What Types Of Customers Are You Fishing For?

When it comes to building your business with leads that come from the internet, it's either feast or famine.

I've heard horror stories from landscaping companies who have spent thousands of dollars on a website and 3rd party marketing services, but when everything was up and running, the phone never rang.

I've also talked to contractors who built an effective online presence, but were overrun with calls and wasted hours every day dealing with tire kickers.

Businesses that take the time and effort necessary to build a presence on platforms like Google, Bing, Yelp, and Angie's List often have all the business they can handle and no longer have to pay for any advertising, but it can come at a cost. So if you want to effectively fish the digital waters and grow your bottom line with business that comes from the internet, it's important to know what you're fishing for.

What are You Fishing For?

In part 1 of this series, we looked at a simple way to identify the products and services customers regularly search for online. Part 2 introduced 6 psychological principles that can help your business become the automatic choice within your marketplace.

In future installments, we'll look at how to construct a net that consistently brings in the catch. But before you blindly go and throw your net in the water, let's take a step back and figure out exactly what you're trying to catch.

It's helpful to think of your website as an automated conversation. It's no secret that the internet has changed the way consumers look for products and services. Instead of having to call to learn about the services local companies provide, customers can get tons of background information from online sources before they ever pick up the phone.

Sites that convert well speak directly to the needs and desires of their target audience. You may not think it's a good idea to construct your site in a such a way that alienates entire audiences, but when you try to market to everyone, you end up marketing to no one. So if want to get calls from people you actually want to talk to, your content needs to focus on how you can make their life better.

Who are your Ideal Customers?
- What products and services do they purchase?
- What cities are their properties in?
- What type of property do they have? Is it a golf course, HOA, business complex, a single family home?
- What do they value most?
- What frustrations do they have?
- What are their most common objections?
- How can you make their life easier?

It may seem a little strange to spend time answering these types of questions, but the better you can describe your ideal customer and how you can help them, the easier it will be to attract them. The next installment in the Automatic Fish series will focus on creating web content around the answers to these questions.