How to identify target audiences
Now that you understand the benefits of defining your target audience and how to segment your target market, it’s time to get to work. Here are five steps to help you identify your target customers.
1. Create an ideal customer profile
The people who are most likely to buy your products or services share certain characteristics. The first step toward identifying these prospects is putting together an ideal customer profile, sometimes called a buyer persona. This is essentially a detailed description of your target demographic that includes the following characteristics.
Age
Do your potential customers mostly fit in a millennial age bracket, or are they more often middle-aged? This is important to understand because customers in different age groups will respond differently to how your product is designed and marketed.
Gender
Depending on the types of products you sell, gender can play a role in how your audience reacts to your messaging. Generally speaking, the needs and goals of specific genders are often strikingly different. If you promote your business in a way that fails to address these differences, you could end up reducing the effectiveness of your campaigns.
Income level
Knowing how much disposable income your customers possess should directly influence your marketing strategies. Low-income families may be drawn to products or services that help save them money. Customers in higher-income brackets, on the other hand, may respond more favourably to marketing that emphasises luxury and exclusivity.
Location
Broadly speaking, the buying habits of urban residents often differ from those of people living in rural areas. Where people reside and the types of communities they live in influence their purchasing preferences.
Other key characteristics include marital status, occupation or industry, families with (or without) children, ethnic groups, hobbies, and interests. Use your own financial and business data to determine who your ideal customers might be. Then use market research to see how your actual customers measure up
2. Conduct market research
You can learn about your target audience through primary and secondary market research. Primary research involves learning about customers’ buying habits through direct contacts, such as:
Surveys
Distribute surveys to potential customers via paper, email, or web-based services. Surveys help you gather useful data directly from your customers. You can ask them questions outright about what previous services and strategies they liked, then take that feedback into account for your next marketing campaign.
Interviews
Talk to people you trust and whose purchasing habits dovetail with your SME. This approach is a bit more traditional and direct than a survey and provides you with candid responses for your marketing campaigns.
Focus groups
Get feedback from small groups who fit your customer profile through Q&A sessions and discussions.
Of course, you should never overlook current customers as a source of insight. When applied to clients, the same three methods not only help you better understand your target audience but can also guide you into better service skills.
Do you ever ask customers to fill out forms or leave reviews when they purchase your product or service? If so, they may be open to answering questions about their age, where they live, and their purchasing preferences. Invite them to share information voluntarily.
3. Reassess your offerings
With a comprehensive customer profile in place, the next step is to look at your products or services in a fresh light. Given what you know about the target audience, ask yourself:
- Which features and benefits are most likely to attract new business?
- Which may be of less interest or even discourage new customers?
- Which should I place front and centre in my marketing and paid advertising?
- Which current customers, images, and copywriting should shape my messaging?
This analysis can lead to valuable modifications to your offering and yield new leads.
You’ll also want to reassess your target audience periodically. Every six months or once a year, do some additional primary research and refine your customer profile accordingly. As the marketplace shifts and evolves, your ideal clientele may change with it. Get ahead of the curve, and you’ll also be one step ahead of your competition.
4. Research your competitors
As a marketer, one effective way to learn about what areas to focus on and which strategies to employ is by observing your competitors. This way, you can find out what strategies are already effective in your niche and how you can incorporate those into your marketing plan. Here are a few things to consider:
Which social networks are they using?
Social media marketing has been a game-changer for e-commerce brands and business-to-business companies. Researching your competitor’s social media will allow you to look for the content that receives the most engagement. The common channels to review include Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and WeChat.
Research how often they post, what they post, the influencers they tend to work with, and so on. Such research will also identify the most suitable social media platforms with an already existing target audience base. You can target the same audience with your content, knowing they are already interested in that niche.
For example, if your target audience regularly interacts with your competitors’ posts on Instagram, it might be time to jump on the bandwagon.
What are their customers' pain points?
Pain points are the problems your target customers are already facing and looking to solve. Identifying your audience's pain points lets you present your products as viable solutions in a targeted way. You and your competitors probably try to solve the same pain points for your customers. While researching your competitors, identify where their approach is lacking and try to better address solutions in those areas with your marketing plan.
5. Leverage existing customer data
While devising your marketing plan, make use of the insights you have already gathered from existing customer records. Identifying patterns in this data and properly using them in your plan will help you build a more effective marketing strategy.
Use Google Analytics data
Google Analytics is a great resource to identify patterns among your target audience. Google's demographic information gives you insight into the age and gender of your audience. This data is broken down into affinity markets and in-market segments and gives valuable audience insights. These analytics allow you to know your audience better and create more relevant content for them, which will be more effective in generating sales for your business.
Review customer relationship management data
A customer relationship management (CRM) system is software that allows companies to manage their interactions with potential customers. Customer data like name, age, contact information, certain behaviour (like items viewed and previously purchased), and other engagement data are stored neatly in this software. CRM analytics show you more about your customers and your target audience at a glance.
This software can also give valuable insights you can use to identify patterns for different purchases, helping you segment your audience. Common patterns to look for include:
- How did they find your site for the first time?
- How many interactions did it take to complete a purchase?
- Did they use coupons?
- Are they typically on mobile or desktop devices?
Which social media platforms do they use?
Social media has proven its mettle when it comes to audience analytics and related tools. Knowing which social media platforms your audience uses can help you decide what analytic tools to invest in.
Facebook allows you access to the demographics of your audience and their interests through Facebook analytics. Similarly, Twitter provides ad accounts with a follower dashboard that tells you more about the interests of your followers. These analytics can help you identify your target audience and also help you create proper strategies for maximum content engagement.
