Have you ever been a part of an online advertisement that has nothing to do with have to do with you? I saw one recently on Facebook. It was a brand I’ve not had the pleasure of hearing about, selling a product that I wouldn’t purchase. I’m not their customer, and the company isn’t aware of the people it can market to.
A well-targeted campaign speaks directly to a particular segment of people, and makes them feel a connection with the brand. Knowing the target audience is essential to a successful marketing strategy.
Every product or service has a market regardless of how specific. In this post, I’ll guide you through the process of conducting an analysis of the target market to determine the target audience for your brand.
Table of Contents
What is the target audience?
“Target audience” refers to an audience of consumers defined by common characteristics such as behavior, demographic data such as interests. The majority of products and companies will contain multiple targeted audiences, representing various user groups and brands.
Brands can identify their consumers by articulating the characteristics of their audience to give a clear idea of who the prospective consumer is. This picture clarifies the message of the brand and helps to focus marketing efforts and can even guide what new products to come up with.
A wine business can’t appeal to both aficionados of high-end wines as well as novice wine drinkers. With the help of research into target audiences they can determine the wine drinkers they want to target as people between the ages of 24 and 30 with an interest in wine, but a limited budget. With their target market in mind is important, they can concentrate on attracting those consumers rather than looking to reach out to all of the people.
Does it resemble the buyer persona? The targeted audience is your complete potential customer group. The buyer profile is an imaginary representation of one person in your target audience.
Target Market vs Target Audience
Target market and audience are both ways of categorizing customers to allow segmentation. But, “target market” refers to a larger group of customers who could be potential buyers. The target market is located in the market of target, and is a specific segment.
Let’s look at an example of IKEA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: IKEA located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
- The target market is people located in the western part of Pennsylvania.
- The target audience is people from the western part of Pennsylvania who are looking to purchase inexpensive furniture.
- One possible target group A possible target segment is expecting parents in western Pennsylvania who are in need of low-cost nursery furniture.
Once you have identified a segment to target After identifying a target segment, you create buyer personas that reflect the exact needs and emotions of each segment of customers.
Are the terms making sense? It’s not a problem you’re not taking a test, and you’ll not be able to pass — insofar as you concentrate on educating the people who purchase your product.
Types of Target Audiences
The world doesn’t require general marketing campaigns. Personalization is the key to success and is what modern consumers demand. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) survey revealed that more than 70% of respondents indicated needing and requiring personalized experiences.
This can be achieved by focussing on your brand’s various audiences. Here’s what they look like at an overview:
- Demographics: Who your client is
- Customer journey phase How well do they know your brand
- The way customers use their time
- Subcultures: Relevant identities for customers
- Values: What’s most important to your customers?
Let’s examine the things that make these unique as well as pull real-world examples to take a lesson from.
Demographics
Demographic segmentation is the process of dividing a market into smaller groups based on different characteristics like gender, race, age marital status, educational level, income, as well as the country of origin.
Each factor affects the consumer’s behavior and their preferences for products. For instance:
- Gender: Typically, consumers make beauty, fashion and health-related purchases that are in line with their gender and gender identity. Marketing strategies vary between women and men or those who aren’t gender-specific.
- The status of your income can affect purchasing power, which affects the consumer can pay for.
- Age: Consumer preferences for products may differ significantly among different age groups, and so do the media used in advertising and ad campaigns.
For instance, AARP’s marketing strategy is based on age-specific segmentation. For example, the branding targets people who are either at retirement age or who are in the pre-retirement stage. This is evident in marketing materials such as this Facebook post on “elderspeak.”
Demographic data are gathered through surveys, censuses and other the use of analytical tools.
Customer Journey Stages
“Customer Journey” is a term used to describe the “customer journey” refers to the various interactions customers have with the brand. The most common stages are awareness and consideration, purchase and even retention.
In order to target different stages of the customer’s journey, your marketing needs to address issues like:
- Awareness: What’s the name of this product?
- The question is: What should I invest in a car?
- Purchase Does this product work for me?
- Retention Why should I purchase again?
This kind of targeted advertising is successful because it provides the exact messages that consumers require, due to their prior knowledge of the product.
Let’s take electrolyte manufacturer Liquid IV as an example and examine how they produce content that targets the various phases of the customer’s journey:
- What is Liquid IV? The awareness content teaches prospective customers about the product’s pain points and presents the product as the solution.
- Why should someone purchase it? The content in this article helps consumers comprehend the advantages of a product.
- What’s the best product that’s right for me at this moment? Purchase content provides product information and social evidence.
- Why should I want to purchase it next time? Retention content promotes buying more products by sharing additional products and their uses.
Interests
The interests represent the hobbies and activities that consumers enjoy. Understanding the interests of your customers can help to identify motivations and behaviours and make your audience feel at ease in a an approachable manner.
One product could have multiple customers based on their preferences. Let’s consider bicycles as an illustration. Cyclist A may be attracted to racing bicycles. The customer is looking to burn off calories after work by riding long distances. The cyclist B can take a leisurely bike ride to work.
Understanding the customer’s needs in relation to your business is vital to reach the right customers.
Priority Bicycles serves the needs of cyclists B. It’s evident from the slogan of the company: “bicycles for everyday riders.” This policy makes it simple for cyclists to determine whether this business is suitable to serve their needs.
Subcultures
Subcultures are a representation of lifestyles, interests or identities that a portion of your customers are a part of. They’re like customer preferences however, a subculture is closely tied to the identity of the person.
People identify themselves based on their subcultures. Every group has its own desires and needs. For instance that not all parents are alike. Parents of adults are a distinct subculture as parents of toddlers.
Understanding the subcultures in your market can help you create marketing materials that are more effective and helps people feel included.
An actual instance of subculture-targeting could be Liquid Death, a canned water company. The company has been deeply rooted in the subculture of music from the beginning. It has kept that relationship with the industry through content on social media and aesthetics of the company, partnerships and other occasions.
Values
Individual values of consumers affect how they live and which brands they are loyal to. Customers who are aligned with the brand’s values tend to test an item, return to a purchase, and also recommend the product to friends and family. A few of these values are:
- Sustainability
- Transparency
- Social justice
- Accessibility
- Affordability
- Community
- Inclusion
- Diversity
These values aren’t simply a list of values They provide deep insight into how people perceive themselves and what they want to become.
Analyzing the customer’s values can assist in identifying industry trends. For instance, a desire in packaging that is plastic-free is an indication of the increasing awareness among people of the environmental impact of oceans and the landfills’ contribution to the problem.
Nuud deodorant is aware that its customers are concerned about the planet and the chemicals they put to treat their body. Nuud deodorant is in line with its the values of its customers through its plastic-free, natural vegan, cruelty-free, and vegan.
A tip A word of caution: This classification is not as simple than demographics as it is based on personal characteristics within the company that can be difficult to determine. You might want to consider conducting a survey of your customers or utilizing social listening tools to determine the values that are a part of your product.
How to Find Your Target Audience
Below are the five actions you could follow to determine and refine your intended audience.
1. Make use of HubSpot Analytics to learn more about your clients.
In the HubSpot State of Marketing report, only 35% of marketers have accurate information about their audience. The remaining 35% aren’t sure of their audience’s demographics.
HubSpot Analytics is an excellent tool to gather demographic information regarding your audience in real-time data on your marketing campaign’s effectiveness.
Traffic Analytics
This monitors your website’s performance as well as any other online assets. It offers metrics such as page views and bounce rates, unique visitors and duration of sessions.
You can also view the sources of traffic (organic direct, direct, referrals and social media, etc. ) This helps you identify which channels are generating the highest engagement.
Conversion Analytics
HubSpot lets you track how your landing pages as well as other tools for conversion are working. This includes information on lead conversions, lead submissions and the efficacy of various calls-to-action (CTAs).
It is also possible to analyze ways to convert your visitors and improve the steps visitors follow from the moment they arrive on your site until turning into leads and eventually becoming customers.
Campaign Analytics
You can easily measure the success of every campaign you’re running in HubSpot. This includes clicks, impressions sales, conversions and ROI. This allows you to determine which campaigns are most efficient.
Custom Reports
HubSpot lets you create customized reports to meet your specific requirements. You can combine various data points from different sales, marketing as well as service platform to produce complete reports that satisfy your specific business needs.
Pro tip If you’re not making use of HubSpot Analytics, then you could connect your site via Google Analytics to find demographic information on your intended group, such as their gender, age and interests, as well as their lifestyle as well as their nationality and.
2. Utilize data from websites to determine the interest of visitors.
Which websites are gaining the most shares, views and comments? Both the flourishing and struggling pages offer valuable insights into the behavior of users that you can take away.
Learn from the best performers. Are there common themes among the most popular websites? What are the users’ experiences with them? What is the time that users spend on the page and how much are they scrolling? After reading are they able to click around or sign up to become an email sign-up?
Pro tip: Use an intuitive bar or navigation that clearly showcases your most popular content, to make it easy for visitors to find these pages that are a hit.
Then, look at content that is not performing. Are there any themes among which pages receive the lowest amount of traffic? Are they accessible on the website or do they get lost? Do they have the right optimization for SEO? Could it be that pages that have low readability are in line with your target audience however, they aren’t being found?
I’ve discovered that many companies have high-quality content within archive blogs. If you come across old articles that haven’t been read, but they’re still relevant make sure you update them to improve search results.
3. Study social media data for more insight.
Social media channels gather a variety of data from your website. This could provide valuable information about demographics of customers as well as content preferences.
Examine two kinds of social media information:
- Demographics What is the location of customers’ homes? What are their ages?
- The preferences of content: What types of content do viewers most enjoy? What draws many new audiences? What’s effective as well and not working?
Each social media channel is unique and attracts a different audience therefore it’s crucial to examine your analytics across all social networks. Here’s an example of the information you can gain through Facebook Analytics:
Pro tip: Certain platforms, such as Facebook let you make use of detailed demographic data to define your audience and tailor your marketing strategies. You can modify your messaging, content and advertising strategies to meet the specific characteristics and preferences of various groups of people.
4. Engage with your social media fans.
Social media is an easily accessible, no-cost place for conducting market analysis. Engage with your target audience via polls, surveys and “ask us anything” questionnaires.
Utilize this excellent two-way channel to ask questions such as:
- How do they use your product?
- What is their most significant complaint about the issue you resolve?
- What is their frequency of utilize your product?
This can be conducted directly via social media platformsInstagram Stories is one of them. Instagram Stories is probably the most used platform. Alternately, you can design an official survey and ask your social media users to take part. Keep in mind that all engagement is beneficial, no matter if it’s positive or not.
Pro tip: Increase engagement by showing outcomes of the survey. This lets your followers know that their opinions are valued which increases the loyalty of your followers and also attracts new ones.
FlixBus Social media content was perfectly aligned with its target audience, namely budget-conscious travellers who appreciate a great bargain. As an individual customer, I am valued by their humor and survey.
5. Articulate your inverted audience.
The details of a targeted audience can be clearly seen when you describe who you’re not trying to reach. What kind of consumers would be an unsuitable match for your brand? What are you trying to disengage? This is also referred to as the negative persona.
Let’s take two different water brands to get an idea of. The first one comes Boxed Water, which targets those who are looking for health, the environment and the simplicity of it all.
Let’s look at comparing Boxed Water to Evian Water. Evian may describe its clients as being those who enjoy the best food, sports and events that are of a premium quality. The ability to view the Instagram feeds together can help sharpen the traits that make these brands distinctive.
Keep in mind this exercise of thinking in reverse when we review the examples below. I pulled five real-life audience examples, and then added different brands for each to make the target market easy to comprehend.
Target Audience Examples
Let’s review the concepts we’ve studied above and examine how they play out in the examples below.
1. Aldi
Aldi is a low-cost supermarket chain that is a favorite among those who are practical and value savings over fashion.
The way the company approaches target its audience is based on its focus on customer’s needs in the day-to-day. A majority of store is filled with staples, not numerous brand names and SKUs. A particular section (nicknamed”Aldi Finds”) “Aldi finds” section) is filled with random products that range from underwear to seasonal treats to decor for dorm rooms.
2. Duolingo
Duolingo is a learning language application that makes use of the power of humor and pop culture to attract Gen Z and millennials who are interested in the world of language learning.
Take a look at the Duolingo marketing channels. You may be thinking “What does any of this have to do with language learning?” The answer is not much.
Instead of presenting grammar techniques, the marketing is focused on making the brand a part in pop-culture. Learning to speak is usually rooted by a desire to understand the culture surrounding the language you’re studying. However, Duolingo recognizes that language learning for casual purposes is a change in the culture itself, moving from formal to enjoyable.
3. Dunkin’
This company’s comprehension of its customer base is evident even in its name. Dunkin’, previously Dunkin’ Donuts, went through an overhaul in the year the year 2018. It shifted towards a less sweet name and went with what its customer was most fond of coffee, which is helping you to get through your daily routine.
Dunkin’s approach to focusing on the audience is effective because they know how their customers interact with the product they offer: Dunkin’ knows that people love to grab a cup of coffee on the way to work.
4. Planet Fitness
Planet Fitness is a gym chain that advertises itself as an “Judgement Free Zone” for individuals of all fitness levels.
Their approach to focusing on the audience works because they recognize that their clients experience gym anxiety: fear of visiting the fitness center. It is usually caused by fear of judgement or a lack of knowledge regarding how to utilize the equipment.
5. Ben & Jerry’s
Ben & Jerry’s is an Ice cream brand that is a hit with those who are socially conscious and prefer to purchase from value-based brands.
The company has a strong position on issues of public concern even if those concerns have nothing to do with selling Ice cream.
The reason this value targeting works The reason is that one-off social justice campaigns are often ineffective or appear to be a performance. Ben and Jerry’s philosophy is successful because the brand has a long tradition of activism. In the end, the value-driven marketing messages have led to the brand’s reputation.
Your target audience should be identified as a professional.
People don’t want to see advertisements for products that they will never ever use. No company wants to invest money in those who aren’t worth it.
I hope these real-world examples of audience-targeting helped you to understand the hidden mechanisms that drive every brand’s interaction with its audience.
The steps I’ve outlined earlier can help you to not to be a slave to the mass market and focus on identifying your ideal clients.
Is it time to get started? Utilize the no-cost HubSpot Market Research Kit to aid you in digging deeper. Inside the kit, you’ll find an instruction guide, a SWOT Analysis template, survey template focus group templates and much many more.
