Finding your target audience is an essential step toward success.
Target audiences influence all your marketing and branding efforts. It informs small changes you make to customer service efforts. And helps you connect with your customers better.
Not knowing your target audience weakens all the efforts you put into your marketing and branding. It’s akin to yelling to people in a foreign language. They won’t understand you or your message.
And all this means your business will fail.
What Is a Target Audience?
A target audience is a group of people that will likely purchase your services or products.
Target audiences share some commonalities. They belong to the same age range, or have similar income levels. Further, they share certain interests, needs, or other basic characteristics. As an example, a target audience is female athletes between the ages of 21 and 26.
Gear all your marketing materials and branding efforts toward this group.
Target Audience Versus Target Market
Obviously, these two terms are related. They don’t have the exact same meaning, though.
A target audience is a segment of a target market. Target audiences are more precise compared to target markets
Target markets are broad. They include large groups of people who share certain characteristics and needs. Most target markets consist of several target audiences.
For example, a target market for your services might be people who frequent the gym. Within that, you have target audiences of men and women of varying age groups. Some of these target audiences have greater interest than others in the services or products you provide.
Regardless, they belong to the same target market.
Discover Your Target Audience
There are several ways to go about finding your target audience. Not every way works for everyone. Don’t be scared about trying a few different methods before finding the best ones for you.
Analyze Your Competitor’s Audiences
Your direct competitors often have the same target audience as you. Or, they have similar ones. So, it’s a good place to start.
There are tools available that let you analyze your competitor’s target audiences. But, outside of those, you can make some evaluations on your own.
Look through your competitor’s website and marketing materials. The type of language they use, the colors, and the design of their website provide you with clues about the target consumer.
Check their social media activity, as well. See who your competitors are interacting with. Consider whether this is the same target audience you appeal to. Next, think about what sets you apart and focus on that.
Conduct Internal Evaluations
Take a thorough look at the services and products you are offering. Figure out what problem they solve, and consider who most often has this problem.
For instance, your business solves the problem of having limited cooking time. Who likely has this problem? Single parents working full-time jobs. Even two-parent households where both parents work.
Now, you have an idea of who you must target for professional success.
Looking at your existing analytics is another option. Check who is frequenting your site and purchasing your products. This gives you an idea of who already finds your services and products helpful.
It may be different than the target audience you are hoping for. But, your idea of who you want for your business may not be the best suited. If you believe it is, change your marketing material and branding so it appeals more to a different target audience.
Create Personas
Personas are profiles of fake people who fit into your target audience. These profiles contain all sorts of information, including the name, age, marital status, income level, habits, hobbies, goals, and media consumption of each fake person you make.
Create between three and five personas. These personas are made from information you’ve previously gathered. Make sure each persona fits into your target audience, but don’t make them all the exact same.
You may have a product perfect for people in a lower income bracket. While another product of yours suits those in a higher income bracket. These two people, although they share goals and habits, have different buying patterns.
Incorporate Customer Feedback
Establish relationships with current customers. Ask them how your product or service helped them, and how they use your product or service. This information provides you with essential details about your current marketing and targets.
As you think of future marketing efforts, incorporate feedback from existing customers. This gives you an accurate picture of the current market you are reaching and allows for adjustments.
Continually Evaluate
Once you know your target audience, remember that it won’t stay the same. Refine your target audiences as you gain more information. This allows for more precise marketing efforts and personalization.
Don’t hyper-focus on keeping everything the same. Regular evaluation and updates of your target audience lets you grow and maintain success over time.