Personal Ads - Marketing Lessons From Personal Ads

							I often use personal ads to make a point when running marketing workshops with business owners and
while this may seem a bit odd, I think if you stay with me, you too will see similarities and maybe some
lessons to be learnt.



Take a look at these two personal ads.

Singles ad 1

Guy, 36, likes going to the local bar with my friends and watching telly. No strong preference on location
as can travel. Have an open mind on age.

Singles ad 2

30 year old woman would like to meet a guy aged between 30-35 in the city centre area.

Interests are keeping fit so go to the gym a few times a week and also love hiking and outdoor activities.

Friends and family are very important to me.

Must like dogs as I have 2. Non-smoker essential.



Ok these are 2 personal ads I made up but they could be real.



Of the two, which one is more likely to be successful?



Which one has a clear idea of themselves and what they want?



I'm sure to most people, it's obvious that the woman has a very clear idea of what she likes and also the
type of man that she would like to meet.

The guy is a bit vague on what he's about and also very general in terms of what he's looking for.



For business owners, there are very clear lessons in these 2 ads on how we approach business.There are
also important parallels on our approach to marketing.
Many business people I encounter are like this guy - not very clear on what they do and if I ask them
who their target market is they say 'everybody'.



Saying that your target market is everybody is a big mistake I hear from business people all the time and
shows how little they understand about their marketing.



They would be well advised to look at the woman's ad above and take some lessons from it.



Is she likely to be interested in the couch potato above who spends his weekend in the pub? No because
she has clearly stated her preference in terms of age, location and interests.Is she likely to go to the bar
to meet her ideal man?



No, she's more likely to go to the gym or join a hiking club as she knows that where her target market
will be.



In business we need to be like this woman, have a clear idea of our target market, know where to find
them and target our marketing efforts on these places.