[TheForge] marketing

[Andrew Vida]

Cindy and James wrote:
>    It  depends  on  who  (whom ??) you choose to market to. 


	It depends on to whom you choose to market.

	Grammar police out.

 > Bill Epps is
>    often  quoted, "If it sells for $25 or less and looks good in a double
>    wide..."   There is nothing wrong with that market if that is what you
>    choose. 

	Nothing inherently wrong with any market.  The sin is not knowing the 
market in question, which means you will not know what to expect except 
by fluke.

 >    But  there  are people who have "unlimited funds", and we (my
>    wife  and  I)  have chosen to target that market. 


	The funny thing about this market is that those clients with the most 
disposable cash are often the biggest pains in the ass.  We worked with 
all the top designers in Phoenix.  Nancy Kitchell was tops in those days 
and all I will say is that she was "difficult".  Be had one guy from 
Paradise Valley, personally worth something akin to $1 billion.  He came 
in, we talked, we designed, he approved and paid IN FULL upfront and we 
built and installed.  That was by far the exception - rarer than lips on 
an oyster.

	That brings up the art of client management.  It is something every 
business person needs to learn.  Order of operations in any transaction 
is important if you don't want to be left without a shirt and trousers.

>    Another  thing,  most people "want something" but very few know "what"
>    they  want  when  it comes to art or design.  If you can incorporate a
>    designer  (female  artist with a flair for design) into your business,
>    your head will start to spin!

	This is a most excellent point and the world is rife with this 
particular issue.  I cannot count the number of clients I have consulted 
to who were ready to plunk down $100MM and more, thinking they knew what 
they wanted.  With some carefully contrived questioning they come away 
in a state of perplexity as often as not.

>    In  the  Dallas-Ft  Worth  area  there  are  roughly  70,000
>    households  with  net  worth  exceeding  well over $1,000,000 and that
>    number  will  grow  by 45,000 in the next 5 years.  (Source of info, D
>    Magazine.)  

	I'd be wary of such figures.  When I was living in PHX the population 
was projected to grow to 13 millions by 2008 by a "reputable"  journal. 
  Well, it is '08 and the population is only about 1/8 of that.  My 
point is that one should be very careful about what information to use 
in planning business strategies and campaigns.  Seriously folks, 
mistakes such as this can sink you pretty fast.


>    I'm  not saying that will happen or that I will be a part of that, but
>    my  point  is  that  the MARKET is there!  

	Agreed, but even good markets can be very elusive.  As I said above, 
sometimes the people with th emost cash are the hardest to engage. 
Perhaps that is why they have so much money.

	-Andy