Do you have a target audience for your business? Defining a target audience is one of the most important first steps you can take when marketing your products or services. In this post, I’ll discuss why target audiences are essential for marketing plans and 3 things you should know about your audience.
Why are target audiences so important for my business?
Target audiences help you understand your customers and prospective customers better. You can use the information you know about your target audience to develop content, advertisements, products, and services that speak to their needs. And isn’t that what it’s all about? The customer’s needs!
I suggest creating one or two target audiences (primary and secondary). You can even name your audiences for clarification purposes. For example, if you are a brick and mortar retail shop, you could name your primary target audience “Shopper Sarah.” Then, after you’ve researched the behaviors and demographics (see below) of Shopper Sarah, you can always keep her in mind when you’re creating a piece of content.
3 Things You Should Know About Your Target Audience
Once you’ve named your audiences, it’s time to do some research! Start by interviewing your current customers, or even asking questions of some prospective customers as well! Just try to get in the mind of your customer. You should be able to define the following three items:
1. Demographics (Age, Gender, Income, Location, Job, Family, Career Path, Demeanor, Communication Preferences)
2. Motivations (Goals, Challenges, How your product or service can help)
3. Quotes & Objections (What are they saying? What objections do they have about your product or service?)
Knowing these three things about your target audience is a great place to start. I suggest even printing out a picture and a name for each audience and taping it to your office wall. That way, you are always keeping the customer in mind FIRST!
