Understanding Your Target Market
Targeting the right demographic is crucial to any successful marketing campaign. Understanding your targeted demographic is equally as important. Segmenting audiences is a great way to define and develop a demographic that is significant to your business. There are many ways to segment audiences within a given population (i.e. gender, age, income, geographic location, education level, marital status, etc.). To run a successful marketing campaign you must truly understand the niche you choose to target and tailor your advertising initiatives accordingly. To make sure you know your audience completely, ask yourself the following questions. Your answers should create a profile of your demographic and describe the characteristics that are most commonly found in your customers.
Who are you targeting?
The more you know about your target audience the more likely you are to provide them with relevant material. The characteristics that define them determine what they buy. So get specific when defining your demographic (i.e. single men in the U.S. ages 35-40 that make approximately $50,000/year).
What are you promoting?
Whatever you are selling must coincide with the lives of your demographic. Every aspect of your ads must be relatable, from the models to the copy. For example, if you’re advertising an innovative wrinkle cream to women ages 55-60, the women in your intended audience will most likely ignore your ad if it features a 20 year old model with flawless skin.
When are they buying?
Knowing when your niche is making purchases can enhance your campaign and save you advertising dollars. For example, it may be beneficial to advertise during the day if your targeted audience is retired. However, if your demographic has an annual income, it is likely they will be exposed to more ads after 6pm, when they are out of the office.
Where are they buying?
Do your consumers make the majority of their purchases online or in retail stores? Researching where your demographic spends most of their time can assist you in placing influential ads in appropriate locations.
Why are they buying?
Purchases are made for a variety reasons that range from emotional to practical. It is important to understand what triggers the initial purchase in your niche so you can ensure the behavior is repeated.
It is nearly impossible to have a business that is relevant to everyone in an entire population. Research, study and recognize the characteristics and behaviors of your audience. And with this greater understanding of your targeted demographic you will be more likely to captivate and capture them with your promotional materials.
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© 2011 J.M. Field Marketing
