Who Is Your Market and Where Are They?

An important part of planning your business is to know who will use your products/services.

The vast majority of small businesses will rely on their communities for sales. It is in your best interest to get to know everything you can about your community, or the people who will use yor business.

Please don't spend advertising dollars on people who don't want or need your products/services. First, find out who are your potential consumers. Find out by answering the following questions:

* Are most of them female?

* Are most of them male?

* Are they an even mix of male & female?

* What is their average income bracket?

* Where would these consumers generally congregate?

* What are their interests?

* What is the average size?

* What is their average age?

* What type of work do they do?

* Do they live in apartments, houses or rural areas?

* What is the average family size?

* Which radio stations would they most likely listen to?

Answering these questions will enable you to define the physical limitations of your business and build a profile of your average consumer. Some of the most successful businesses know exactly who they are catering to. With the answers to the above questions, you can formulate marketing strategies aimed specifically at those consumers.

Break it down into the types of people who live there, you will be able to make informed marketing decisions. Finding out the income levels of your average consumer is vital. Don't waste your time trying to sell expensive items to low-income consumers. Study, study, study your consumers habits. Once you have a better idea of who you are targetting, you can then research the best way to advertise and promote your business.

Sonia Colon is owner of a successful online specialty giftstore "Jimson Products".

Visit: http://www.jimsonproducts.com for a wonderful display.

Get Your Own FREE Mall: http://www.telebay.com/shopping1/mall.html

In The News:

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Head-PlayStation-Marketing-Share-How/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B66ECD82E-54D6-43D0-BB54-57452B34E952%257Dcid=1276623602ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNHksS9WmUyvHzVB5ZIY5NYxS-X7CwHead of PlayStation bMarketing/b to Share How Sony Changed the Game b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr12 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Dille is a 20-year bmarketing/b veteran with over 15 years in the gaming industry, including playing a pivotal role in the launch of the original PlayStation b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Veteran-Retail-Executive-Joins-Whole/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BC2C060E1-6979-445A-BBCB-FFB805274CFE%257Dcid=1276603612ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNEL_r7KbpCAuuV2eKcZh8CjG6OB8gVeteran Retail Executive Joins Whole Bakers as President, Sales b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1McAuliff is a well known and successful retail, sports and entertainment bmarketing/b executive. For the past 20 years, McAuliff has generated millions in b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/New-Marketing-Coaching-Consulting-Firm/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B37D0BC2E-0EA3-4B32-8A13-AEBEE00DA5FC%257Dcid=1276563292ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNGIBbiV92iodMua5w83QsdkU3RL0QNew bMarketing/b Coaching and Consulting Firm for Physicians b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr16 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Concierge physician Deborah Harding, MD and bmarketing/b consultant Adam Dudley announced today the launch of their Concierge Practice Profits LLC that will b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Research-Markets-Help-Your-Company/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B034F7C35-24F2-4106-92D0-1B8CAF0F116C%257Dcid=1276553954ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNFke93sF5Ss5HcDdr52hpLzzKw_zwResearch and Markets: Help Your Company Distinguish Itself With b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr17 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1You are a successful entrepreneur with a brain for business, but you#39;re indecisive about bmarketing/b and need a guide that will help your company distinguish b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/2008/12/1/bargain_hunters_go_online_for_cyber.htmcid=1273809014ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNFNapL8HyCGuLlfNMD37qQJ3LG_hAimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=Tbx6NqcettkJimgurl=www.hispanicbusiness.com/_client_common/images/news/online_tech_shopping_lg.jpg width=80 height=53 alt= border=1brfont size=-2HispanicBusiness.com/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Consumers-Benefit-a-Frenzy-Around/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B3EA6E82C-6D99-450C-B19E-D86692E11361%257Dcid=1273809014ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNHAdi1tYjN9QtiSYbhjGjXuovcoHAConsumers Benefit from a Frenzy of Around-the-Clock Online Shopping/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr7 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1What#39;s different this year is how early the season started, and the intensity of promotional activity fueled by social bmarketing/b. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D-0iz1s7QEc4cid=1273809014ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNEulRENL-NzMLBrscG-jsqhXqJvQgVideo: Online Retailers See Monday As Black Friday/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAssociatedPress/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/-0iz1s7QEc4/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/-0iz1s7QEc4type=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.digitalresponsemedia.com/news-1-email-marketing-news/black-friday-prompts-spike-in-email-marketing-activity-462.aspxcid=1273809014ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNH7I5y61naRq141b2KZ1JRQGCTnzgBlack Friday prompts spike in email bmarketing/b activity/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrDigital Response Media/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122817819658170827.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsjcid=1273809014ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNFOMJi48lSts3gEK_CXZwivITB5KgOnline Retailers Dangle Free Shipping, Discounts/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWall Street Journal/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://wcco.com/consumer/cyber.monday.shoppers.2.877539.htmlcid=1273809014ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNGFNVPtweavx8PaH4TyW-OQpvghAQnobrWCCO/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.mlive.com/grpress/business/index.ssf/2008/12/meijer_more_than_triples_cyber.htmlcid=1273809014ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNFrRA9zMcEBn5psnfMuuq1naQRWBgnobrThe Bay City Times - MLive.com/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1273809014hl=ennobrall 1,003 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/IMG-Names-Jim-Tucker-Vice/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B343657B6-9A34-473C-BE62-D2975769E698%257Dcid=1276638631ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNEpHLzZ1dri57dfxkn_j7Nlp5auKAIMG Names Jim Tucker Vice President, US Business Development/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr12 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1With more than 10 years of experience in corporate sponsorship and expertise in developing, negotiating and implementing integrated bmarketing/b programs for b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/MedTouch-Clients-Awarded-More-Awards/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B0839D7E5-0AE2-47E4-A238-7CC279A47B4F%257Dcid=1276761704ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNHVM2PG8Nb6ilN0I-9THNEBKnhFIAMedTouch Clients Awarded More Awards: Award-Winning Sites Continue b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr2 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1quot;We#39;re excited to receive this award,quot; said Kace Ragan, Director of bMarketing/b for St. Dominic#39;s. quot;Our objective in redesigning our site was to strategically b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/client/e3if0caf66d857a98ef75c536573359246f%3Fimw%3DYcid=1276540131ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNFDbqX85NuGp5PhCtNTy5CWrPYbmwEconomy Puts Mobile bMarketing/b on Hold/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fAdweek,nbsp;NYnbsp;-/font nobr17 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The service was provided free as part of a Black Friday mobile bmarketing/b push. Consumers had been invited to come to JCP.com to sign up for the call, b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/HMC-Executive-Named-Top-100/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B910B0BBA-B0ED-4B14-8FA1-053DF215379B%257Dcid=1276770209ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNHmG2aq_2XpxVQCx7_TbfqsqbInHQHMC Executive Named Top 100 in China/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr1 hour ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1It means a lot to all of us at Hospitality bMarketing/b concepts.quot; HMC has developed and implemented over 5000 paid membership programs over the past twenty b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Associated-Packaging-Technologies-Makes-Three/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B966D78B4-DE74-463B-A755-911D7476A874%257Dcid=1276681865ei=xO40SeeHL6Xg6gONz9SQDwusg=AFQjCNH6MNGzHfxsg391lAYfokuyn_KDPgAssociated Packaging Technologies Makes Three Key Hires/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fMarketWatchnbsp;-/font nobr9 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Richard Schwarz is Director of Ramp;D, Jeffery Lucash is National Sales Manager - Food Service and Distribution, and Ron Skotleski is bMarketing/b Analyst for b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
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