Knowing who to target for your marketing campaigns is key to acquiring high-quality leads and maximizing your business’ conversion rate. Determining your target market is both an art and science in that it takes entrepreneurial guts and a logical approach to define. Here are four ways to do just that:
Social Media
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are the three biggest social media platforms used today. Find your target market by starting polls and surveys through these mediums. The answers you get from these tools can help you get a better understanding of your target demographics. Even just reading through the posts and comments of other users on a social media platform can help you gauge who your preferred user or customer is. Often, analytics for these social media sites explores the demographics of your followers.
Competitors
Other businesses in your industry are another free resource of information on who your target audience should be. Look at who your business competitors are serving. What customer age, gender, or income bracket do they target with their campaigns? If they have a physical store, visit it and observe the foot traffic that comes and goes. That being said, you shouldn’t limit your target audience based on who your competitors are serving, nor should you mimic their methods. Look for a niche market that they fail to serve, or identify any missing elements in their business plans that you could apply to your own strategy.
Products and Services
Look at your existing product or service line. How much does it cost? Are the colors, form factor, or features suited for younger or older audiences? For men or women? Trying to sell a $20,000 luxury watch to someone who makes minimum wage is simply not an efficient use of your marketing resources. While that’s an extreme example, it illustrates the need to carefully tailor your product and market. List the strengths of your offering and find a niche that will benefit most from those identified strengths.
Questions
Never underestimate traditional means of doing business. Sometimes, the simplest way to know who your ideal customer is is to ask them in person. Start with family members, friends, and coworkers. Then move on to people you meet at parks, groceries, or conferences for more data. Make sure to record age, gender, income bracket or occupation, and other key characteristics that can help you narrow down a niche.
Once you have a target market, listen to their feedback. You’ll want to keep them interested and engaged with your business. Use the information you learn from them to adapt your business model.