Source/Contribution by : NJ Publications
Marketing is at the core of business development and growth activities of all businesses. However, effective marketing is not just extensive, rather it's about targeting right. A premium watch manufacturer won't target college students, a funky jeans manufacturer would rather; a baby nutrition cereal manufacturer will put hoardings in and around hospitals, put ads on parenting blogs.
What are these businesses doing? They are Target Marketing.
Target Marketing lets your time, efforts and money in the right direction, towards the right set of people. Focus leads to better results at lower cost.
The benefits of target marketing can be extended to financial advisory too. So, who would be the target customers for our financial products? As a matter of fact, almost everyone, of all financial standings, people of all ages, are our target customers. So, how do you arrive at this particular set of people, around whom you can concentrate your efforts and time.
The answer is pretty simple, people who are like you. What would be a better target segment for you than your Natural Market after all?
What is a Natural Market?
Natural Market is the set of people where you are a natural perfect fit. People with whom you share some common traits, your friends, family, college mates, people from your community, hometown, people speaking your native language. These people could be your natural market, there are similarities in your needs, opinions, outlook, goals and hence you'll be able to relate with these people better.
One of the most successful marketing techniques for advisors is targeting their Natural Market.
For a financial advisor, understanding the client's perspective is a critical part, and one of the biggest advantages you get in your Natural Market is you understand the clients' perspective better because of the common ground you share with them. Since you will be able to connect with these people better, they will place greater trust in you and the conversion ratio will be higher.
Targeting the natural market can be a good start for a new financial advisor. It is better than cold calling random people whom you know nothing about. Since you would know a lot of people from your Natural Market, people are likely to give you a patient ear, plus there are greater chances of getting referrals.
Financial advisors try to target a niche segment, a segment which looks attractive to them, so that their efforts can be concentrated around a limited number of people. Your Natural Market is your best Niche, because you'll able to relate to this niche like none other.
Identifying your Natural Market
By definition, Natural Market is the set of people with whom you share a common ground, as also stated above. On this basis, you may have identified your natural market as the people from your own hometown and community, who have had a similar upbringing as yours, faced similar challenges, and may have similar needs. But with time you realize that this is not your natural market, rather you are connecting with new parents, because you are also a father/mother of a one year old, and you share similar goals and preferences with these clients. So, Natural Market is about finding the Right Fit, people whom you truly connect with.
There are a lot of people who feel they don't have a Natural Market. So, there is no such thing as
'No Natural Market'. If it's not the same religion, community, profession, then it could be shared interests, it could be gender, hobbies, it could be goals, it could be financial position, it could be anything. If you feel you don't have one, then you shall choose a segment, find some common traits and chisel yourself to fit into it.
Your Natural Market isn't necessarily in the place you belong to or are settled in for a long period of time. It's because natural market isn't constant, it keeps on evolving as you mature, meet new people, make new friends, develop new interests, preferences, etc. Maybe with time, you'd realize that your natural market has rotated 180°, because now you are a different person altogether. There are people who have lived their entire lives in big cities and then suddenly they leave their corporate jobs to move to the countryside or the hills in search of peace, culture and quality of life. It's because as years unfold, our preferences and priorities change, and the countryside or the hill becomes our new natural habitat. Every financial advisor has a new natural market every few years.
To conclude, your Natural Market could be an excellent target segment for you, since you connect with these people naturally. People will be more receptive and be able to trust you because they see you as one of their kind, they believe you'll be able to understand their needs and problems better.
{s}
[[script type="text/javascript"]]
$(document).ready(function(){
new DiscussionBoard("divDiscussionBoard", "1198", "http://www.njwebnest.in/esaathi/index.php/discussion").load();
});
[[/script]]
{/s}
