shorter surveys get more responses.

• Include a few demographic questions such as gender, profession, employment status, etc.

• Find out which of your products the reader currently owns (domains, hosting, etc.) and what they use them for (business, hobby, family, etc)

BONUS: Offer an order-level discount to the first ## customers who return surveys. Email the promotional code (found in the RCC) to respondents with an invitation to shop your store. Be sure to set a minimum order quantity.

The results of your survey should help you fill out your target market description still further:

“My target customer is a male realtor who uses the Internet to promote his business. He’s self-employed, so customer support and price are prime issues.”

Tailor your product mix
Now that you know who you’re selling to, the next step is to decide if you’re offering the right products and services. Check back here next month to learn how to create an optimal product mix using tools available to you in the Reseller Control Center.