They’re just not that into you:
Choosing the right target audience

Identifying Your Target Audience

Does it seem like you have a great product or service, but you just can’t seem to break through to the customers you want to reach? Are your promotional tactics under the microscope? (“Maybe I need to pour more money into ads.” “Perhaps I need social media.” “Possibly I should hire a PR agency to get the word out to a wider audience.”) Do you find yourself asking, “Why are they just not that into me?”

Well, if you’ve got a good product or service, maybe you’re just barking up the wrong tree. No matter how great your offering, if you’re promoting to the wrong audience, you’ll never get anywhere. And, this isn’t a problem that only small companies or startups face; Corporations have the same issue, but often don’t discover it because it’s buried under a steaming heap of statistics and reports.

Take a moment to measure your approach to targeting your audience against these basic points below. Are you pursuing the right target?

  • “Everyone” is not the correct answer to “Who is your target audience”
    Knowing who your audience is NOT is key to knowing who your audience is. Just because someone can, might or should use your offering, doesn’t mean they will. Identify those for whom your product or service satisfies an unmet need.
  • Identify who benefits
    Of that pool for whom your offering satisfies an unmet need, clearly define how likely they are to really want a solution. For example, you may have a new light bulb technology that means the bulb never needs changing. Who is the target audience? Municipal workers whose every working hour is spent replacing those bulbs? No. They don’t want such a labor saving device—it would put them out of work. So who benefits? Managers charged with reducing municipal department budgets? More than likely. Solving a problem isn’t the same as meeting an unmet need.
  • Bigger isn’t better
    While it may seem a wider audience gives you a better shot at sales, you will have a much high ROI (return on investment) by identifying and effectively reaching a much narrower, well-chosen customer base. More consistently getting in front of those who are interested in hearing your message brings success. Squandering your marketing dollars over a broad and unqualified market segment diminishes your effectiveness and dissipates the strength of your message.

Once you have whittled the audience down to the right target group and enticed them with a well-honed message, they’ll be like hungry dogs chasing a meat truck. Your customers will be very “into” you. They will be trying to catch you, rather than the other way round.

Do you need help building your brand? Contact ALLE.