Who Are My Target Audience?
You’ve got a fantastic idea for a business that will really set you apart from all of the other competitors in your sector, now it’s time to consider your audience.
Not all customers and prospects are created equally so it’s absolutely crucial that you identify your target audience as soon as possible. The next step is to figure out how to actually go about targeting these customers.
It all comes down to the branding of a company and the brand strategy that you choose to adopt.
It’s Not a Business Problem, it’s a Clarity Problem
All of the stress and additional tasks that come alongside building a business means that it is often too easy to lose focus of what you want your company to achieve. This is equally true when it comes to the branding of a company.
If you’re struggling to attract your ideal customers and clients then it’s probably not an issue with your business. Instead, it’s likely to be a clarity problem.
The reality is that you probably have a to do list that feels absolutely never ending. It’s likely that you’re under a lot of pressure trying to secure investment and growth for your business, so it can be easy to lose sight of your goals.
In your rush to find new customers for your business, it can be tempting to just target any potential prospect that you come across, regardless of whether they’re a good fit for your company or not.
This is often the core issue that causes many new start-ups to fail. It doesn’t matter how good the branding of a company is, if you’re not targeting the correct people then you’re wasting time and energy.
Identify Your Core Customer
There’s no point creating a target audience if you don’t yet know the kind of customers who will guarantee success for your business in the future.
To begin with you need to identify the pain points and problems that your business is aiming to solve. The next step is to do some research into the types of customer that could benefit from having access to your product or service.
Is there a strong demand for your product? Identify the kinds of people who could benefit from what your business has to offer. This information can then be used to inform the branding of a company.
Another really important step is to carry out competitor analysis. Your competition may already be established in which case they’ve already got a fantastic customer base that you can use as a comparison to build your own target audience.
Create Customer Avatars
There are some occasions when having a broad overview is best. That’s not the case for your customers.
It’s not enough for you to just target ‘homeowners’, or ‘small business owners’, you need to delve deeper into what your target customer actually looks like.
One way to do this is through the creation of customer avatars. To create a customer avatar, start by asking yourself who your dream customers would be. What do they look like and what defining characteristics do they have? Would you want to hang out with them outside of your business?
It’s up to you whether this customer avatar is just a written outline, or whether you create a visual representation of them instead. Many businesses assign their customer avatars names and images in order to make selling to them feel more personable.
When it comes to the branding of a company, creating this visual representation can be the difference between advertising, marketing and content that is highly effective or not.
Analysis is Key
The final step to identifying a target audience and incorporating it into the branding of a company is to carry out ongoing analysis.
It’s not enough to create your target audience and customer avatars once, it needs to be something that’s reviewed and adapted on a regular basis. Target audiences can change based on your company’s evolution and needs, so it’s vitally important that you keep up to date.
Incorporating any changes into the branding of a company is also absolutely crucial. Remember that there’s no point in carrying out this ongoing analysis if it isn’t reflected in your company branding.