As the owner of a public relations and marketing firm, one of my first questions for prospective clients is usually, “Who is your target audience?” There are always an overzealous few who say, “Everyone! Our products/services are so great, so we target EVERYONE!!”

We’ve all heard variations on the phrase: “If your target market is everyone, you’re targeting no one.” Even so, the impulse reaction is to strive for as many customers as possible and if one could get “everyone” to buy…well, the whole wide world as a target market may seem ideal. Ideal, but not realistic. The woman who reads Vogue, isn’t usually the same woman who reads Woman’s Day. Or the woman who seeks commentary from Donna Brazile may say, “Snooki who?”.

When we hear the “everyone” response, we encourage those individuals/companies to truly explore who they want to reach. Asking yourself questions periodically during your business cycle can also help you to adapt to changes and the needs of your customers. You can then provide new solutions and update where you should focus your efforts.

A quick way to do this is to remember these three steps: zoom in, zoom out, repeat.

Zoom In On Your Target
If you could clone your favorite customers, what do they look like and how do they behave? Where do they shop? Who do they trust and where do they go for information? Are they faithful newspaper lovers or social media devotees?

Be very, very specific. Zooming in on your target will allow you to become familiar with a definite set. Yes, we’re all unique (just like everybody else), but in the general sense we can share some similarities as it relates to services and products. Zooming in will allow you to form focus groups, interview and interact with this niche crowd to find out how your business is hitting the mark or missing the mark. Everyone will always have opinions, and in business you can move in so many different directions if you listen to all of the noise around you. If you zoom in on one set, watch this group, listen, observe and gather their feedback, you’ll have a more focused approach on reaching your goals and continually growing your business.

Now…Zoom Out
Once you’ve identified who your ideal customer is (or who they are, as you may have a few select individuals who can identify with your business services and offerings), look at the broader picture of where these individuals fit.

Zooming out allows you to identify gaps that can help you develop or create new products or services. This may result in acquiring more customers who are in your target or creating a new market to focus on.

As you go and grow through business, you’ll go back and forth between zooming in, zooming out, and then repeating these steps.

Example:

Your concierge company is targeting the Boomer generation. Specifically Sandy. A working woman who is 50+, is married to a spouse who travels for work frequently, has two kids (one in high school and one in middle school, both with their own full social schedules), and she is active in her community through civic, volunteer and networking organizations. (Variables in the example may be that she is not in a relationship, the number and ages of the kids, groups she is part of, etc.)

Your concierge service makes the lives of women like Sandy easier, offering services ranging from picking up their dry cleaning to making sure that they’re aware of their high school kid’s soccer game. Sandy’s life is changing though. With the kids headed to college soon, she’s going to stay in the workforce a little longer and one of the major changes is that her aging parents (on her and her spouse’s side) have become a large concern. She’s so busy that she isn’t sure where to start when it comes to researching healthcare and services for her parents.

What does this mean for you? A new opportunity. Now you start to focus your services on the other aspects of Sandy’s life (zooming in on the specifics). You can now tailor your business (and marketing efforts) to recognize the challenges that Sandy has and how your concierge service makes things easier. If Sandy has these challenges, some of your other clients are likely to have them, too. Perhaps you will research doctor’s offices within a 15-mile radius for your clients, partner with companies and groups that may assist and essentially expand your service offerings. Your concierge business may now not only target the Sandy’s, but Sandy’s parents and offering your services to that set. You’ll then need to update your marketing materials to communicate to your clients that you’ll not only handle services as it relates to their immediate families, but also their loved ones; and perhaps you’ll create specific marketing for those loved ones. You’ve expanded your niche by zooming in and out on your target. Now repeat!

Nancy Vaughn is the principal, PR & Marketing Director at White Book Agency, a public relations, marketing and special events firm providing cost-effective communication strategies for entrepreneurs and businesses across the country.