This is the fourth chapter of the ‘How to Build Your Brand from Scratch’. You can catch up on Choosing the Right Messaging Strategy, or Position Your Brand for Maximum ROI. We recommend starting from the beginning to get the full picture and maximize success for your brand.
Without speaking to a quality (targeted) audience, you’re wasting valuable time and resources. The most effective marketing campaigns follow this general procedure:
- Find an accurate target market
- Create interesting content
- Integrate promotions with a strong content strategy
- Test results for improvement
- Repeat as needed
In this blog, we’ll focus on the steps required to locate who your market is, which is critical to the success of any marketing initiative.
The Benefits
Developing a strong brand for your business can be extremely beneficial, but only if your brand is targeting the right audiences. Targeting a specific customer does not exclude everyone else; however, it allows businesses to allocate their marketing and brand messaging towards those who are most likely to buy from you. This process has been proven to be affordable, efficient, and highly effective to both reach potential clients and to generate new business.
An example would be meal services that provide raw/fresh ingredients ready for the home cook to prepare. The shopping, and all food prep prior to cooking has been done and a recipe included. Who should they market to? Not Gen Z-ers who are just starting out, or seniors on a fixed income, but upper middle-class families where both parents work. The business’ target market would likely be 35-55 year olds with annual incomes upwards of $150,000 and who spend more than the national average on food/dining. Now that the firm’s target audience has been clearly defined, it is easier to determine where and how to put this business in front of these potential customers.
Here are some tips to help you define the best target audience for your business:
Current Customer Base
- Who is buying from you?
- Why are they buying from you?
- Who is bringing your business the most revenue?
- What do these people have in common? (Live in suburbia, live in an urban area, have families, have pets, etc.)
- Who do you perceive that your competition is marketing to? (Do yourself a favor, look elsewhere, and find and secure your niche- those consumers that your competitors are not serving. Make this population segment yours.)
Conduct Market Research
Here is a critical step. To know which demographics to target, determine not only who needs your product, but also who is most likely to buy it. Create a product or service scenario. For example, the robotic vacuum cleaners. Every household needs a vacuum cleaner, but some two income households may not have the time to set aside for housework, yet cannot afford a housekeeping service. Robotic vacuums have gained popularity, but these are not inexpensive. Create the needs scenario about your products and services then consider the following factors relative to your prospective demographic:
- Age
- Urban/Suburban/Rural/Homeowner/Renter
- Gender(s)
- Joint income
- Education level
- Occupation if relevant: professional/office workers/etc.
- If relevant: Ethnic background
By now with the assembled facts culled from your research, you should have an idea of who your demographic is. But that is just the beginning. To understand how your demographic thinks, consider how your products and services fit into your proposed target demographic’s lifestyle. How, and how often will your demographic use your product, need your services? What makes your particular brand appealing to the target? Does your proposed target search online for your goods and services, or do they read newspaper ads?
You can look for this information in a number of places. Digital agencies utilize a number of business softwares and other sources to cull statistical data. For lay persons, begin your search online using keywords relative to your business. Search for blogs that already speak to your proposed demographic. Look for survey results and forums where you will likely find opinions left by your target group. You can always conduct a survey by posting on your business website asking your customers for input and feedback.
Once you combine the facts of your research be prepared to ask yourself some hard questions:
- Now that I know who my demographic is, are there enough people who fit my criteria?
- How do I know if my niche is big enough to support my online business?
- Does my business know what influences my demographic make sales decisions?
- Can my demographic really afford my product/service?
- What is the easiest way to reach this group?
The good news is that once you have zeroed in on your demographic, marketing to that specific group will be more direct and provide a better return for your investment. If you have any questions, or would assistance in targeting and marketing optimally to your business’ demographic, call for a consultation with our professional staff: (800) 978-3417.
