Targeting your audience
So you think you know your target audience, but do you really know how they tick?
Do you truly understand how your products/services & marketing campaigns will help them, or how they will add value? Why should they choose you?
Taking time to identify your marketing targets enables you to find the best opportunities and tap into them. It gives you the information needed to focus solely on the people that are interested in what you have to offer. This can save you both time and money in the long run.
If you do not fully understand your target market and what results you expect to get from them, your campaign will fail.
By identifying and knowing who your target is it is easier to develop your marketing strategy effectively and aim for the winning shot. It will enable you to design special offers and promotions. It will also increase your ability to meet your end goal of converting your marketing efforts into sales.
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Understand how your company can help solve your customers problems
Once you are 100% clear on how and why you can help, you can start to identify who is most likely to benefit from your product or service. It allows you to develop your value proposition – what can you offer, why should they visit you?
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Build a customer profile
Make a list of all customer groups who could benefit from your product or service. You could group them by location, market sector, age, gender etc etc. Use a CRM system to build up a detailed profile. What hobbies do they have? What are their buying patterns and behaviour? Are they married? Do they drive? When is their Birthday?
Any information which you feel relevant will help you to build a comprehensive profile.
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Ask yourself who will gain from the value in your offer
Who will have the most to lose if they do not take you up on your offer?
If you can demonstrate that the cost of not sorting out the problems is greater than the cost of dealing with them, then your case becomes compelling.
Consider other things like emotional upheaval, stress and the risk to reputation when implementing your solution, as well as a bottom line cost. It is all these factors that make up the value in your offering.
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Really think about your market
It is a more effective strategy to be a big fish in a small pond rather than the other way round. It will be easier to build your reputation and gain customer referrals. You will also find you get more from your marketing activity and spend.
Therefore, with the knowledge that you have gained from your profiling, start to segment your market and consider whether you want to work with particular types of people, in certain geographical locations, in specific sectors, and so on..
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Look at your own company
One way of deciding on the right markets to pursue is to think about your own business.
Do you have particular areas of expertise?
Do you have unique knowledge of a specific geographical area?
Are you better at getting on with certain types of people?
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What else is available?
You must have a knowledge of your competitors and understand what else is available on the market. Why is your company best placed to solve the problem?
If you are unable to answer the question, you either have the wrong target market or the wrong offering. In this case, more work will need to be done before you start targeting your potential customers.
Conclusion:
If you take the necessary time and energy to define your target audience, you will know how to reach them more easily and you will find that you won’t have to invest so much into your marketing to get the results you want.
You’ll be more focused, more effective in your marketing strategies and be able to get a greater return on your marketing investment.
Bluezoo can help you with all your marketing planning needs and we can work with you to define your target audience for the best possible results.