A Comprehensive Guide On Target Audience Analysis In Business

Tweaking target audiences is a large part of the job for any marketer. With the analysis of target audience, it's important to understand who you are targeting before moving on to strategies and tactics. Read on to learn more about the in-depth understanding of target audience analysis. What is Target Audience The target market is a microcosm of your entire business; all the different people that make up your company. It may be customers, employees, or opinion leaders of some sort in your industry or niche. Identify your target audiences by answering the following questions; if you can answer them easily enough then this is a great exercise that will help guide how you target all of your other target markets.

Who are others targeting?
Why do they want to reach those people?
How does my company compare to theirs concerning positioning and messaging?
What words are used in connection with these people?

Identify target market segments by focusing on target audience groups, target messaging strategies, and target tactics to reach them. By answering the questions above you are outlining your target to align them with the core value of your business! Now let’s get into how to do target audience analysis. How Do You Know if You Are Targeting the RIGHT Audience? If you can't answer these questions easily enough then you probably aren't targeting the right audience effectively; meaning, someone else is getting those customers/clients instead of you! Next time when a marketing communication strategy or tactic comes your way, ask some more questions:

What message am I trying to send?
Who will it be sent to?
Why should I try to reach this person specifically?
How is my positioning different from all of the others out there trying to target this specific group (one target audience)?
When you focus on a group the target audience analysis will help you reach them like never before.

Surveys can be used as part of the analysis of target audience research study conducted before a marketing communication campaign launch. The data will help to measure the key target market's emotional responses toward the content and creative elements applied through your target audience. By measuring the audience's responses and using those insights in marketing communications, marketers can optimize their business communications plans and avoid wasting time and resources on ineffective communications. How Do I Find My Target Audience? There's always someone out there who has already found your target audiences; they're called competitors! If you aren't paying attention to what competitors are doing in their marketing communications then you probably shouldn't be in business. Always ask yourself:

What is my competitor saying about themselves or their products/services?
Who are they trying to attract with those words?
What tactics and strategies are they using to attract new target market segments (target audiences)?
Why should I care what they think?

They've already done the work for us! So instead of working harder at finding target audiences in your target market, do some analysis of target audience on the strategies of your competitors! Methods of Finding Target Audience There are four ways you can find your target audience. You can find out through customer’s profile, competitor’s profile, research, and analytical processes. Find Your Target Audience Through Customer Profiles In addition to understanding where target audiences are in terms of demographics, psychographics, and behaviors; you can also find out what they are looking for from a company like yours. This is called target Audience Analysis through customer profiles. For example, do current customers have similar experiences with products or services offered? If so then how did they buy them? (through advertising, direct mail, in-person sales rep) By studying your target customer's buying behavior you will begin to understand their needs more clearly which gives you a better idea about how best to meet those needs going forward. Consider target audience analysis to determine target market segments and target messaging strategies. These will help you craft a consistent tone of message among your marketing communications. Find Your Target Audience Through Competitor Profiles In addition to understanding where target audiences are from their personal or business profile; you can also find out what they are looking for from a company like yours. This is called target Audience Analysis through competitor profiles. For example, do competitors' customers have similar experiences with products or services offered? If so then how did they buy them, (through advertising, direct mail, in-person sales rep) By studying your target customer's buying behavior from the competitors you will clearly understand the advantages of your competitors more clearly which gives you a better idea about how to outrank those advantage points. Find Your Target Audience Through Research Marketing campaigns are getting data-driven more as the research methods are getting more intricate. The more data you have on your target group the understanding will be much more comprehensive before you choose any business communication strategy.

Customer, and
Non-Customer target audiences (sometimes referred to as "prospects").

Customer target audiences include current clients that have purchased from you previously, while non-customer target audiences are people that have not yet purchased your products or services. Generate Lists of Target Audience Group Make a list of all the target groups you think you need to target. You may want to generate more than one target audience per category for different approaches during different times of the year, etc. For example, create separate target audiences for each product type or service offered by your company and then further customize those target audiences based on industry verticals (age, marital status, geographic location/city, etc.). Prioritize Target Audiences Once you've got a solid list of target audiences created, it's time to prioritize them via strategies and tactics. You must understand what order in which target audiences need to be prioritized to target them fully. This will also help you decide which target audiences are worth targeting at all. Use the Right Words A target market is NOT just a target audience! If you use the target market, I'll slap you on the wrist (and no one wants that and to be told how to do target audience analysis). The target market is basically your company and everyone else who may potentially purchase your products or services; meaning both customer and non-customer target audiences. Similarly, the target audience is not just someone that is interested in purchasing from me; it's all of the people towards whom I am communicating my marketing communications messages. Get it? Good! What Are You Trying to Say? Before any marketing communication strategy or tactic can be executed, target audiences must first be understood. By clearly defining target audiences, you are proactively positioning your company to communicate with the target audience in mind. To effectively understand target audiences, create a one-sentence message that describes who you are and what you have to offer them (this is called a positioning statement). This is important because target audience analysis will then lead into target messaging strategies and tactics so every word of communication (your marketing communications) will land on target; hence the name target Audience Analysis! Find Your Personal Target While working as an executive assistant for a medical center CEO many years ago, I quickly learned about inside target market advertising from the best boss I've ever had. He said he needed to target his target audience in every way possible. He wanted to know their likes, dislikes, what they liked to read and watch on television (so he could target advertising appropriately). If I was going to target any target market, he said, it should be my target market - me! Conclusion A handful of dos and don’ts won’t cover the enormous prospect of the analysis of the target audience for the business. However, at least you will get an idea of where to start from. We are not claiming this single guide will fulfill your pre-business communication needs, but one thing we can guarantee-this guide is comprehensive and complete enough for any marketers to step into the target audience’s mind. Originally posted in: https://dropshipusa.io/blogs/news/comprehensive-guide-on-target-audience-analysis-in-business