Have you ever wondered what the difference between wildly successful business people and those who barely manage to make ends meet is?

The people who are doing very well for themselves must have a superior product or service, have lots of money to promote their business, or they must just be gifted and talented when it comes to business, right?

In some cases, that may be true; in the majority of cases, though, I don't think any of those things are the reason people become successful. Many people with a great product or service are lucky to make a handful of sales, quite a few people on a shoestring budget manage to get the word out about their product/service and make a handsome living, lots of people who are extremely smart and talented live from paycheck to paycheck. So what is the difference between being successful and just getting by?

In my opinion, it's focus. People who are successful in business, especially online, have a definite focus. Of course, talent, money, and a great product or service play some part in the success of a business; it would be foolish to say they don't, but I think one of the most important factors in whether your business does well or not is focus.

The American Heritage Dictionary gives this as one of the definitions of focus: "To produce a clear image (of)".

There are two ways this relates to your site. The first is, do you have a clear image of who your target market is? The second, does your target market have a clear image of the message you're trying to get across? If you answered "no" to either question, it's time to bring things into focus.

Let's tackle the first issue. Who are the people that are most likely to be interested in your product or service? Please don't say "everybody". You must be somewhat specific.

For example, let's say I'm selling diamond-studded cat collars. Think of the entire population as a pie, the first cut we make is to separate cat owners from the general population.

Next, we slice again to divide all cat owners; we want cat owners with salaries in excess of x dollars/year (not everyone can afford a diamond-studded cat collar, huh?) and so on. Eventually we've got a small "piece" of the entire pie, but the people who comprise this piece are highly likely to be interested in our product. This is our target market.

If you cannot identify your target market in one or two sentences, you've got work to do. Identifying your target market is the springboard for your online advertising efforts.

After you have defined your target market, the next step is to make sure your message is getting across to them. Your "message" should tell your target market, in a way they can easily understand, how your product or service fulfills their needs and satisfies their desires.

Let's say your target market is males 18-21 with a household income of $15,000 or less who collect #3 pencils. Now, what do these people need and want (other than a life :-) and how do your product/service fulfill these needs and wants?

Suppose you sell a pencil organizer/display case for $19.99. Your product addresses the needs of these people - the need to organize their collection affordably. It also addresses their wants - the desire to have their collection handsomely showcased. Your message should stress these points.

Imagine you're running this ad in the "#2s are for Loozers!!" ezine:

#3s Rule!! Is your killer collection collecting dust in a drawer? You need our #3s Rule!! Organizer/Display Case. Not only will your be able to find your faves easily, think of how it sweet it will look with each individual #3 in its own lighted display section. Order yours now, for under $20.

This message clearly communicates to your target market how your product satisfies their wants and needs.

Is your message being communicated effectively to your target market? Do you have a message to begin with? If not, it's time to take pen in hand and write down the message you want to convey.

Once you have done this, take a critical look at every point your company interacts with customers and see if this is the message the customer is receiving. This includes not only your web site, but email contacts, newsletters, advertisements, etc.; any place where you and your customer "meet".

Once you set out to bring your target market and your message into focus, I think you'll see that your sales will improve!