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Common Sense Marketing

by Donesia Muhammad, Copyright © 2001    

As a business owner, whether you are selling goods or services, you first have to change your way of thinking in order to be successful. Promotion and Marketing is all about addressing the consumers' needs. Competition is healthy and plentiful so you need to understand the basics first.

Think as an Advertiser

Are you thinking as an advertiser? Are you coming up with new ideas every day? Doesn't mean that every idea is a winner but it helps to keep your mind active. Do you know who is your target audience? Your target audience should be the people, or type of people who would most benefit from your goods or services. On the Internet, your target audience shouldn't be just "anyone with a valid credit card and an internet connection!" No, that's how Spammers think, which is why they are never successful.

To try and figure this all out simply and easily: go turn on the television. Watch some of the commercials. Look at how they use their words and phrases. 

For example a commercial for a toy isn't designed just for kids. It's designed to put an idea in a childs' mind that the product is so good that they couldn't possibly live without this and if their parents don't buy this toy, then they are bad parents. Of course that's not true but try telling that to a child. 

Who is the target audience for toy commercials?

Children( depending on the age)

Parents (depending on their age, this tactic is usually for new parents)

Day Care Centers, Doctors' offices,( or any facility that caters to kids and needs children to occupy themselves)

Grandparents (they want to spoil kids)

Anyone who wants to win a child over (sad, but true)

Look at the billboards on the highway. Do you think

that drivers are looking at the messages? In areas of high traffic, yes, they have nothing else better to do. If they are not watching then the passengers are to cajole the driver to do what the ad says.

Think as a Customer

Are you looking at the local stores in your area as an owner and a customer? What do you want to see as a customer, what do you expect when you visit that store? Is your expectation met or does it need help? If you worked there, how would you improve this. 

Wear different Hats

Put yourself in the various target audiences that you have written down for your business. How can each audience be satisfied? Can you cater to everyone...maybe not but you can try to meet the majority of consumer concerns if you stop thinking as just an owner but a customer.

Now you are ready to think as an Owner

To get your business message across, it is a gradual process. Anyone with a few thousand dollars can hire someone to come up with a site and advertise that site to so called target audiences but only you can know what is best for your business, only you. Get to know the true start of advertising and wear as many different hats as necessary to succeed.


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