How Much Business Are You Getting From Your Natural Market?

By Bob Leduc
Posted Tuesday, August 24, 2004

I have a friend who is one of the top sales producers with a large life insurance company. Tony was born in Italy and grew up near Naples. He moved to the US about 15 years ago. He was immediately hired by his present company because he had prior experience selling insurance to US military personnel in Italy.

Tony soon discovered that a large number of Italian restaurant owners in the US city where he now lived were from a small village outside of Naples. Not only did they speak Italian, they spoke his dialect. It wasn't long before Tony was getting most of his business from these Italian restaurant owners. Nobody else can duplicate the 'natural' relationship he has with them. It's the primary reason why
Tony became one of the top producers in his company.

Tony's relationship with his clients illustrates the powerful advantage of capitalizing on a 'natural market'.

WHAT IS A NATURAL MARKET?

A natural market is the portion of your target market that shares a unique personal characteristic with you. It automatically creates a relationship between you and a prospect in your target market for a PERSONAL reason. For example:

Let's say you're a teacher or have been a teacher in the past. You're also a distributor for an MLM company selling healthcare products. You define your target market as people interested in preserving or improving their health and who are also interested in a business opportunity. Some of those prospects have the ADDITIONAL CHARACTERISTIC of being teachers or former teachers, just like you. That's a natural market for you. You can communicate with them on a special personal basis.

BENEFITS OF A NATURAL MARKET

Potential customers are more receptive when they share a common background or a special interest with you. It's human nature to feel secure when doing business with someone we believe is just like us. This is especially helpful for promoting business on the Internet because prospects can't see or hear you 'live'.

HOW TO FIND YOUR BEST NATURAL MARKET

Start by making a list of different things you've done in your life. For example:

* What professions or occupations are you engaged in (now or previously)?
* What hobbies or crafts do you actively participate in?
* What special interest clubs or associations are you actively involved with?
* Do you have a unique national origin or speak a foreign language (like my friend, Tony)?
* What unique special background or special experiences do you have?

Each item on your list may represent a natural market you can use. However, some will have more impact than others. The greater the uniqueness of the common characteristic, the more leverage it provides. Select the one with the most unique characteristic to use first.

Your natural market is a more focused definition of your primary target market. Once you identify a natural market, start using it in your advertising. Revise your present sales material to create special sales material specifically appealing to your natural market. Use the same marketing tactics you've been using but expand them to include this new segment of your target market. You'll unlock a
completely new layer of business hidden in your existing target market.

About the Author
Bob Leduc retired from a 30 year career of recruiting sales personnel and developing sales leads. He is now a Sales Consultant. Bob recently wrote a manual for small business owners titled "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards" and several other publications to help small businesses grow and prosper. For more information...
Email: BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: "Postcards".
Phone: (702) 658-1707 (After 10 AM Pacific time)
Or write: Bob Leduc, PO Box 33628, Las Vegas, NV 89133