Hopefully, you got to share a relaxing Valentine’s evening with someone you love. But regardless of whether you spent it gazing into the eyes of your soul mate or simply flipping through reruns on TV, there is one thing you might have noticed on the most romantic day of the year: that all those tender thoughts and messages carry more weight when they are specific.

In other words, you don't just want to tell your partner that he or she is attractive, but exactly why you find them to be so irresistible. In the same way, we all respond more to gifts and plans that reflect an understanding of who we are—our favorite flower, favorite color, or preferred spot to enjoy a nice meal. We all want to feel loved in a way that applies to us, not just everyone who looks or thinks like us.

What does this have to do with your online marketing plan?

Probably more than you would imagine. That's because just like those significant others, your customers don't want to feel like they are buying something that could be for anyone. Especially in this age of the internet where an endless variety of niche products are available with a few mouse clicks, your buyers want products and services designed specifically for them.

Here are a few ways to meet that demand and make your company more profitable in the process:

Identify your best customers. In most businesses, the “80/20” rule applies, and the biggest bulk of your business comes from a very tightly-defined group of buyers. Whether it's through surveys, advanced web analytics, or some other means (or better yet, all of them), try to find out as much as you can about these customers and develop a profile for them that helps you quickly see their core traits, preferences, and needs. The more information you have about them, the easier it is to speak their language.

Design your website and online marketing around them. Once you know who your biggest buyers are – or at least which ones you want to attract—design your product pages, promotions, shipping options, and descriptions to make things easy for them. Think about what kind of content they would want to find and which options would appeal to them. Your top customers are the lifeblood of your company, so do what you can to  serve them and directly address their needs and wants.

Worry less about fringe buyers.  You cannot target everyone and be effective; it is necessary to focus on specific target markets. By focusing on your best customers, you are necessarily focusing less on those who don't fit those criteria. In theory, this would make your business less profitable, but the reality is that you aren't likely to attract a high percentage of those buyers anyway. So, if there's a segment of the market that isn't a good fit for what you offer, don't be overly concerned. Instead, focus on those who are a great fit.

While engaging your customers romantically is probably a bad idea for a lot of reasons, making them feel like your “one and only” when it comes to online marketing is a profitable strategy. So, get to know them a bit better and design your website and promotions around them… it's the one proven way to attract the right kinds of buyers.