Who You Targeting Willis?

“Super sale – 30% OFF .COM domains”

Market Strategy is one thing I bet you have no time for.  Most small business owners I talk to don’t even know what it is.  Market strategy is extremely important for market leadership, but also for pure competitiveness.   So, in future articles, we will be talking much more about what specifically Mkt. Strategy can do for any business…. how it can drive a product/service to market leadership, and how a niche market leadership position can create the competitive advantage and profitability improvement that you are targeting for your business.

The example herein shows potentially 2 market niches, or target markets for the domain registrar and hosting services companny, GoDaddy.com.  It illustrates 2 media being used to reach these markets, eMM (eMail Mktg.) and the more expensive traditional media, Television Ads.  We feel it is very important to understand if your media and target market plans are part of a cohesive and complimentary market strategy, or could they perhaps be working against each other, or agaist themselves in creating leadership in any particular or critical target market in your overall strategy.

I need more domain names for my business and was waiting for a sale larger than 10% off, which happens at GoDaddy seldomly.  At least, this is the first time they have advertised a greater than 25% off domain names sale since I can remember seeing cross my eDesk, so it is time for me to take action.

It came into my email like every other staple of business communication I get.  Danica Patrick is a great spokesperson for delivery of email mktg messages to my company, because she is a very hard working entrepreneur, who has risen to the top of the world in Indy Car racing, a sport completely dominated by men!  That is what I like about Danica, not the fact that she is obviously quite attractive.

So this eMM ad was right on the spot for targeting my company, and it will result in “plus” or incremental business from my company to GoDaddy. However, eMM is a marketing media, and my company is just one target market.  eMM is dirt cheap and very effective if used strategically.  On the other hand, television ads are a very expensive form of advertising.  GoDaddy has targeted the mass market on tv during the super bowl spending millions on a single ad, and they continue to use tv ads, so this form of media must be effective for GoDaddy’s primary target market.

Who is that primary target market?  That, I can only guess on.  In my guesstimation, it is unsophisticated or first time web property owners. But in thinking of the last GoDaddy tv ad which I can remember (the tv has been off for 7 days now on purpose ), I think Parson’s (GoDaddy CEO and Founder) is actually targeting middle level male managers in larger companies.  He uses half dressed women like round announcers at a pro wrestling production, and 2 male managers in tiny office cubicles talking amongst themselves.  I forget what the ad was trying to say, because I am not in whatever market he is targeting here, and the ad is mere humor to me.

The lesson: I think it is a mistake for GoDaddy to use sex appeal in their tv ads.  But only if they are not just targeting middle level male managers who work in cubicles. I know Bob Parsons from the early days of tech marketing to the masses.  He had a great personal finance app, which competed with Intuit’s Quicken product.  I used it for a while, but the product and company soon got demolished by Intuit’s product.

Your small business may never use or even need tv ads.  But you will use eMail Marketing if you want to remain competitive.  When you do, know who you are targeting.  Know who you may be risking as potential customers if your message has an effect of “turning off” part of that audience.  If Parson’s tv ads are targeted to first time web site owners (not just men in cubicles), he may be turning off women like Danica Patrick and you, by using half dressed bimbo type characters to tell clueless men what they should be doing.