Marketing is tricky. There’s just no other way to put it. Technology is changing rapidly and what works today to reach your target audience, may not work tomorrow. SEO is key. Keywords, are, well, key. DESIGN of whatever it is you’re marketing, is key. With all these things to consider, marketing can seem like a futile task. It can be, IF you don’t have the right tools to work with. This post is going to focus on things you should be considering when marketing to your target audience.

I hate being sold to. I hate going into a store, whether they sell cars or furniture, and being descended upon like fresh road kill. I think the majority of folks feel the same way. For me, I’ve always preferred the soft sell – either subtly persuading a client or being persuaded to make a purchase. However, if I don’t realize that I’m being sold to – if the approach is so subtle or the design of the marketing is “targeted” to me, I don’t feel like I’m being pressured to commit to a purchase.

In this day and age, there’s really no sense in cramming your poorly designed offer in your customer’s face, since they’ve probably already made their decision before walking into a brick and mortar store. Sadly, some advertisers (and businesses) still use the “birdshot” method of marketing – by throwing everything at the wall, hoping something will stick.

What’s more, there are still some businesses that have no idea who or what their target market is. How can you possibly market effectively without knowing who you are marketing your product or service to? How can you expect that your marketing will resonate with the people that you want to buy your products or services? You can’t. And, that’s a problem.

I think by now, you get my point – however, how do you go about creating a design (or having someone create the design for you) that is optimized for your target market? Here are some basic steps to get you started:

1. Think About Who Your Ideal Customer Is

Think about who your ideal customer is – what do they look like? What’s their social status? What does their income look like? What are they interested in? Do they like the hard sell or they more likely to buy after being gently persuaded? Knowing the answers to these questions can give you a better insight into how to market to them. For instance, if your ideal customer is in their mid-forties, of modest income and social status, you might choose a middle of the road approach to your design, by being not too conservative, but not to radical either.  Conversely, if your target market is geared more for teens and young adults, edgy and fun is probably the way to go with your design theme.

2. Personalize The Design To Your Target Customer

There are a variety of options out there that allow you to personalize your message to your target audience. It may be as simple as adding the customer’s name to the mail piece or retargeting them based on searches or website visits. While this approach can be viewed as “creepy” and a little weird, it works. People think that messages that are geared especially for them as being more favorable than those that do not. Adding the personal touch can mean the difference between a potential customer and a missed opportunity.

3. Present Your Products/Services Attractively

This kind of goes without saying, however, if your products and/or services are presented neatly, professionally, and attractively, your reputation as a serious retailer or service provider could be jeopardized. Make sure that your products are photographed and accurately depict what the customer will receive – if they are online pictures, make the resolution great enough that they can determine detail, if necessary. DO NOT use stock photography for your company’s products. If you offer services, make sure they are accurately represented – use only that photography that the representative of your target audience using or benefitting from that service. Ideally, you want to show or tell your customers, whether you are offering products or services, how they will benefit from your products/services, even more than the features of the product. While the features are important, the sale is going to be determined by the perceived benefit by the customer.

4. Think About How Best You Can Reach them

The best design is completely ineffective if you haven’t chosen an appropriate medium of reaching your target market. With the wide range of platforms and methods around to publicize your message, make sure you choose the most effective medium for reaching your ideal customers, especially before you spend any amount of money on advertising. For example, forty-somethings are less likely to be best reached by text and more likely be effectively marketed to by email and social media.  Be aware of your options for advertising and use your marketing dollars wisely and they will help generate a positive ROI.

5. Think About How You Will Track Your Sales

So, if you’ve figured out who your target market is, how you’re going to present your products/services and how you’re going to reach them. That’s it, right? Wrong. All of this is no good if you have no way to track how well your marketing works. Tracking can be as simple as having the customer redeem a code, or, it can be online analytics that deliver more information about the customer’s behavior while on your website, how many clicks it took for the sale, etc. Data is useless by itself. It needs to be analyzed, reviewed and acted upon to change or continue a certain marketing campaign. To really get the best online results, consider using landing pages.

So, there you have it – the beginnings to a targeted marketing campaign. The keys to this are really in knowing your target audience. Use these basic steps to effectively market to your target audience and you can’t go wrong. For more information or for help with your marketing efforts, reach out to us, we’ll be glad to help.