*** Is Fear Of Your Target Market Hurting Your Business?

Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase “the riches are in the niches” when it comes to marketing your business. The strategy is to find a select target market and be their everything. According to conventional visibility techniques, this is a winning strategy. But it can only take you so far.

If your area of expertise involves sharing your philosophy or mindset, then you may find yourself up against the wall when you market yourself solely to an industry or demographic. It’s really simple: just because someone does a particular job or satisfies a few general descriptions doesn’t mean she’ll agree with you or feel a connection to your message. To avoid offending, you play it safe and dilute your message so you don’t stand out as an oddball to your target market.

That is a surefire recipe for blandness and NOT a way to stand out and sizzle as an expert. If you really want to claim the title expert, then you must be able to stand behind your message without fear of disapproval.

In a conversation with an already well-known client, we discovered that she still had a fear of people judging her message or disapproving of her. This fear got even deeper as she tried to put more of her real self into her presentations. Her mental roadblock prevented her from branching out and becoming visible on an even greater scale. It was also keeping her from fully expressing herself in her brand, a MUST if you want to have Sizzibility™.

Coaching around this was actually fun: we kicked the judgmental people out of her target market. We reviewed her messages and marketing language, making sure it gave ample opportunity for the fuddy-duddies to huff, “This is certainly NOT for me!” Prior to that, she was trying to be all things to all people. We looked at specific places she was pitching herself, making sure they were congruent with her newly refined message and newly refined public image.

As an expert, you’ve earned the right to express your opinion and present your most authentic self. But if fear is hanging around, you’ll never break through the visibility plateau. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. Look over your marketing materials from the titles you use to your brand name to the colors on your website. Where are you playing it safe? Where are you trying not to offend? Where does it not feel like YOU?

2. Look at your life. Is fear keeping you from fully expressing yourself in relationships, activities, hobbies, or things you’re into?

3. What is the gift of someone saying NO to you? What is the gift of someone NOT agreeing with your message?

Our fears can manifest themselves into sabotaging behavior, failed businesses, and alienation from our clients. Take the effort to explore where you’re selling yourself short and enjoy the freedom that being YOU will bring. nn