Turn back the pages of marketing history, and you’ll find it stained with the aftermath of a failed marketing campaign. Want to know why? Because a bunch of the most expert-level marketing professionals stuck their heads together to come up with an idea in the conference room. But once the idea left the room and went on billboard and social media, well, it didn’t quite work out.
This complicated mess can hurt the reputation of any business. We all remember the infamous Pepsi ad where they hired the reality show star Kendall Jenner to settle a Black Lives Matter standoff between protestors and police by offering a police officer a can of Pepsi. The standoff was cooled down, but Pepsi became known as having the worst campaign of that year. Boy, oh boy, we would’ve loved to be at the creative meeting for this marketing campaign!
Now you might be thinking, what actually causes such a massive amount of failure and how are the big brands like Pepsi not immune to it? Well, the credit goes to the target audience. Let’s find out more about it!
What Is a Target Market and Audience?
A target audience is a specific group of people who share common behaviors and characteristics. For example, think of female extreme athletes aged 18 to 25. Businesses use this group to decide where to advertise, how to connect with customers, and what products to create.
To get a clear picture, businesses create a buyer persona, a profile of their ideal customer. This includes details like where they live, how old they are, their gender, job, and income. Knowing this helps businesses understand how their customers decide to buy things.
Imagine you’re a fitness company. If you aim your ads and messages at female extreme athletes aged 18 to 25, you’re more likely to connect with the right people who are interested in your products.
Now, let’s talk about the target market. While a target audience is specific (like extreme athletes), a target market is broader. For instance, it could include all females interested in fitness products.
The Difference Between Target Audience and Target Market
Think of your target market as the big picture. It’s the overall group of people you believe might be interested in what your brand offers. It’s like casting a wide net to capture everyone who could potentially find value in your products or services.
Now, zoom in a bit. Your target audience is a specific part of that larger group. They are the people you really want to focus on in your marketing efforts. It’s like picking out a big fish from the net – these are the ones you want to target your campaigns for.
Here’s an analogy: Your target market is the playbook for your entire game (your business strategy). Your target audience? They’re the star players you want to score points within different plays (your advertising strategies).
The key thing to remember is that you have one target market, but you might have several target audiences.
Types of Target Audience
- Demographic Target Audience
This is about people’s basic info, like age, gender, income, and education. For example, if you want to sell makeup, your demographic target audience might be young women aged 18-25.
- Geographic Target Audience
It’s all about where people live. If you’re selling ski gear, your geographic target audience would likely be people in snowy regions, not tropical areas.
- Psychographic Target Audience
This one dives into people’s lifestyles, interests, and values. Think about someone who loves eco-friendly products and outdoor adventures – that’s a psychographic target.
- Behavioral Target Audience
Focuses on how people behave as consumers. Maybe you want to reach folks who are loyal to certain brands or those who frequently shop online.
- Cultural Target Audience
This is about connecting with specific cultural groups and considering traditions and customs. For instance, if you’re promoting a festival, your cultural target might be a specific ethnic community.
The Importance of Finding Your Target Audience
Discovering your target audience is like hitting the bullseye in a game – it’s a game-changer for your business. First off, it helps you spend your time and money where it matters most. Instead of talking to everyone, you’re talking directly to the people who are most likely to love what you offer.
This not only boosts engagement but also builds loyalty because people love it when brands truly get them. Plus, when you know your audience, you can make products that they’ll love, giving you an upper hand in the market. And here’s a bonus: it’s cost-effective! You’re not wasting money on things that won’t work.
7 Ways to Figure Out Your Target Audience
If you don’t want to end up in the history book with the Pepsi commercial, then these strategies will help you prevent that. Here are some tried and tested ways to find out your target audience:
Understand Your Current Customers
To figure out who is most interested in what you offer, start by looking at the folks already using your products or services. And no, we’re not asking you to play detective. Just focus on the defining characteristics of your existing customers. This step will help you reach more people like them.
Depending on how people connect with your business, you might know a little or a lot about them. But don’t stress about adding a bunch of questions during checkout – that could annoy customers. Instead, use the info you naturally get to spot trends and averages.
Think about key data points that give you a better picture:
- Age: You don’t need to know if your customer is 24 or 27, but understanding the general age range helps.
- Location and Time Zone: Where do your customers live? This helps you target specific areas and figure out the best times for customer service and social ads.
- Language: Ensure your communication matches your customers’ language, with no assumptions.
- Spending Power and Patterns: Know how much your customers can spend and how they approach purchases in your category.
- Interests: Beyond your products, what else do your customers like? TV shows, hobbies, and other businesses they engage with?
- Challenges: Identify the pain points your customers face and how your product or service helps them.
- Stage of Life: Are they students, new parents, parents of teens, or retirees?
If you’re in the business-to-business game, tweak your focus:
- Business Size: For B2B, gather info about the size of the businesses buying from you.
- Decision-Makers: Understand the titles of the people making buying decisions – CEO, CTO, marketing manager.
This process is all about knowing the people you will be serving. Knowing someone so well gives you the upper hand in knowing what they like or don’t like.
Google Analytics All the Way
Ever wondered who’s checking out your website and what they’re into? Well, enter Google Analytics – your personal detective for understanding your online audience.
Google Analytics is such an amazing tool if you learn how to do it right. It can reveal details about your audience’s age, gender, and location. Head to the dashboard, and voilà – colorful graphs break down the numbers for you.
If you think you can explain your board of directors using numbers, then Google Analytics has those. And if you think graphs explain better, you can get those too. These visuals can help show data in an easy format when you’re pitching your target audience to the team. Above all, Google Analytics provides a handy overview of who’s visiting your website. This tool is your ticket to understanding how your content fits into their lives.
Keep an Eye on Socials
Don’t limit your social media following to numbers. They’re actually a window into who’s genuinely interested in your brand. They follow you for so many reasons – discounts, company news, and discovering new products. It’s like having a built-in focus group that’s telling you exactly why they’re cheering you on.
While you might not have the same depth of information as your customers, a quick survey with specific questions can do the job of uncovering insights. Focus on demographics like location, age, career, income, and activity level. Pay attention to the ones engaging the most.
But make sure that you check all the platforms because each platform has a different following. Facebook has an older target audience, while TikTok and Instagram are more of a Gen-Z and Gen-X thing.
Start Creating Reader Personas for Blogs
A reader persona always directs your strategy in the right direction. Kind of like your buyer persona, your reader persona is a mirror image but with a special focus. It focuses more on the challenges your persona might be struggling with. Now, I’m going to explain this concept to you with the help of an example.
We will take Marketing Mary as a buyer persona. A reader persona will focus on the specific challenges Mary and others like him might be dealing with.
Now, when you’re writing blogs, your reader persona guides the way. If your audience includes marketers, your blogs should be their go-to source for everything about digital media – from helpful tips to insightful strategies.
The reader persona is all about zooming in on challenges. If Marketing Mary’s struggle is “how to create UGC,” your reader persona will help solve this problem. You will create blogs that will identify their problem and provide solutions using your products. How cool is that? Your reader persona becomes a blueprint. You will use it to create content that directly addresses the challenges your audience faces. We all want to be seen but your brand will be seen because it offers help with tips and solves their issues.
Sneak Peek at what the Competitors are Doing
Okay, here’s the deal: you’ve got competition, and that’s a good thing. Getting rid of competition means you have no edge to come up with new strategies, and that’s boring. But your competitors can actually help you identify your target audience as well.
Look around and identify who your competitors are – those playing in the same sandbox. Check out their marketing game plan. Are they hitting up Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? Study their ads and messaging. Who are they talking to, and what problems are they shouting about? Mind you, we’re only talking about LOOKING, not COPYING, what your competitors are doing!
Now, compare what you find with your own target audience. See where you match up and where you stand out. The common ground is where you connect, and the differences? Well, that’s what makes you, YOU. Take their strategy but refine and remodel it to fit your business.
Sometimes, competitors turn out to be the mentors you need on your path. Taking a little help from them won’t hurt anybody!
Get to Persona Building
Creating personas is like giving your brand a group of friends. These might seem like made-up characters, but they help you so much. They actually represent real people in your audience who share common interests. The idea is to talk to them in a way that feels relatable.
When you create personas, go beyond basic details like age or location. Dive into their personalities and stories – what makes them unique? Instead of treating them as faceless targets, give them names like “Marketing Maria.”
Personas are handy because they help you understand your audience better. Knowing more about them shifts your brand in the right direction. If “Adventurous Alex” loves trying new things or “Techie Taylor” is all about tech, you can chat with them like friends. And happy friends are more likely to stick around!
Cases in History when Brands Missed their Target Audience
Now, before you head out and start working on your target market, we have to let you know some of the biggest marketing failures. Why? Because these brands made the big mistake of misfiring their target audience, we don’t want you to end up being the same. That’s why here are some of history’s biggest audience fails:
1. Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner Ad (2017)
Pepsi’s ad with Kendall Jenner in 2017 tried to promote unity during protests but got a lot of criticism. People thought it made light of serious issues and was just trying to sell soda. Because of the negative reaction, Pepsi had to take the ad down.
2. McDonald’s Arch Deluxe (1996)
In 1996, McDonald’s wanted to attract grown-ups with the Arch Deluxe burger. But it didn’t work. The burger didn’t click with their usual customers, and McDonald’s had to stop selling it. It showed that the fancy burger idea didn’t match what people liked about McDonald’s.
3. New Coke by Coca-Cola (1985)
Coca-Cola tried a new formula called “New Coke” in 1985 to get more young people to buy their drink. But people who loved the original Coke didn’t like the change. Coca-Cola had to bring back the old Coke because its fans wanted it, teaching the company that understanding what people like is crucial.
These are some of the most memorable ‘Yikes’ moments in the history of marketing blunders, and make sure you don’t end up being one either!
How to Reach Your Target Audience
Once you’ve got your personas, here’s how to connect with them:
1. Media Kits
Publishers share info about who reads or watches them. Look at job titles, income, and hobbies. Pick platforms that match your personas. For magazines, focus on paid subscribers, not just estimates.
2. Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen predicts TV show viewership. Prime time might not be the best. Check fringe hours for niche shows that cost less but still reach your target audience.
3. Social Media
Use social platforms to target ads based on interests. Each platform suits different groups. Test ads to see what works – a business ad might do better on Facebook than Instagram.
4. Third-Party Info
Tools like the Marketing Measurement Platform help identify where your audience hangs out. Check how these tools find data – outdated info won’t help. Partner with platforms that use reliable data and media connections.
Wrapping Up
Now you know what to do and definitely NOT to do when planning out your target audience. Most people underestimate the value of finding your target audience. Businesses base their entire marketing plans and all future strategies on this audience, and if this ain’t right, then it will be a big blunder. This can cost you money, resources, and a bad reputation that people don’t forget for decades(Kendall Jenner still haunts the ad).
So play it safe; work on your target audience before you go ahead and plan anything.
