As a small business owner, you may think that marketing to a broad audience is the key to getting more customers. However, this strategy can be costly and may not always lead to the best results.

In fact, trying to appeal to everyone can end up pleasing no one.

A better approach is to focus on your minimum viable audience—the people who will benefit most from your products or services.

By targeting this niche market and creating products and marketing campaigns that truly resonate with them, you can create a loyal customer base that will spread the word for you.

At The Digital Income, we've learned the importance of identifying our minimum viable audience to stand out from the competition.

In this article, we'll share some tips on how you can do the same for your business and grow your customers without growing your marketing reach.

1. Define your target audience: Identify the people who are most likely to benefit from your products or services. Consider their needs, interests, demographics, and pain points.
2. Focus on creating value: Instead of trying to please everyone, focus on creating products and services that solve a specific problem for your target audience. Make sure that your offering provides unique value and stands out from the competition.
3. Develop a targeted marketing strategy: Use your understanding of your target audience to create targeted marketing campaigns that speak directly to their needs and interests. This can include personalized email marketing, social media advertising, or targeted content marketing.
4. Foster a community: Create a sense of community around your brand by engaging with your customers and encouraging them to share their experiences with others. This can include creating a branded Facebook group, hosting webinars, or offering exclusive content to your most loyal customers.

By following these tips, you can create a strong brand identity and a loyal customer base that will help your business grow over time.

So, instead of focusing on growing your marketing reach, focus on growing your customers by targeting your minimum viable audience.

Choose your Niche

If you're looking to grow your customer base without expanding your marketing reach, you'll need to find your minimum viable audience.

A great way to do this is by choosing a specific niche in which you can become an expert in. Let's say you want to help entrepreneurs launch their businesses.

Instead of trying to appeal to all entrepreneurs, you could focus on a specific niche, such as:

• Women who want to start a blog
• Minorities trying to launch their first business
• SaaS developers
• Entrepreneurs who want to pitch their business to venture capitalists

By choosing a niche, you'll be able to tailor your products and services to the specific needs and pain points of that audience.

You'll also be able to position yourself as an expert in that field, which will help you stand out from the competition and build a loyal customer base.

At The Digital Income, we've seen the benefits of choosing a niche firsthand.

By focusing on a specific audience, we've been able to create targeted marketing campaigns and develop products and services that truly resonate with our customers.

Here are some tips for choosing your niche:

1. Identify your unique value proposition: What sets you apart from the competition? What expertise or experience do you have that can benefit a specific audience?
2. Research your target audience: Who are the people that can benefit most from your products or services? What are their pain points, needs, and interests?
3. Choose a specific niche: Once you've identified your target audience, choose a specific niche in which you can become an expert in. This will help you differentiate yourself from the competition and position yourself as a thought leader in your field.
4. Develop a targeted marketing strategy: Use your understanding of your target audience to create targeted marketing campaigns that speak directly to their needs and interests.

By following these tips, you can choose a niche that will help you grow your customer base and position yourself as an expert in your field.

So instead of trying to appeal to everyone, focus on finding your minimum viable audience and serving them with relevant and valuable products and services.

Get to Know Your Audience

Once you have chosen your niche, the next step is to get to know your audience. By understanding their needs, behaviors, and interests, you can create targeted marketing campaigns and develop products and services that truly resonate with them.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself to get a better understanding of your audience:

1. What are their demographics? This includes age, gender, race, occupation, and other demographic factors. By understanding your audience's demographics, you can tailor your messaging and marketing efforts to better resonate with them.
2. What are their psychographics? This includes their behaviors and interests. Are they tech-savvy? Do they enjoy reading or watching videos? Do they prefer a particular type of content? Understanding their psychographics can help you create content and marketing campaigns that appeal to them.
3. What are their goals? What motivates your audience? What are their aspirations and what are they trying to achieve? By understanding their goals, you can position your products and services as solutions to their problems.
4. What are their challenges? What are the pain points and challenges your audience faces? What are the obstacles that prevent them from achieving their goals? By understanding their challenges, you can create products and services that help them overcome these obstacles.

Once you have answers to these and other questions, you can develop a profile of your ideal customer.

This profile can help you create targeted marketing campaigns and develop products and services that truly resonate with your audience.

At The Digital Income, we make it a priority to get to know our audience. By conducting surveys, analyzing data, and engaging with our customers, we gain valuable insights into their needs, behaviors, and interests.

This allows us to create products and services that truly resonate with our audience and help them achieve their goals.

So if you want to grow your customer base, take the time to get to know your audience. By understanding their needs and interests, you can create targeted marketing campaigns and develop products and services that truly resonate with them.

Create Your Audience’s Dream Product

Once you have a clear understanding of your audience, the next step is to create products and services that meet their unique needs.

This means that instead of trying to find customers for your business, you're building a business for your customers.

To create your audience's dream product, you should start by analyzing the data you've collected on their needs, behaviors, and interests.

Use this information to identify gaps in the market that you can fill with a product or service that meets their unique needs.

Once you have identified these gaps, you can start developing your product or service. Keep in mind that it's important to involve your audience in the development process as much as possible.

This can help you ensure that the final product meets their needs and expectations.

In addition to creating products and services, you can also use the information you've gathered to create targeted marketing campaigns just for your audience.

By tailoring your messaging and marketing efforts to their specific needs and interests, you can increase the chances of converting them into paying customers.

At The Digital Income, we make it a priority to create products and services that meet the unique needs of our audience.

By analyzing data, conducting surveys, and engaging with our customers, we gain valuable insights into their needs and interests. This allows us to create products and services that truly resonate with our audience and help them achieve their goals.

So if you want to grow your customer base, focus on creating products and services that meet the unique needs of your audience.

By building a business for your customers, you can increase the chances of converting them into paying customers and achieving long-term success.

Ignore those that say… “this isn’t for me”

As a small business owner, you might encounter people who don't want to do business with you because your offerings aren't geared toward them. It's important to understand that you can't please everyone, and that's okay.

It's crucial to focus on your ideal customer and what they need. After all, you're building a business for them, not for the people who aren't interested in what you offer.

You may hear criticism from people who aren't your target audience, and that's perfectly fine. Don't let their opinions get to you.

If you start making changes to your business to try to appeal to them, you may end up losing what makes your brand unique and special.

When you focus on satisfying the needs of your ideal customer, they will become loyal customers and advocates for your brand.

They'll be the ones who recommend your business to their friends and family and help you grow your customer base.

It's important to remember that your minimum viable audience is out there, and they're waiting for a product or service that's designed just for them.

By ignoring those who aren't a good fit for your business and focusing on your ideal customer, you can create a product that truly resonates with your audience and sets you apart from the competition.

So don't be afraid to ignore those who say “this isn't for me.” Stay true to your brand and your ideal customer, and you'll be well on your way to building a successful business that serves a specific niche and grows its customer base.