I'm sure you realize it's impossible to meet everyone's needs. So you need to select a target group and attempt to appeal to them and them alone.

This may seem simple at first glance. But, take it to heart; it really is a sure-fire way to increase your sales. Just focus in on one specific area. It is impossible for any one product or service to fill everyone's needs.

You may be a little skeptical. If this is the right way to do business, why don't more (or any) of your competitors do it? It's a good question, and here are a few answers.

1. Your competitors are probably greedy, so they don't want to take a definitive stance. They want all the customers they can get. Their business is plain vanilla. There is nothing unique about them.

By targeting a select audience, it does seem like you will have to turn away some clients. But the reality is you can't appeal to everyone anyway. By trying to appeal to everyone, it is likely that you won't appeal too much of anyone. Differentiating is the key to success in business.

As Jack Trout put it in ?The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing?, ?When you try to be all things to all people, you inevitably wind up in trouble.?

2. Many businesses are afraid to set themselves apart. This is due in part to being afraid to step aside form the pack. Different scares them. Unique is risky. They have the ?follow the herd? mentality.

3. It can take some effort to come up with a well articulated message. And, if it doesn't work, they will have to revise it. So this takes even more effort.

4. Some of the best messages include a promise. Promises are risky. Therefore,
most people won't make them.

You stand a better chance of becoming an acknowledged leader in a smaller niche than in a larger one. If you look around at your competition, it is likely that no one has segmented the market and gone after a smaller niche. That means there is a prime opportunity for you if you give this a try.

Copyright ? 2005 by L A Parmley. All rights reserved.