The target audience consists of those who have already formed or expressed interest in the product by planning or making a purchase, and those who are only interested in related topics and may add to the list of customers in the future.
One of the main concepts of marketing activities is the portrait of the client. Without a clear understanding of the characteristics of the ideal potential buyer, it is almost impossible to create a serious marketing strategy. Thus, it will not work to build a full-fledged relationship with a client or conduct an effective marketing campaign.
But how to make a portrait of the target audience correctly? We will give an answer to this question in this article.
Determining the portrait of the target audience
The portrait of the target audience is a combination of characteristics of different segments of potential customers. To compile a high-quality portrait, it is necessary to detail the parameters of each consumer group as much as possible.
If you sell scooters and bicycles online, then among your customers may be parents of toddlers and teenagers, active and athletic people, lovers of extreme mountain descents, hiking and traveling, managers who get to the office by bike or scooter.
Why do we need a portrait of the target audience?
The ideal client is the one who gets the most out of your business. It is under his interests that both the advertising campaign and the activity in general are sharpened.
Information! Misunderstanding the characteristics of your audience can lead to inefficient spending of the advertising budget or even the failure of the entire business.
There are no broken ads. Any visual information causes any reaction – from “complete nonsense” to “I need to tell my husband” and “I want to!”. And the number of options is endless.
But there is also a bad scenario, when advertising leaves the consumer indifferent or annoys him. The reason for the low efficiency is that some of those to whom the advertising message is addressed do not associate themselves with the participants in the video or ad. They do not take such marketing information personally, subconsciously filtering it out.
The number of such ineffective marketing contacts must be minimized, which requires a portrait of the target audience. The more accurately and in more detail the characteristics of a potential client are described, the more targeted the hit will be.
Important! Those entrepreneurs who clearly understand all stages of decision-making by target buyers have the most clear strategy for promoting their product.
How to make a portrait of the target audience?
Parameters such as age and location are mandatory if you want to build a portrait of the target audience, but these characteristics alone will not be enough. To get the most complete description of potential customer segments, answer the questions below.
Why does the audience need the product?
The analysis begins with identifying the needs that the product satisfies. For example, the need to protect your smartphone from damage can be met by purchasing a shockproof case.
You need to understand that the client will come to the page of the online store not so much for a case, but for the peace of mind that he provides by protecting his iPhone. That is why the message “the case will provide reliable protection for the smartphone” will work better than “the case will decorate the iPhone.”
Who specifically requires the product?
In the case example, the direct target audience of the product is the owner of an Apple smartphone. It is important not to miss that such devices are most often used by those who have a high level of income.
Photography and image processing is a common hobby among them. Armed with such conclusions, one can find interesting platforms for targeted advertising.
Where to look for the target audience?
For the most effective promotion of a product and a website, it is necessary to determine the space of vital interests of the target audience.
The potential buyers in the case example are more likely to use social media on a regular basis. Information resources and specialized forums also serve as a platform for communication for this segment of consumers.
Advice! It is necessary to analyze all options and choose the best one for marketing activities.
What problems does the consumer have?
The owner of the iPhone has a need to protect the gadget from damage. The issue is that standard bumpers are not suitable for this.
Attention! The concepts of “problem” and “need” should not be confused – they are not equivalent.
A correct understanding of the essence of the concern makes it possible to create an advertising message that hits a specific target. Thus, you will let know that you share the difficulty of a potential buyer and have an idea how to get rid of it.
Don’t forget about segmentation. It is important not to miss the opportunity to select the target audience, taking into account the promotion goals. This will help attract those who have not previously ordered your product. Sometimes it even turns out to lure regular customers from competing stores to your side – that’s why it’s so critical to segment the target audience.
Methods for creating a portrait of the target audience
You can begin segmentation after completing the stage of studying information about potential consumers, when you have already created a portrait of the target audience. This will allow us to offer products with different characteristics to customers from different groups that best suit their needs.
Segmentation is carried out in several ways. Consider the main methods of drawing up a portrait of the target audience:
Five Question Methods (or 5W)
The 5W methodology by Mark Sherrington is based on five questions. The answers to them are entered in a special table for clarity.
“What?” – what kind of offer (type of product) does the buyer receive?
“Who?” — who are the clients of the business?
“Why?” — why is it necessary to buy from you?
“When?” – when (at what time) is the product in demand by customers?
“Where?” — where exactly is it convenient for the buyer to purchase the product?
After getting the most detailed answers to the proposed questions, you will create a customer avatar and determine the best way to sell your products to him.
Method from result
The main focus of this method is the end result. Foremost, you need to understand what benefit the buyer will receive by concluding a deal. Next, you can describe the path along which a person will achieve the desired result.
Next, you should find out the needs that make him go this route. And the last step is to analyze the target audience to determine the segment in which these needs are most likely to arise.
As a result, several groups of target audience should be formed. Using this data, run a test campaign targeting individual segments and evaluate the correctness of the hypothesis.
Method from product features
If any non-standard characteristics distinguish a product from similar ones, you should start from them when searching for a target audience. To determine the target audience, follow these steps:
Choose a few competitors’ products, evaluate them and compare them with yours;
Organize a survey to identify the characteristics and needs of existing customers;
Conduct a brief analysis of your product: pros and cons, advertising opportunities and potential threats;
Divide all customers into 3 subgroups: already buying goods, potential buyers and those who are definitely not interested in the product;
Create a plan of marketing activities to attract the attention of a potential audience.
It remains only to test your hypotheses and observe the reaction to the product.
Method of determining target audience from the market
The method is based on taking into account the current state of the market.
The action plan is:
Market analysis, search for open statistical data or ordering a comprehensive report from a company specializing in this activity;
Conduct a survey among current and potential buyers;
Research competitors: their USPs and product features;
Creating a preliminary portrait of the client;
Hypothesis testing.
Important! Regardless of the chosen method of creating a portrait of the target audience, do not forget about testing. No conclusions can be called genuine until they are tested in practice.
An example of a portrait of the target audience for a children’s store
An example of a portrait of the target audience of a retail store for children’s goods.
General level:
The core of the target audience are women aged 35-45 (a wider segment is 25-55) with an average and low income, living in small towns and raising at least one child no older than seven.
They value consistency, practicality, and expediency. Their choice is always rational and based on reviews and recommendations, as they do not have the financial opportunity to make impulsive purchases. The opinion of the inner circle is crucial. Affected by advertising.
Product category level:
They visit the store no more than once a month and only when necessary: buying clothes for a child, replacing furniture in a nursery, or a gift if there is a good reason. They do not like to waste time on long trips, so they choose convenience stores and prefer to buy everything in one place.
Always keep track of promotions and discounts, compare prices across multiple outlets, and read reviews before buying a particular product. Potential risk and uncertainty do not allow them to place orders via the Internet – the goods must be seen, touched, tried on.
Products that are unsuitable for any reason are returned or exchanged immediately. The average bill for the purchase of toys is no more than 800 hryvnias, for the purchase of clothes – 2,000 hryvnias, and for the order of bulky goods – 3,000 hryvnias. They prefer stores with affordable prices, a good selection of well-known brands and sincere attitude of sellers.
Brand level:
Shopping at a particular store just because it’s more convenient, and not a true shopkeeper. If prices or assortment cease to satisfy them, they will immediately go to competitors.
Do not discuss the store with friends. They consider it important that sellers recognize them, remember their preferences and recommend the right products. This saves shopping time.
