Building A Target Audience

Acclaim. Popularity. Recognition. Sales. This is what business owners and their teammates want. We want to spread our ideas and sell products. We may have bold plans, but the truth is that we can only hit our goals by crafting and reaching the ideal target audience.

What is a target audience? Think of it as a room full of loyal customers. They love your message, support you and want to participate in what you have to offer. Your target audience needs to be limited to be effective, and you need to strategize who fits in your box. Having a target market means that you can focus your promotion on the right people, who will likely buy from or hire you. When this strategy is optimized, you will be able to spend less time, money and energy to reach more people.

Here are three ways to define your target audience.

1. Do some research. Speak to your ideal customer, ask them what they need and if they have any problems that you think you could solve for them. Use empathy to understand their minds and their needs. You can monitor discussions on social media and online forums for some of your competitors, head to networking events and reach out to others in your field. The goal is to understand what is lacking and how your service can fill that need.
2. Take notes and consider the demographics of the people you’re aiming to serve. Can you break it down by age, region, financial means? The more information you can capture, the better. You will want to know about lifestyle and cultural choices, like marital status, if they have kids, where and how they get their information, outside interests, and more. This can be a fluid process and your target market might change or include a few types of profiles. If that’s the case, make sure to keep it defined.
3. Scope out the competition. You want to know what else is available so you can begin setting yourself apart. Learn from others in the field and expand from their successes. This is crucial for building a reputable brand. Ask yourself, “Where do they fall short and how can you step in?” You want to outshine them with your unique assets.

A target audience is complete when you clearly visualize and understand your potential consumer. Then you can begin crafting your story. With a thoroughly defined profile of your target audience, your marketing strategy will unfold. You will be able to tailor your messaging to their wants, and offer effective solutions. Show that you understand them and can cater to their lifestyle.

Because you want to connect with your target audience and use them to bring in revenue, you also need to turn them into a community. Use empathy to make it a relationship, by showing that you care and that you are interested in helping them. Dive into their environment and meet them where they are, whether it’s showing up at events or on social media. Interact with your target audience to build rapport. Before you start pitching, you must build trust and understanding. Once you’ve been recognized by the right people, you will see business flow.

 
 Submitted by Daniela