cbscreative
09-25-2008, 05:35 PM
I've been noticing a pattern here and thought I would ask this question as someone outside the industry of most of the members here.
One of the primary patterns I am seeing so far is the way most members here seem to target their ideal client or customer. Am I correct in saying that the general approach is people who make over $100k and live in certain "upscale" neighborhoods? Although I understand the "conventional wisdom" of this approach, I suspect it is flawed based on my experiences.
Maybe I am blowing someone's "secret to success" by saying this, but I would think that there is a ripe opportunity in places you might not expect.
Here's why I say this. In the high income brackets, there is a tendancy to get stretched for the purpose of keeping up appearances. In my dealings with this market, they have the fancy houses and nice cars, but some of them hide when the newspaper delivery person comes to collect on an overdue bill. Even if you get business in this market, you might get delinquent accounts and people who shop for a nickel less on price.
My primary point here is that the people who make $40k to $90k+ and live in more modest neighborhoods could be easily overlooked. These are the ones who have more discretionary income because they don't buy into the "status" trap.
There was a time in my past when I sold a high end, expensive product for the home. While many of the people working for the company liked to do demos in the "nice" areas, I quickly learned that my best sales were from more average areas, and the people thought to be "ideal canidates" almost never bought.
I figure this is a good discussion starter. What are your thoughts and experiences? Which target clients provide the best ROI? Are you targeting the $100k+ only? Have you experimented with more modest neighborhoods?
One of the primary patterns I am seeing so far is the way most members here seem to target their ideal client or customer. Am I correct in saying that the general approach is people who make over $100k and live in certain "upscale" neighborhoods? Although I understand the "conventional wisdom" of this approach, I suspect it is flawed based on my experiences.
Maybe I am blowing someone's "secret to success" by saying this, but I would think that there is a ripe opportunity in places you might not expect.
Here's why I say this. In the high income brackets, there is a tendancy to get stretched for the purpose of keeping up appearances. In my dealings with this market, they have the fancy houses and nice cars, but some of them hide when the newspaper delivery person comes to collect on an overdue bill. Even if you get business in this market, you might get delinquent accounts and people who shop for a nickel less on price.
My primary point here is that the people who make $40k to $90k+ and live in more modest neighborhoods could be easily overlooked. These are the ones who have more discretionary income because they don't buy into the "status" trap.
There was a time in my past when I sold a high end, expensive product for the home. While many of the people working for the company liked to do demos in the "nice" areas, I quickly learned that my best sales were from more average areas, and the people thought to be "ideal canidates" almost never bought.
I figure this is a good discussion starter. What are your thoughts and experiences? Which target clients provide the best ROI? Are you targeting the $100k+ only? Have you experimented with more modest neighborhoods?