Businesses often make the mistake of attracting as many customers as possible, but this inefficient strategy costs the company time and money. Targeting and reaching individuals who most likely want and use your product or service is better. An essential part of building a successful business involves developing a target marketing strategy to identify the right audience and determine the best way to reach them. Here is how to identify and target the right audience.
Analyze Current Customers
A great source of information for identifying the correct primary target audience is your current customer base. Analyze your information about who they are, where they live, the products or services they buy, where they purchase, and why they choose you. Look at factors influencing their purchase decision. Focus on your best customers and determine whether they share any common characteristics.Your current sales and marketing systems can provide a vast amount of this and other customer data. If your company still needs to do so, consider CRM integration to create a powerful and rich source of information about your business and customers.
Examine the Competition
Examine your competition to understand who they are targeting. To compete head-on with them, you need to know what they are doing differently, which might help you improve your targeting strategy. At the same time, you may discover a gap in the market, and you can create a niche for your product or service.Identify Key Values
Understand what attributes your ideal customer values. You want to identify the customer who can maximize profit for your company, but this may be more than just the consumer who purchases the highest-cost items. Loyal customers who buy a substantial volume at a lower cost may be more profitable. Beyond price, knowing how customers value attributes such as service, product quality, expertise, and reputation is also crucial in determining your target audience. You also want to leverage the dynamics and values within your organization. Company energy, creativity, and capabilities are critical inputs for product development, selling, and providing the best customer experience, so make sure the target audience is compatible with the organizational culture.Profile the Ideal Customer
The results from analyses of current customers and competition and the information on critical values provide you with the pieces to define an ideal primary customer. This detailed buyer persona should include demographic characteristics, what products are most important to them, their motivations, and values. A comprehensive outline of the ideal customer will make adjusting your business model and branding easier to successfully target this audience. You may also want to circle back and examine which of your current clients are a good fit with this target persona.Content Marketing
Once you have identified your target audience, valuable and relevant content is how you will reach them. Most people are overwhelmed with information, so you want to put something in front of the customer that will resonate and help your company stand out. Ensure content speaks to your ideal customer’s needs and shows what your product or service can do for them. Blog posts, articles, and videos are all practical content marketing tools, but whatever you use, ensure it is engaging and appropriate for your target audience. Your company website is a great place to display content. The prevalent consumer and business use of social media sites makes them ideal tools to reach your target. Whether LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or all the above, social media marketing is essential today.Targeted Advertising
Paid digital advertising is a cost-effective way to get your business message to the right target audience. Social media sites and Google Ads provide tools that allow you to target your audience based on demographic characteristics, location, and the interests of the viewers.Identifying the right customer for your product or service and developing a strategy to reach them is crucial to building a successful business. However, it is not a fixed process. Monitor the environment and periodically re-evaluate the situation to ensure the profile of your ideal customer is still a good fit with the company's business model and values.
