When you launch an email marketing campaign or pay-per-click ads, you want to tailor your efforts to reach the people most likely to buy your products or services: your target audience. Casting too wide a net will only waste marketing resources. In order to clearly define your expected customer base, use the following tips.
Identify Specific Characteristics of Customers
The characteristics of likely customers make up a demographic profile. Some characteristics that will help you define your ideal customer include: age, gender, income, education, occupation, buying habits, location, ethnic group, marital status, family status, political affiliation, and hobbies and interests. A business that specializes in designer clothes for dogs, for example, might identify its target audience as 25- to 40-year-old employed, single women who live within 15 miles of the store. If you offer B2B services, you might consider characteristics like: number of employees, industry size, and geographic location.
Define Your Market Niche
Some businesses resist defining a target audience, mistakenly believing that they might limit their sales or number of potential customers. In reality, by focusing on a relatively narrow customer base or specialized market (niche), you can cost-effectively distinguish yourself in a crowded marketplace. You can also exploit a niche that is underserved by other businesses. If you focus on specialized services or products that appeal to a narrow customer segment, you occupy an operational niche. A customer niche approach focuses on tailoring marketing to a defined audience.
Evaluate Results and Adjust as Necessary
Even if you have a firm idea of your target audience, you shouldn’t stop researching your market and industry trends. What are your customers’ buying habits? How was the response to your marketing campaign? What are your competitors doing? Especially when your business is just getting off the ground, you should use your research and new information to adjust your business plan accordingly. Don’t be afraid to redefine your target customer or niche based on market conditions. View your efforts as a cyclical, ongoing process.
At Anchor Wave, we offer web marketing solutions designed to give your business a competitive advantage online. Our innovative approach will help you define, target, engage, and expand your customer base. To discuss Internet marketing solutions that will work for you, call (520) 622-3731 in Tucson or (480) 331-8920 in Phoenix.
