Insight 3 – Know who you’re talking to
Have you ever played darts blindfolded? If so, did you hit the bullseye or even hit the board for that matter? Not knowing who your target audience is and how you’re relevant to them is very much like playing darts with a blindfold on….facing backwards.
So, how do we define the term Target Audience?
While there are many definitions floating about the industry, online, in published articles and in classrooms, we define it as the exact people you want to be speaking to succinctly with all your brand communication. It’s a combination of audience demographics and psychographics. The better you understand and define your customers, the more you can tailor their experience with your brand message and marketing. You’ll address their values, lifestyle, motivations and challenges.
Given the current state of the economy and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, having a well-defined target audience is more crucial than ever. You must take the time to identify the specific characteristics of your ideal customers. While demographics and the location of your prospects is important, you have to know as much as possible about them, so add to this list; personality traits, motivations, goals, interests, values, opinions, competencies and brand affinities. The more you can possibly find out about your audience, the more powerful your branding and messaging efforts will become.
What are some of the methods that are used to help define a target audience?
After many years helping clients to understand their target audience and aide in creating persona profiles, we use a combination of the following techniques, research methods and resources:
- One-on-One Key Stakeholder & Team Interviews
- One-on-One Customer Interviews
- Customer Online Surveys (e.g. Audience feedback with Mailchimp or Google Forms)
- Brand Strategy Sprint (Team Workshop)
- Google Analytics
- Social Analytics (e.g. Facebook Insights, Twitter Followers Dashboard)
- Talk to Social Followers
- Analyse Competitor Social Activity & Followers
- Analyse Customer Purchasing Data
By focusing efforts on a specific target audience and customer sector, a small business may be able to better serve a more concentrated segment of the market than its larger competitors. At the same time, carving out a niche for the product or service and creating a unique point of difference.
Make sure to check out the next article in the series—Insight 4 – Be Unique will be published on the 1st May.
Before you go
If you want brand guidance RIGHT now to help adapt to the COVID-19 situation facing everyone, click *here* to get in touch with us. We’re always happy to talk! No matter where you are in the world, why not schedule a free 30mins no-obligation consultation with us over the phone or even better still, let’s connect via a video call. We always find an initial face-to-face meeting with the people behind the brand and business helps us establish a connection.
We’re continuing to put the health and safety of your people and our people first by working remotely. Our door is always open, no matter where that door is. Stay safe everyone!
