A Message That Is On-Target

There's this lady who has a nail salon that looks anything but a salon. You see, her nail salon looks more like a cross between a thrift shop, a piano bar and a snack shop with mementos of the early 60's. Sometimes, it was even mistaken for a small museum of some sorts for The King, what with the huge cardboard stand of Elvis Presley and a jukebox playing his records all day long.

And when you ask the owner of the nail salon how's business doing, she'll often tell you that it could have been better.

It's actually no surprise that the business owner is having a hard time getting more than her regular customers in her door. Business is not much because the owner is actually not getting through to potential clients.

The reason why this is so? Because the potential clients just don't get it. They don't get what the business is really all about. Is it a snack bar? Is it an Elvis Presley museum? If not for the big signage on top saying that it's a nail salon, you wouldn't even know it.

The message is so muddled with the image of the salon that many people just pass by without even knowing the services that the owner is selling. It's what you can call a confused sales message. If the nail salon would ever pick up more clients, it has to do an overhaul with its appearance. Its image is conveying a totally different message.

It's the oldest advice in the book of marketing - when you have a business, make sure that your message is on-target. Not only should your message be the right one, but it should be on-target that it conveys the right meaning to your target clients.

That means then that everything about you and your business should scream what you want to say to your clients and prospects. Whatever your business, your message should always be in tune with all the elements that are in your business - e.g. your marketing collaterals such as your flyer printing or print flyers, your façade, your signage, the décor inside your shop, even the way you dress. Everything should be able to drive your point to your target clients.

The key is to make your message on-target. Make it crystal clear what you have to say. Don't make it difficult and even impossible for your target clients to get it. Because if they don't get it, then they won't get you to provide them with the solution to their needs and wants.