I've been talking a lot about audience lately—finding it, defining it, speaking to it—and sometimes, when I start talking about audience, people have questions.
My favorite is, "But what if someone wants to buy from me, but they don't fit in my target audience? Should I tell them no?"
Of course not. Sell to that person. Sell to everyone who needs your product or service! The point of defining your audience is not to create what I call the giant flyswatter that you then use to smack away anyone trying to buy who isn't in your target market.
Defining your audience directs your OUTBOUND sales and marketing efforts. The messages you send out from your company will be written for, and targeted to, your best audience. That helps you get the most bang for your marketing buck, and also determine how well your messaging and sales efforts are doing.
Rather than taking a scattershot approach and trying to talk to EVERYONE, you are instead sending very specific messages to the people MOST LIKELY to buy from you. If an unlikely (or less likely) buyer comes along, great! Sell to them. I'm never going to tell you to turn down good business.
Remember, defining your audience isn't about keeping people OUT. It's about making sure your messaging brings the folks most likely to want what you have IN.
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