We hate to break it to you. Your target audience cannot be “everyone.”
As much as many business owners would love to believe that their product or service has universal appeal, it’s just not the reality. Each buyer brings a unique set of values, needs and desires to their decision-making. That means what is considered a critical need or desire for one consumer will be vastly different for the next.
First, let’s define “target audience.”
Your target audience is the specific group of people that you want to reach with the marketing message for your product or service. These are the people for whom your product can solve a problem or fill a need, making their life, work or play a better experience.
The more clearly you define and understand your target audience, the better you can speak to what fulfills their needs. Through marketing, you speak to your target audience in a variety of ways – from the design of your ad creative, to the channels on which you place your advertising.
Every advertising decision you make helps your target audience answer the question, “Is this for me?”
When the answer is “Yes,” you convert a potential consumer to a paying customer. When the answer is “No” or “Not yet,” you risk losing money and potentially losing your business.
That’s why understanding your target audience on a deeper level is critical to your marketing strategy. Furthermore, your audience should be based on research, not a gut feeling.
Here are 4 steps to getting to know your target audience:
Compile data using your existing tools.
You can use the systems and tools you already have available without investing in expensive audience-research specific programs. Your POS system or your CRM (customer relationship management) software is your first stop to understanding your typical customer. Your loyalty program, email newsletter distribution list or mailing list could also contain clues about your target audience.
Analyze your analytics.
Dig into your website and social media analytics. Google Analytics contains a wealth of information about who is visiting your company’s website and how they are spending their time on your site. Your social media analytics are rich with data about who is interacting with your accounts, what is being said about your brand by others, and who is serving as an unofficial advocate or evangelist for products or services.
Scope out your competition.
After identifying the current leaders in your industry, take a look at who is engaging with them. Your competition can provide key insights into your target audience if they seek to serve the same type of customer. You can learn a lot about how your target audience responds to certain messages by observing your competition’s marketing presence.
Work with an agency that specializes in audience analysis.
Yes, it’s possible to DIY your audience research. For a deeper dive and to truly know your audience – their thoughts, feelings and what motivates them to buy – partnering with an advertising agency like Morgan & Co. will get you more detailed answers in less time. Making sure that your agency partner has access to insights and research tools, understands the customer journey, and has experience leveraging analytics to drill down into the core of your target audience.
If you’re ready to go deeper so you can speak directly to your ideal customer, reach out to the team at Morgan & Co. We have more than 20 years of experience helping brands refine their marketing strategy by defining their target audience.
