The entire marketing plan is based on a basic element called the “target audience”, which major companies are interested in and allocate huge sections for its study, and business is based on it in a way that may contribute to its development or downfall, so what is this element? How do you know the characteristics of your target audience in the market? This is what we will discover in the next lines.
What is Target Audience? And what is its importance?
The target audience is the segment on which your business is based and your marketing campaigns are focused as a whole, and in which the business owner takes advantage of this audience’s psychological readiness and ability to purchase, to convince them to respond to the services provided.
The size and type of this audience varies according to the activity to which it is directed. The entire activity could focus on a very small, specialized segment, such as those interested in buying Rolls-Royce or Lamborghini cars. It can include broad segments such as marketing for the purchase of smart phones.
The importance of identifying the audience in the marketing process is that it is the cornerstone on which the rest of the steps are based. Without it, it is not possible to determine which products are best to display, and without it the marketing campaign proceeds in a closed cycle of randomness and confusion. The process of identifying the target audience contributes to:
1. Reduce expenses
When you define your target audience accurately, you avoid spending exorbitant money on segments that will not do business with you or want to buy from you. If your entire business is based on a C-segment audience, there is no need to expand your ad campaign to include two A or B segments. Instead of spending your money on three segments, and reaching only 33% of your target segment, when you focus on only one segment, you will be able to: of reaching 100% of them with the same expenses and in a more efficient and effective manner.
2. Keeping the audience at a manageable level
You stand alone at the center of the circle, while you are surrounded by dozens of people talking at once from everywhere. Do you understand what any of them are saying?!
The same can be done when dealing with a random, heterogeneous audience, you can't deal with their recurring requirements, and you won't be able to understand what kinds of services they really want. When you focus on a specific segment and work on studying it closely, this will not only help you understand your customers and their nature, but also help you keep this audience at a manageable level.
You can make the audience get used to buying luxury products because of the persuasive marketing messages you provide. You can convince him to buy now lest he run out of offers. You can even convince him to buy products that he may not even need just because an influencer has indicated so. Whatever the message is, it's all about focus, and that's not going to come with dealing with a random audience.
3. Accurate prioritization
The process of identifying an audience helps in prioritizing and scheduling. If your audience marketing research results, people in X and Y are more likely to buy your products. But area (y) exceeds area (x) by 20%, the priority in the propaganda process will, of course, go to area (y). The same applies if the advertiser feels distracted in determining the segment he wants to target, then the audience research will intervene to help reach an accurate conclusion that determines which segments are the most priority? Which of them are more likely to respond to the targeted advertising message?
4. Careful planning
Determining your target audience is the first step in building a successful marketing plan, as there is no step that can be taken, without going through the stage of defining the target audience first. The design of the website will fail if it is not designed to serve the preferences of the target customers. The content also will not affect consumers if it is not written in a way that serves their aspirations and purchasing aspirations. The same applies to marketing steps and platforms that are used to advertise the product. If your audience is teenagers, and you resort to email messages in the advertising process, then you are wasting your money on advertising that is not related to your real audience and will not reach it in the first place.
From here, it is possible to understand the role of the target audience in the marketing plan, why large companies pay so much attention to it, and why the market is filled with multiple researches about it? It is the main component on which the rest of the marketing steps are based, the main link between each element, and a measure that cannot be overlooked for the success or failure of plans.
How to determine the target audience in the market?
As we explained in the previous lines, the process of identifying the target audience is a very important process, and many important steps are taken in its wake. So before starting any commercial or marketing activity, please follow these steps:
1. Know the segment you want to target the audience on
There are many factors that make up the target audience. The audience can be defined according to:
- Demographic division: Here the selection is made according to gender, age, religion, social level, family size, or even the geographical area to which it belongs.
- Psychological division: Here the audience is determined according to the nature of its marketing activities, in addition to its psychological preferences and interests, in addition to its personal opinions and platforms that it is preferred to follow.
- Division according to the nature of consumption: Here, your audience can be determined according to the rate of consumption of the service or product that you are promoting. You can specify the audience that is totally dependent on this product, or who uses it occasionally, or average consumption. You can also define the audience according to the type of products they consume, there are those who prefer to buy luxury products, and there are those who search for medium quality, and there are those who prefer to buy products that fit their weak budget.
- Segmentation by preferred brand: If your business revolves around presenting the products of well-known brands, it is best when creating advertising campaigns for the products to focus on those who are emotionally attached to the brands. If your new collection is all about Nike products, focus your advertising on the segment interested in Nike's product lines. If your products revolve around Gucci products, it is best to dedicate the advertising to only the fans of this brand.
Knowing the bases on which the target audience varies, you can now determine which factors you want to search for, and which segments to target?
2. Stay up-to-date with audience research and analysis
Marketing research should be your constant companion if you want to own a successful business. It is your guide to understanding the market and knowing what customers are really looking for, and which means are best suited to address them? Without marketing research, it looks like you're crossing the road with your eyes closed. Without it, there is no connection between you and the audience, so that you will not be able to understand their requirements, and they will not be able to understand your product that you are trying to promote.
If your business revolves around attracting men interested in the latest iPhone phones, then you must know the financial level of the target audience, the language in which they respond easily, the features they liked in this product, the frustrations they experienced, the age group to which they belong, and other characteristics Which will undoubtedly help you craft a persuasive and effective marketing message.
You can resort to these research either by searching in global studies published in the scholarly researcher of the Google search engine, or you can download the analytical studies published by famous platforms such as:
- YouTube
- Snapchat
These sites will help you take a closer look at the audience of social platforms, and will provide you with accurate numbers and statistics that will undoubtedly benefit your business.
3. Watch your competition
Competitor websites are an easy way to find out the audience you want to target and their purchasing preferences. When you visit the competitor's platform, you will be able to find out which products are the most sold, and thus know the buying taste of the audience. It will also enable you to see customer reviews and ratings, which can help you see what frustrations your audience doesn't want to experience. You'll also know how this audience interacts with your competitor's offers and discounts, and which methods are best suited to them? And which methods did not have an impact on them?
4. Know the characteristics of your product or service accurately and determine who will need it
Focusing on the characteristics of the service you provide will greatly help you in reaching a more accurate segment of your target audience. For example, if your product has a high price, this point will help you determine the social level you want to target. If your product is heavy in weight or in dark monochromatic colors, then women will not be part of the target group. If your product is sarcastic or humorous, the elderly will undoubtedly not be a target group. All these examples are of one characteristic of a product. What is the result if we analyze each individual characteristic, and collect the results at the end to arrive at an accurate description of the audience we want to attract?
5. Test your product on a smaller segment of your target audience
After applying the previous steps and collecting the information that you collected, can you use the experiment as a way to test the correctness of the steps you have taken or not?
You can formulate content that fits the segment you have reached, then publish it and wait for the audience to interact with it.. If the experience proves the effectiveness of your target segment, you can generalize it in your marketing plan as a whole. If the content does not meet the expected interaction, you can study the factors that caused this to happen, and then do Process it and test it again. If that fails, then you can change the target segment and repeat the steps more precisely and with a more scrutiny than before.
If you adhere to these steps, you will be able to define your target audience with high accuracy, and thus you will be able to lay a strong foundation upon which the rest of your marketing activities are based. Yes.. the process sounds difficult, a little boring - or a lot of it in fact - but it's an important step towards your ultimate goal: generating sales and raising awareness for your brand.
Do you know other ways to determine the target audience in a market? Share it with us in the comments.
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