Jayne Reddyhoff runs Zanzi Digital and for this final blog in this series, she shared with me four simple questions you must ask before you start digital marketing – and why most people get this wrong.

Question 1 – Who are you selling to?

Jayne says that you need to know who your ideal customer is. It’s really important to understand your target market. Who do you want to sell to and why? Who buys your services? Remember that there may be more than one segment or group of ideal clients. Take her example of an interior designer, who sells to 50+ ‘empty nesters’ and also to high earning 25-35 year olds. What the two groups want is very different – you need to understand the needs of the different markets.

Start by identifying the characteristics that the segments have in common, even if they seem different. This will give you your general message about your business. You will then need to develop specific messages for each of the different target groups. For digital marketing, this could translate into different landing pages on your website.

Your ideal clients are not everyone with a pulse and a credit card! If you try to sell to everyone, you will sell to no-one.

Question 2 – What are your clients buying?

What you’re selling is not the same as what clients buy from you.

The difference could simply be words that you use. You might think that you’re selling coaching or consulting; your clients might say that they’re buying solutions, support or just someone to talk to!

The difference could also be the desired outcomes. While you’re selling coaching, a client might be buying the support they need to reach a goal. Jayne at Zanzi sells digital marketing services – Google Ads, conversion rate optimisation and digital planning. What do her clients buy? More website visitors, high quality leads, profitable online sales and repeat customers! See the difference?

You need to completely understand what your clients are looking to buy from you, so that you can provide that service and then promote it properly online.

Question 3 – Why do your clients buy?

What triggers a client to look for your services and ask for your help?

For our interior designer example, it might be a client moving to a new home, or when their children finally move out.

A coaching client might have taken on a new job and need support getting settled in; or they might have decided that it’s time to go for that promotion, so they need your help to get it.

In Jayne’s case, a new client needing digital marketing might have noticed a drop in traffic to their website, or they might be unhappy with their current provider.

For your business, think about all the different reasons that clients buy from you. Understand why they reach out to you when they do and you can target your digital marketing more effectively.

Question 4 – How do your clients buy from you?

This can be a short or a long process, depending on what they are buying. Most new clients will go through the same process, regardless of how long it takes. They start with an awareness of who you are and what you do, with research into your business and your competitors.

Then they will short-list a number of suppliers and look into each one – including your business – in more detail.

Next comes the decision to buy – when they call you and ask for your help.

The final stage is repeat business. This is when you’ve delivered your service and you persuade your new client to carry on working with you, or to buy again.

Jayne says that when you take the time to really answer these four questions, before you leap into spending time, effort and money on your digital marketing, you’ll get a much better return. You’ll be able to find the new clients you’re looking for, instead of wasting money on your digital marketing.

If you’d like some help from Jayne and her team, you can contact her at Jayne@ZanziDigital.co.uk or by visiting her website at www.ZanziDigital.co.uk.