Ah, the wasteful ‘spray and pray marketing’ approach.
It’s just like using a shotgun to hit your target instead of a sniper rifle. The shotgun spraying ammo all over the place and maybe catching a piece of your target while the sniper rifle zooms in and hits your target dead center.
Choose your weapon carefully, as the wrong choice can prove costly.
In marketing, for my money, I choose the accuracy of the sniper rifle. Why? Because I want to hit my target market dead-on every time.
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Now, unless your business is drowning in excess cash, so much so that you have an extreme need to throw money overboard to lighten your load, a real strategic approach is needed to ensure that your marketing gets the biggest bang-for-the-buck.
Spraying your marketing message out to anyone and everyone and hoping that the right someone will immediately come knocking at your door just doesn’t cut it.
"The odds of hitting your target go up dramatically when you aim at it"
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On many occasions, I’ve seen businesses get frustrated and give up on a great marketing strategy because when they applied it, they used a ‘spray and pray marketing’ approach.
And guess what?
It didn’t work out well.
They essentially threw out costly resources and got extremely frustrated and discouraged.
So how do you avoid the ‘spray and pray marketing’ approach?
Well, here are three steps to a more strategic marketing approach:
❶ Ready!

Know exactly what you are trying to accomplish with your marketing–have a clear vision of what you want and set specific goals to accomplish it.
Set your sight on the desired result in your mind’s eye and ready yourself to go after it.
❷ Aim!

Who do I want to serve and why?
Are they hungry for what I’m offering?
Do they have the money to spend on what I’m offering?
Does my product or service solve a specific problem or need for them? If so, what problem or need?
Ask yourself these questions and others until you have clearly defined your ideal prospect from your target market. Then, see a model of your ideal prospect in your mind’s eye and set your aim on them.
❸ Fire!
Now with the accuracy of a sniper’s rifle, display your marksmanship and deliver your marketing message right to the heart of your target market – nowhere else.
Essentially you want as close to a bull’s eye as possible with every shot.
Extra, wasted shots cost money, so accuracy is critical. Additionally, hitting the right target is also critical.
So in closing…
A little clarity can go a long way in positioning your small business for success!
Editor's Note
A version of this post was initially published in October 2012 and has been completely updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.