The way in which your business broadcasts its marketing messages is crucial, you have to get it right if you want people to be interested in your business. Blasting out messages with the same content to different audiences simply won’t have the desired effect. Yes, if you throw enough spaghetti at the wall, some of it’s bound to stick, but that’s no way to build a loyal and long standing customer base.
Businesses need to consider the state of mind of the people they are trying to influence if they are to win and retain customers. You also need to put yourself in your customers’ shoes – what would make you come back and purchase from a business again? Have they had a good enough experience of your company to come back and purchase regularly?
It’s also key to know about the individual that will actually be purchasing from your business. Is it the office admin assistant? The procurement manager? Or even the CFO? When you know who you’re trying to communicate with, you can tailor your messages accordingly. Tell them what they want to hear!
Creating a Buyer Persona
This is a profile of your ‘typical’ customer. You can get this information from surveys and telephone interviews. Speak to a sample of your customers and collect as much data as possible about them; gender, age, interests, job title, location – anything that could help you put together an accurate portrayal of your typical customer.
You can use this information to make sure your marketing messages are hitting the right notes with your audience.
Use Tools to Target the Right Audience
Marketing tools are getting far more advanced. For example with paid social campaigns you can now target specific demographics based on their behaviour, likes and locations, and also target the followers of similar businesses to yours. This will ensure your messages are being seen by those most likely to respond. Try to apply this rationale in all of your marketing activity and you’ll be targeting more of the right people.
Do your research!
To know how to target potential customers, firstly you need to find out where exactly they hang out (in a non-creepy way!) If you know what websites they frequent, what social channels they use and their preferred method of shopping, you can make your business visible in the right places. Always check how your competitors are communicating. It’s good to keep track of their activity – not only to make sure you’re one step ahead but to spot opportunities and sometimes, dare I say it, get inspiration!
Don’t limit your efforts
The concept of tailoring your marketing can also be applied to the products and content that are available on your website. Once you’ve done your customer research, make the shopping experience as relevant and informative as possible. This will give your business the best chance of converting enquiries into customers. For example, resource information of use to your customers will encourage them to stick around.
Put in the time when doing your initial research. Although you may want to rush into marketing your business to as many people as possible, it will be more beneficial in the long run to communicate to a targeted audience who’ll be more likely to react positively to your marketing messages. A personal approach is always best.
