A practical, repeatable process for identifying the right customers, sizing the opportunity, understanding competitors, and building a web + social plan that converts.
Most marketing “to-do lists” are long, vague, and disconnected from revenue. The good news: you can do a handful of foundational tasks that make everything else (website, SEO, social, email, ads, offers) dramatically more effective.
This post walks through a simple framework:
- Identify your target customer by attribute
- Assess market size (so you know what’s realistic)
- Analyze competitors (so you know how to win)
- Design a web + social plan that targets specific personas and drives leads
1) Identify target customers by attribute (not by “everyone”)
A “target customer” isn’t a demographic. It’s a set of attributes that predict:
- they have the problem you solve
- they can afford your solution
- they buy in a way you can reliably reach
Start with a short attribute list
Use these categories as your building blocks:
Firmographics (B2B)
- Industry / niche
- Company size (revenue, employees)
- Geography / service area
- Maturity stage (startup, established, scaling)
- Tools used (WordPress, Shopify, HubSpot, etc.)
Demographics (B2C)
- Age band, household income, life stage
- Location and travel radius
- Values (price-sensitive vs quality-first)
Behavior & intent
- What triggers the purchase? (new hire, new location, compliance need, life event)
- Urgency (needs it now vs “someday”)
- Buying process (solo decision, committee, spouse, board)
- Where they look for help (Google, Facebook groups, referrals, LinkedIn)
Pain points & desired outcomes
- The “before” pain (lost leads, outdated site, no time, inconsistent branding)
- The “after” outcome (more inquiries, higher quality leads, easier ops)
Quick exercise: define 2–3 primary targets
Pick two or three segments you can realistically win now. If you try to market to 10, you’ll connect with none.
Template (fill in):
- Target segment name:
- 5 key attributes:
- Top 3 pains:
- Desired outcome:
- Typical budget range:
- Most common objections:
2) Assess potential market size for those targets (TAM / SAM / SOM)
Market sizing doesn’t need to be fancy. You’re trying to answer:
“Is this target big enough to support my growth, and how many deals are realistic?”
Use the TAM / SAM / SOM model
- TAM (Total Addressable Market): everyone who could need your solution
- SAM (Serviceable Available Market): those you can actually serve (geography, constraints)
- SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market): what you can realistically win in 12–24 months
A practical sizing method (no MBA required)
Pick a segment and estimate with simple multipliers:
- Count the number of potential buyers
- Example: “professional services firms in NH/MA with 2–20 employees”
- Estimate annual purchase rate
- How often do they buy what you sell? (once per year, every 3 years, monthly retainer)
- Estimate your reachable share
- Based on capacity, competition, and your marketing channels
Example (simple):
- 800 potential firms in your service area
- 15% are actively considering a redesign this year → 120 “in-market”
- You can reach 40% with your channels → 48 reachable
- You can close 10–20% of reachable with a strong offer → 5–10 projects/year
That’s enough to set goals and decide whether a niche is worth pursuing.
Why this matters
Market sizing prevents two common mistakes:
- picking a niche that’s too small (you run out of leads)
- picking a niche that’s too broad (you can’t differentiate)
3) Competitor analysis for your targets (what you’re up against)
Competitor analysis isn’t about copying. It’s about finding the gap you can own.
Identify 3 competitor types
For each target persona, list:
- Direct competitors: same service, same target, same region
- Indirect competitors: different service that solves the same problem (DIY tools, templates, platforms)
- Status quo: “We’ll deal with it later” is often your biggest competitor
Build a quick competitor matrix
Make a simple table with your top 5–10 competitors and score them on:
- Positioning clarity (do they clearly say who they help?)
- Offer packaging (productized services vs hourly?)
- Proof (case studies, testimonials, portfolio depth)
- Differentiators (speed, niche, strategy, design quality, pricing)
- Conversion path (lead magnet, consultation, scheduler, follow-up)
- Content & SEO (what topics they rank for / publish on)
- Social presence (platforms, consistency, engagement)
What you’re looking for
One of these opportunities typically appears:
- Niche gap: nobody owns your specific segment
- Offer gap: everybody sells “custom,” nobody sells clarity (fixed scope, timeline, outcomes)
- Trust gap: weak proof, outdated sites, no case studies
- Process gap: slow onboarding, unclear communication, no roadmap
Pick one gap and make it your message.
4) Design a web + social plan to target personas and drive leads
Now you turn research into a plan that creates demand and captures it.
Step A: Build persona-specific messaging
For each persona, you want:
- Problem statement they instantly recognize
- Outcome promise they actually want
- Proof that you can deliver
- Next step that’s easy
Persona messaging mini-template:
- Headline: “I help [persona] achieve [outcome] without [pain].”
- Proof: 1–2 quantified results or credibility signals
- Offer: clear package or clear “start here” assessment
- CTA: book a call / request quote / download guide
Step B: Website structure that converts
Your site should guide each persona to the right path.
Core pages (minimum effective set):
- Home (clear positioning + primary CTA)
- Services or Packages (what you do + what it costs/what’s included)
- “Who we help” (persona/industry pages)
- Case studies / portfolio (proof)
- About (trust)
- Contact (frictionless)
For each persona page include:
- Their pains and goals
- Your approach (3–5 steps)
- Examples/results relevant to them
- FAQs addressing objections
- CTA: schedule, estimate request, or “strategy call”
Step C: Social media plan that supports the funnel
Social is not the business. It’s the distribution engine that feeds your website.
Choose 1–2 primary channels based on persona behavior:
- LinkedIn: B2B, professional services, consultants
- Facebook: local services, community-based audiences, older demographics
- Instagram: visually-driven services, lifestyle brands
- YouTube: education + trust at scale (repurpose into blog + short clips)
A simple weekly cadence (repeatable):
- 1 educational post (solve a real problem)
- 1 proof post (case study snippet, testimonial, before/after)
- 1 offer post (what you do + who it’s for + CTA)
- 1 personal/behind-the-scenes post (trust and relationship)
Best practice: every post should point to one of these:
- a persona page
- a case study
- a lead magnet
- a booking link
Step D: Lead capture and follow-up
Traffic without capture is a leak.
Baseline conversion tools:
- One lead magnet per persona (checklist, guide, “pricing planner,” audit)
- Email nurture sequence (5–7 emails over 2–3 weeks)
- Simple CRM or pipeline stage tracking
Step E: Measurement that ties to revenue
Track what matters:
- traffic by source and persona page
- conversion rate per page (visits → inquiry)
- cost per lead (if running ads)
- close rate and average deal size
- time-to-close
A simple 30-day implementation plan
Week 1: Define 2–3 targets + personas + messaging
Week 2: Market sizing + competitor matrix + positioning decision
Week 3: Build/refresh persona pages + proof/case study layout
Week 4: Launch social cadence + lead magnet + email follow-up
How Chesley Software helps
If you want this done without spinning your wheels, we typically run a short engagement that produces:
- clear personas and positioning
- a market sizing reality check
- competitor gap analysis
- website page plan (and the actual pages)
- a simple, sustainable social and content plan tied to lead generation