We all know that there is much more to a successful business than just having an awesome product or service. Not only do you need to know how to market it, you also need to know who you are actually marketing it to. It’s all well and good developing generic marketing strategies to appeal to the masses, but you will see a much larger ROI if you get really specific with this – it’s time to get niche!
Firstly, let’s hash out why discovering and connecting with your target market is so important for your business:
- Refine and improve your branding, voice + marketing – if your target market turns out to be a group of wealthy individuals interested in designer brands and high end products, they will be more likely to respond well to luxurious looking branding such as plush fonts, elegant imagery and logos and a formal use of language.
- Create relevant + interesting content – there’s no use sharing a recipe of your Nan’s apple pie that you had at the weekend if your target market are health conscious gym bunnies. By having your target market at the forefront of your mind when you are planning or creating content, it will help you remember what is relevant and interesting to THEM – not just you 😉 the number of businesses I see that make the mistake of posting something that THEY like rather than what their customers like is crazy! Make sure your content emulates their favourite things, inspires their hobbies, gives them tips for their lifestyle, agrees with their values, empathises with their worries and let your products or services be the solutions to their problems!
- Increase your following + engagement on social media – by ensuring that your content is relevant and interesting to your target market you will see an awesome positive growth in both your following and engagement on your socials. If your content appeals to them, they will engage with it, they’ll tell their friends and they’ll keep coming back for more. Simples.
- MAXIMISE YOUR SALES – if your audience can identify with you or feel understood by you then they will trust you and if they trust you then they are more likely to buy from you! This combined with on point branding + marketing, amazing socials content and an ever-growing audience = more dollars in the bank for you! Ultimately if you know who you are selling to you’ll know why they should be buying your product or service and how it’s going to benefit them and enrich their lives.
Now you know why this is all so important, let’s get to the juicy stuff… in an online world of literally BILLIONS of people – how the heck do you find the ones that you’re looking for? Who are they? Where are they hiding? And how do you connect with them!?
Find the group!
The first thing for you to figure out is to determine what needs your products or services fulfill and who will benefit from these. Perhaps you’ve designed a reusable water bottle that is made from a recycled material – this will benefit people that are conscious about their environment. Then have a think about what other core values your products or services offer and which demographic groups prioritise these values. Let’s say your eco-friendly water bottle also has a feature that makes it perfect for use while exercising – you’re now narrowing your audience even further and consequently looking for environmentally conscious, active individuals that like to exercise. Continue with this until you’ve exhausted all the different elements of your products and have a wonderfully refined audience.
It’s also important for you to draw from data that you already have. Analyse your followers demographics on social media and your customers details from your online store – where are they based? What gender or age are they? Try not to think of this process as excluding anyone, but instead keeping your marketing focused on the people who will make the most impact.
Get to know the individual!
So now you have the group, it’s time to turn them into an individual to really put yourself in their shoes and work out what makes them tick and how you are going to appeal to them.
I have put together a FREE worksheet to help you decipher exactly this! Enter your details below and I will zip this downloadable PDF straight to your inbox so you can finally master your target market and learn exactly how to connect with them.
Once you have filled out the worksheet, print it out and keep it handy as a reference point for all the future marketing materials and content that you’ll be creating. This way your ideal customer will always be right in front of you helping you to stay on track and relevant at ALL times!
As always if you have any questions, please get in touch!
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