Think about plunging your hand into a large bowl full of JELL-O and trying to grasp hold of some. It’s impossible to get hold of because it just slips through your fingers. That’s the image that comes to mind when professionals talk about certain target markets, such as high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs and corporate counsel. Targeting these groups is as difficult as grabbing a handful of jell-o because their members are everywhere and interspersed with other groups that don’t warrant your marketing dollars. You can spend a lot of money without getting a measurable return on your marketing investment.
So how do you do it? You’ll need specific strategies to market to these groups. Start by defining the parameters. For example, what does “high net worth” mean to you? For some wealth managers, it means the individual has assets of at least $10 million to invest. For others, $1-2 million will do. An effective strategy to reach this group is to work through referral sources – CPAs, attorneys or wealth managers – who then become your target market.
Then, decide what geographic area you can realistically target. Even if you can work with clients anywhere in the country, narrowing down your choices will help you use your marketing dollars more effectively. For instance, you can focus on Southern California, all of California, or even the West.
Similar questions will help you target entrepreneurs and corporate counsel. In addition to geography, another effective way to “dissect” these groups is by industry, and within an industry, by size of company in terms of revenue or number of employees, and by location. There are not very many places where entrepreneurs hang out, but they tend to congregate at industry trade shows and conferences, or participate in industry-related social networking groups, such as LinkedIn. The same might be said for corporate counsel. There are conferences and meetings just for corporate counsel, and lawyers in private practice can pay to access them through sponsorship. While open access to such exclusive events may not be possible, you may be able to find corporate council at other venues, such as industry trade shows, provided you narrow your focus by industry.
