Knowing your audience is key to a great marketing campaign
In a world where people continuously get a deluge of information, standing out and getting your message across is a huge challenge. How many of us choose to ignore emails from unknown senders that push everything from personal loans to real estate? And when one gets served thousands of digital ads each month, who can blame us if we develop “banner blindness” --- that state where we no longer see the digital banners that litter the sites we browse?
So what can a marketer do to get a bit of attention? Customize and, as much as you can, personalize. I mean if you’re getting hundreds of messages a day, wouldn’t you pay attention only to the ones that interest you? But this approach will only work if you really know your audience.
The beauty of digital marketing is that there are a lot of tools you can use to effectively target your market. But who to target? That’s something you need to determine on your own. So here are a few things you can do to help you identify your target customer:
1. Start by listing down your potential target customers
Say you’re selling expensive organic soap – do you think the young high school jock your daughter is dating would be interested? Maybe the young mom who wants her kids to use safe products would be a better option. You may come up with more than one target so list all that you feel would appreciate the product you’re selling.
2. Prioritize and choose which target to focus on
If you have more than 10 targets on your list, you’re targeting too broadly. Trim it down! Best practice is to focus on a maximum of three. Note though that if the population of the market you’re targeting is too small, might be best to have a more personalized approach.
3. Go deep and start creating your buyer’s persona
Many companies, when they’re targeting, can be a bit too general. Oh, we’re targeting millennials, they may say. That’s a start but you shouldn’t end there. What kind of millennials are you targeting? What kind of work are they in? What are their interests? What motivates them? Give your buyer a name, a back story. Try to put yourself in their shoes. If you don't have the answers, research. Talk to people who may fit the profile you're after.
One thing to remember when doing your targeting exercise: empathy is key. In everything we do, a little bit of empathy will always result in something good.
Beeline offers strategic marketing workshops focused on helping companies create an end-to-end customer journey from persona creation to connected sales and marketing.