Published: July 29, 2008 10:34 am            

Know your target audience

Those of you with children between the ages of three and 12 realize the true power of marketing. Tonight, ask your child to choose a restaurant for dining out. Odds are they will shout the name of a local fast food franchise.

When they do, ask them why they named that particular restaurant. I can guarantee you that it will have nothing to do with the food. Ultimately, the prevailing reason given will be the toy or collection of toys currently being offered.

Does the name of your business come as easily to your customers or potential customers when they are in the market for your products or services?

To simplify, break your business down like a kid’s meal: identify your target customers, find their “hot buttons” or what brings them in, focus your message, get the word out, and meet and exceed their expectations.

You know your business better than anyone. The fast food franchises target kids because kids bring in adults. To whom are you selling and why?

Toys, and specifically new, collectible toys, are the “hot buttons” for kids. It is always interesting to watch the restaurants compete by using the latest movie, cartoon or licensed toys. The sales generated by word of mouth in classrooms, lunchrooms and playgrounds is astounding. Make sure you can identify what brings in each of your customer types.

Consider the key to the kid’s meal concept — demand. Your products must keep pace with the times, as should your marketing. Make sure the correct message is getting to your target audience delivered via the appropriate media. If they can’t read (kids), make sure you are running television commercials aired during programming they watch. Allocate your media budget by month, and ask new customers how they found you. If one medium works better for you — use it.

Ask any parent who has taken an anxious five-year-old to the aforementioned chosen restaurant for a particular toy what happens when the restaurant substitutes an old, leftover toy because their current supply has run out. I’ll give you a hint — it isn’t a pretty sight! Does a similar thing ever happen to your customers?

Successful businesses will always (not just sometimes) meet and exceed the expectations of their customers. Therefore, it is essential that you evaluate your company’s performance, and that of every employee from the person answering the phone to the CEO on a regular basis.

Not every business will have the runaway success of franchise kid’s meals. But, with a little work, each business can identify and develop a unique niche that keeps customers happy and lends favorably to the organization’s bottom line.



Beth Morrison is vice president of member services for the Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce.

        

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