Knowing Your Target Audience

You’ve likely been told countless times how important it is to know your target audience. But how do you go about identifying what group you are trying to reach? Can you be too specific or not specific enough? How can I maximize profit by narrowing down who I market to? All are valid questions that are tricky to answer for many new businesses. I will attempt to share some tips and tricks on identifying your target market, understanding what makes them tick, and how to appeal to that group without alienating possible customers. 

Ask Yourself Tough Questions (and be honest)

One of the biggest mistakes new businesses make is being too kind to themselves. Not every restaurant can make a good lasagna, and not every business can specialize in everything. If it were easy to do it all, it would have been done before. You have to ask yourself, what specifically does my business do well, and what is preventing other businesses from doing the same thing? Why did you want to create a business in the first place, what was the need you wanted to fill? People may say that they love your business, but unfortunately, the only way to improve is by focusing on the negative. Why aren’t people coming back? Who doesn’t resonate with my mission? What people do I not envision using my product/service?

It is tempting to try and do everything, but the best businesses are specialized. Identify what you do best, and who seems to recognize it. For example, it may feel like every restaurant has a pizza or flatbread option, but it’s far more impressive for a soul food restaurant to make a successful gumbo than it is to offer a flatbread just for the sake of it. Unless you’re a bank, you want to give the impression that you don’t need everyone’s business. You should be confident in what you do well, and if you present that to a target market, you should be recognized for it.

Gather Examples and Exposure

A great way of identifying how specific you want your target audience to be is by looking at your competitors. How often do they adopt a new strategy to reach new customers or clients? How much variety do they offer compared to their expertise? Knowing what other people are doing can help you attract an audience without being too generous or too stingy.

A cheap and effective way of doing market research is by exploring social media. People are very generous with their opinions, and inauthentic marketing tactics are easily discovered by loyal consumers. Look at what they respond to, how they interact. What seems to be missing from your competitor’s social media presence?

Spend Time with your Audience

Another huge issue for big and small companies is assuming that they know their target market from simply researching them. People have started to identify exploitative marketing tactics that companies seem to cut and paste from other campaigns. Praying on our love for cute animals does not a successful campaign make. No longer can you throw a cute dog in a commercial and let it do the work for you. The worst thing you can do is oversimplify or patronize your market. Don’t assume that they are easily won. Your message has to feel authentic and relatable. Don’t throw on a cowboy hat and try to market to Texans, sit with your market, listen and see what their needs are.

Check Back in Regularly

People are complicated, so it stands that marketing to them can be complicated. What consumers expect and what they gravitate towards is constantly changing. Make sure that your business toes the line between remaining consistent while adapting to the changing market. I know that it sounds complicated but it can be done. Keep the core of what makes you unique and update/trim around it. Overall it’s important to research your audience and thoroughly identify what makes you successful. Those are two simple, but easily botched goals. Be authentic, be curious, be meticulous, and always listen.