Selling to the Masses – Catering for Different Tastes

How many times have you been roped in to trying something new?

It could be a new sport, event, food or hobby. Sometimes you hit it right and love it; sometimes it turns out to be the worst decision you’ve ever made.

As a keen cyclist, I was ‘talked’ into trying my hand at crit racing (closed circuit racing). I only started cycling in 2012 and since then have mainly done sportives and endurance riding like the 300 mile in 24 hour challenge I completed at the end of last year, cycling from Newcastle to London. I love that type of challenge and get a real buzz from it.

If you’ve ever watched professional cycling you would have noticed that the vast majority of participants are men (same for sportives), so with our club’s growing female membership it was decided it would be great to have a ladies race team.

A lot of the other girls were already competitive in other forms of cycling, triathlon or duathlons. I was the rookie.

The training bit was OK; we rode as a team and it was great. Then came the racing. The ‘team’ bit went out the window as we ended up riding flat out for about 40 minutes, averaging over 20 miles per hour. And because we were always on the track at the same time as then men, we were constantly cut up left right and centre as they stormed past us.

Not much fun.

After 6 races I’d had enough. It wasn’t for me. I did muster enough points to gain promotion in the cycle race standings (I am now a cat 3), but I wasn’t getting the same kind of buzz as the other girls, so I decided it was time to call it a day. Life’s way too short to be forcing yourself to do something you don’t enjoy.

What does that have to do with selling to the masses?

I’m getting to that bit.

My point is, just because racing is right for some of the ladies in our club, it doesn’t mean it’s right for all ladies.

The club therefore has to cater for those of us who enjoy endurance/sportive riding, time trialling, cyclo-cross and off road cycling. Basically, it must have mass appeal if it’s going to grow its membership.

The same goes for marketing to your customers.

Every customer is an individual. They have their own goals, foibles and interests and it’s up to you to make sure you cater for them all.

Divide and conquer

Just to recap – your customers are a varied bunch. They all want different things and have different needs. Therefore, it stands to reason that one sales message isn’t going to impact everyone.

No – that doesn’t mean you have to have umpteen websites to cater for everyone’s needs. You just need to put a bit of thought into your marketing.

Take your newsletter and email marketing for instance.

Both are fantastic ways of keeping in touch with your customers and effective ways of selling.

But just think how much more effective they would be if you sent tailored messages to different segments of your mailing list.

Splitting your mailing list into ‘customer types’ will enable you to send targeted messages that resonate with the recipient rather than grate. If they receive information and offers from you that are relevant to them they are more likely to remain subscribed to your mailing list.

Splitting boosts your reputation

By sending out targeted messages to specific segments of your audience your emails will automatically become more engaging. That means more will be opened and more will be acted upon…yes that means more sales.

Not only that, but your reputation as a caring company will also be enhanced making your customers more likely to stay with you and continue to buy from you.

Over time your conversion rate will increase because their trust in your company will grow. Every time they get an email from you they’ll know it will be relevant to them, they’ll open it and, most probably, buy.

On top of that, they’ll tell their friends and family what a great company you are to deal with so they’ll become customers too.

Want proof?

Research by Hubspot shows that targeted emails result in an 8% click-through rate, whereas general emails only manage 3%.

Proof that targeted emails engage more with the recipient.

OK – I’ll admit that segregating your list isn’t easy (depending on the software platform you use) and creating tailored content takes time, but when you consider the benefits it’s got to be worth a try – right?

About the Author: Sally Ormond

Sally Ormond is an independent copywriter and owner of Briar Copywriting Ltd. For tips on copywriting, marketing and social media, you can also read her words of wisdom on Briar Copywriting’s Blog.

Join me on www.briarcopywriting.com

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