If your business isn’t seen by the right customers then they are not going to buy into it, no matter how much of a great idea it is, or how well it is branded and packaged.

So we asked Alice Broomhall – London-based market research consultant – to share her top tips for defining your target market. With 20+ years industry experience, Alice sure knows her stuff.

Knowing your target market is crucial

“I don’t have a target market, my business is relevant to everyone!” That’s fine, but the risk of aiming at too broad a market is that your business won’t stand out from the crowd. A target market is just that – a target – and other types of customers will always come to you if you are offering them something they need at the time.

Having a target market in mind will help you focus on where you want your business to go, and will ensure that you don’t waste time and money marketing your services to people that are less likely to be interested.

Get to know your target market

“But I don’t know who my target market is!” There are two things you need to do here:

1. Profile your existing customers

These people have chosen your company for a reason (if you are already in business). Either the product/service you offer meets a practical need that they have, or there is something about your business/branding /location etc that connects with them on a more emotional level.

Either way, you need to understand who your customers are so that you can find more people like them and grow your business.

2. Observe, observe, observe

Go out there and watch people in places/situations where they are likely to use a product/service like yours.

• Lurk in shops selling similar things. What sort of people are in there? What sort of people are actually buying rather than just looking?
• Search the internet. Who are your competitors aiming their websites at? Read reviews of your competitors – what can you glean about their customers’ lives/ demographics from this, and what complaints do they make that your business could learn from?
• Find events where people that might be interested in your business would go. Talk to as many people as you can or hand out paper questionnaires. Ask if they’d be interested in your business, and ask all the profiling questions you can. Watch and note down what these people are like so you can build up a portrait of your imaginary perfect customer.

Surveys are a great market research tool

A simple market research survey can give you a wealth of information that can be used to profile your customers and better target your product development and strategies to encourage more of your core customer types to come to your business.

Surveys can be carried out in many ways including via email using your own customer email lists, through social media, or using paper questionnaires if you have a physical ‘shop’ your customers come to.

Questions you should ask

Great questions to ask are: Age, gender, occupation, family situation, income, where they live, hobbies / interests, media consumption (favourite TV, websites, apps, magazines, newspapers etc.), other favourite relevant companies they use, how much they spend on relevant products / services, and other questions relevant to your particular business.

For example, a textile designer might ask how often customers change their sofa cushions to understand whether she should offer long lasting, more traditional cushion designs, or include a range of cheaper designs in seasonal prints.

Knowing your target market is essential for business growth

And it’s ok if your research doesn’t give you a conclusive answer as to who your target customer is. There may be more than one group of people that you need to target and you can plan you product development and marketing accordingly.

Or you may be able to define your own new target by looking at the profile of customers that spend the most money with you or use you most frequently – if you can market to more consumers like them, then you’re guaranteed business growth.

Alice Broomhall is a freelance market research consultant specialising in helping start-ups and small businesses understand their customers and develop their services. Before going solo she spent twelve years working for large, international market research agencies, covering everything from helping banks to develop new business banking services, to testing car insurance advertisements, to evaluating how parents choose toys for their children. She loves being out in the park with her two daughters and in her spare time likes to buy, and renovate, properties.

Need to spend some time getting to know your target market? Head to our Resources section to download our Customer Avatar template to profile your ideal customers and make better, more informed marketing decisions. And if you need some support filling out the template, you might find this target audience blog helpful.

Or of course, get in touch – we’d love to hear from you!

The post How to define your target market appeared first on Marketing Vision.

Not just the basic demographic information (age, gender, location etc). But the really important stuff that makes them tick.

What motivates them? What challenges do they face? What influences their purchasing decisions? What other products or services might they also be considering? What does their typical day look like?

Vital information to know if you want to reach your ideal customers with the right message, in the right place at the right time.

But how do you get started with really getting to know your target audience?

How to get to know your target audience

A great place to start is by creating a customer avatar – a fictional, detailed profile of your ideal customer that gives you clarity on their key characteristics.

Why is this so important? Because when you’re clear on who your customers are, any part of the marketing or sales process that reaches them will massively improve.

Investing time in creating a clear picture of your ideal customer will greatly help you:

1. Develop products or services that sell more easily (because they deliver on a genuine customer need)
2. Create engaging marketing messaging that resonates with your customers (and moves them to action – e.g. make a purchase, subscribe to your email list, sign up to a workshop etc)
3. Improve virtually every aspect of your marketing (and make you more money!)

Top Tip: You’ll likely need to create more than one customer avatar unless your product or service is particularly niche. As a guide, creating two or three distinct avatars is fairly typical.

Developing a customer avatar will give you clarity on your ideal customers

The 5 things you need to know about your customers

Understanding your ideal customer will influence your content marketing strategy, social media activity, copywriting, promotional campaigns, pricing strategies and more.

There are five core things you need to know about them:

1. Goals and values:

You need to understand what your ideal customer is trying to achieve. And what he or she really values. This underpins motivation and what shapes their purchasing decisions (make a note of those that are relevant to your products or services).

Example: A busy mum is looking for lunchbox snack ideas for her school-age children but is unhappy with what she’s seen in the supermarkets. What is she actually trying to achieve? She’s likely looking for a healthy (and filling) snack that her kids will love, so that she knows they’ve eaten well at school and will concentrate on their lessons post-lunch. Her values? This mum values her children’s health and education.

A savvy brand will weave these insights into their marketing communications and be sure to connect with the mum in a way that is aligned with her goals and values (So for example, will talk to health/well-being and high-quality  ingredients that taste great, rather than to price).

2. Where they seek information and entertainment:

Consider where your ideal customer goes to for information and entertainment. Which books do they read? Magazines? Blogs? News sources? Which social media platforms are they on (if any)?

Understanding where your ideal customers are seeking information (essentially where they hang out) will influence your content marketing strategy, choice of social media platform(s), advertising decisions and more.

3. Core demographics:

Delving into demographic information helps bring your customer avatar to life. Start by jotting down the basics – their age, gender, marital status, job and location. You might also like to think about whether they have children (and if so, their ages) – as this can often have a huge impact on their motivations and decision-making process.

Being able to visualise your ideal customers (literally, imagine them sitting across the table from you!) is hugely beneficial when it comes to developing your products or services, making decisions about the wording you’ll use in your marketing campaigns, and so much more.

4. Frustrations and pain points:

Unlocking customer frustrations and pain points – really getting inside their head – will impact pretty much all of your marketing efforts.

You can use these insights to:

• Create products or services that truly provide solutions to your customer’s challenges and pain points (add value to their lives)
• Ensure that you use language that addresses their challenges and pain points in your marketing communications and show that you ‘get’ them (compel them to action)

5. Reasons not to buy:

Why might your ideal customer choose not to purchase your products or services? Typical objections (and questions for you to consider) are:

• “I can get it cheaper elsewhere” (but is it the same quality?)
• “I can’t afford it right now” (are they waiting for pay day?)
• “I can teach myself how to do that” (but will they actually put it into action?)
• “I’m confused by the number of options available” (can you help them narrow it down?)
• “I haven’t got time” (is it a priority for them just now?)

By addressing these objections upfront in your marketing copy, you’ll be able to position your offering in the best possible way.

And if they still don’t buy from you? They likely don’t fit your customer avatar (and you shouldn’t worry about it!). Instead focus on delighting those who do, and you will flourish.

Need help developing your customer avatar?

We love working with our small business clients to help them unlock the opportunities that come from really understanding their customers!

Here’s what meditation expert Laura Coleman said about her 1-2-1 consultation with Marketing Vision:

I was looking to get more clarity on who my ideal customer is for my business Be.Modern Meditation. Paula helped me drill down and understand my customer avatar and also gave me the tools to revisit and understand it. Her knowledge and expertise is really varied and wide ranging, and I gained a lot from our session. She asked helpful clarifying questions and I came away with a clear and actionable plan. Beyond our session she has been so engaged and supportive of me and my business. She regularly sends me helpful hints or leads to follow up. Get her on your team – she’s small business gold!

We helped Laura understand her ideal customers & develop a clear plan of action

Need to get to know your target customers better? Head to our Resources section to download our Customer Avatar template. Spend some quality time profiling your ideal customers and you’ll be on your way to making better, more informed marketing decisions.

Get in touch!

If you’d like to have a chat about how we can help you improve your marketing by getting to know your customers, get in touch! We’d love to hear from you.

Or get involved in the conversation over on Instagram. Join our growing Instagram community for our latest marketing news, tips and small business inspiration!

The post 5 things you need to know about your target audience appeared first on Marketing Vision.