Today, I’m sharing simple ways to connect and interact with your ideal prospect and the target market they reside in. The real key is to ensure your belief systems are alike – built on the same foundation, meaning that you and your intended audience see at least a certain part of life through the same lens. So what options do you have within your business to make this happen? That’s exactly what we’ll discuss in this episode.
Hi friend! Welcome to the Christian Mompreneur Podcast, for Moms called to raise babies and businesses where we drop the guilt and step into our callings with the help of Christ! I’m so grateful YOU are here. I’m your host and fellow Mompreneur Kari Hume.
RESOURCES
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Welcome to episode four – how to effectively engage with your target market, intended audience or whatever you choose to call them!
I recently had a great chat with a fellow entrepreneur who happens to be a member of my signature course, Personal Brands That Captivate, and we were discussing how to reach the people that she’s working to attract into her business. I realized how many of us Mompreneurs need this information, and thus – this episode was born!
SERVING OTHERS
The focus here is on how you serve others. As Christians it’s assumed that we do not solely work for profits and certainly not for power or fame, but rather to utilize the passions, experiences, skills, and gifts that God has given us to serve his children and the body of Christ. There is nothing wrong with profiting, but please note nothing that I speak of involves anything unethical. We are never trying to trick, manipulate, or falsely influence someone to do something. What we’re trying to do is use what we already have in us that God has provided us to truly serve His people.
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” – 1 Peter 4:10
We’re told over and over again to serve others and that’s why you don’t have to go and find the latest trends. You can, and it can help give you ideas, but if you look within yourself, you’ll be able to find out what it is that God is really pulling you to do. And if you’re not sure where to start, grab my Free Guide to help you in identifying your uniqueness and determining the best business and niche for you.
So what is the key to not just reaching but engaging with your target market? Serving people who are open to learning more from you or to buying from you because they:
- Have certain beliefs that align with yours
- Share a common ground, not necessarily the same beliefs (but the beliefs can be changed over time)
In order for you to be trustworthy, you must be consistent. You must be congruent and transparent. What I mean by that is you need to be forthcoming and unwavering in your beliefs. Authenticity and truthfulness in your business is very key. And a part of that is being consistent, congruent, and unwavering in sharing your beliefs.
“The goal is not to do business with everyone who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe. – Simon Sinek, Author of Start with Why
So the first decision you need to make is, Is God calling you to reinforce and serve a need with those who already believe what you believe? Or is he calling you to change or build new belief systems within your target audience?
If you’re looking to simply reinforce a belief and serve that audience, then you’ll need to be validating their concerns, equipping them to explore further, and providing them with new ways to combat old worries.
If you share a common ground, but there’s a lot to build on and there potentially are belief systems to change, then you must work to change and build new a belief. Once you have engagement with the audience and you’re standing on common ground together, you can begin to introduce new information and concepts to change and build new belief systems. In the Christian faith, we call this apologetics.
Perhaps your common ground with someone is that pharmaceuticals have side effects. This person may be open to trying essential oils because of the fact that they are wanting to try something that has minimal risk. They could be looking for nontoxic, nonreactive products and you have a common ground that you can begin to build on.
Your target audience will need to believe that the experience or product you provide is necessary – and to believe that with your help, results are possible for them.
Several of you are in service-based business (think virtual assistant, graphic designer, social media manager, Facebook ad strategist, Pinterest ad strategist, copywriter, etc.). If you are being called to reinforce and serve a common belief system, you can showcase how you are able to reduce time spent while increasing their profits, their engagement, their email list, whatever their business goal is at the time. Show them that in order to be successful that they can’t do it all and that work done by a specialist is often higher quality.
On the other hand, if you are being called to build a new belief system or to change a belief system, then you are going to need to appeal to the frustrations and limitations of their business and then build a belief that it is possible for them with your help. Again, you’re going to look for that common ground.
Common ground is going to be very unique between you and who your ideal prospect is and the target market that they reside in. Most of you know that I really encourage going after your ideal prospect first, rather than your target market. This is why that free guide I mentioned earlier is so key. When you have clarity on the exact person that you want to attract into your business, you can get a really clear idea of what your target market looks like. But most specifically, to really engage you’re your ideal prospect, you want to be speaking their language every time you create a video, write a post, record a podcast, etc. They need to connect with you!
Maybe people in your target market believe that exercise and physical activity are crucial. So you’re going to reinforce this by providing effective and simple workouts. You could show yourself doing some of them. You could even give them tips and tricks and build on this by giving them more and more information and ammunition to keep doing what they’re doing even when it’s hard, even when they’re tired.
Sometimes, just because someone believes what you believe, it doesn’t mean that they’re not constantly hit with doubt or concerns/opposition/life in general. You’re going to want to continue to reinforce that and find common ground with that person.
The body has the ability to change for better or worse. We all know that. We see that right? Then build upon that and change their belief that a noticeable change in strength or agility, flexibility, physique, etc is possible and it’s possible for them.
Maybe you offer fitness clothing. help them understand that they don’t have to be trendy to work out, but they do deserve for it to be functional and they can save time with dual purpose clothing. If they’ve been at work all day, highlight how the clothing can actually transition into functional workout apparel at the gym and then you can head home.
HOW DO THESE TWO SITUATIONS LOOK IN ACTION?
1. Your target market has certain beliefs that align with yours
If you are reinforcing a belief and serving those with that same belief, you can engage with them in a variety of ways:
- Social posting
- Blog posting
- Podcasts
- Videos
- In-person events
- The list goes on…
Your main goal is to validate them and their beliefs, and it should help them to become more invested in in a particular belief system. Perhaps they’ll even become an advocate sharing with others and bringing their friends along with them to follow you.
2. Your target market shares a common ground, not necessarily the same beliefs (but the beliefs can be changed over time)
If you’re being called to change or build a new belief system within your audience, I applaud you. This road is harder. As I mentioned earlier, it’ll have more opposition and it also is likely to transform more lives if and only if you will stick with it through the uphill battle. If you haven’t listened yet, check out episode three around how to overcome criticism, confusion and lack of support.
You might want to consider a two-part system for engagement with your target market:
- Reinforce and build upon common ground
- Begin to introduce new thoughts, information, ideas, and approaches once you have that group committed and they’re engaged as a follower.
This is not necessarily always easy. It might take them some time, but if they’re willing to stick with you through it, it will absolutely pay off!
“We are drawn to leaders and organizations that are good at communicating what they believe, their ability to make us feel like we belong, to make us feel special, safe, and not alone is a part of what gives them the ability to inspire us.” – Simon Sinek
Be sure to share this podcast with a mom who needs it, and hop on over to my own private Facebook group for fellow Christian moms and business owners. I share my best tips there, and it’s a wonderful place to connect with other sisters in Christ who are living the unique challenge of raising kids and a business or for those who feel called to do so in the future. Everyone is welcome!
