A Few Practical Ways to Find and Define Your Target Audience
A few weeks ago, I was walking a client — a local wedding and private event venue — through their brand strategy. When I asked them to describe their ideal customer, the answer was unanimously, “everyone.” I couldn’t hide my smirk because, as I’ve written before, that’s almost never the case. However, I’ve heard some version of this answer more times than I can count. It’s not exactly wrong, but it’s also not very useful.
“Who really cares?” I continued to press the board members in my office. Was it local residents? Connecticut? New England? Who rents the space the most? Was it young couples? More likely, I suggested, it’s the bride-to-be and her mother. Aren’t they the ones that so often make the final decision? About this time in the conversation, heads began to nod. "Then that’s who we should be talking to,” I explained.
In my last post, I made the case for why narrowing your target audience is one of the smartest things a brand can do. A defined audience sharpens your visual identity, tightens your message, and protects from the brand dissonance that makes businesses forgettable. If you missed it, give it a read first, as it sets the stage for what I’m about to share. The tricky question, for most businesses, is how to figure out who loves them. It’s not always obvious and data mining can take time, money, and resources. So, here’s two approaches that most of our clients find useful without having to break the bank.
Who’s Already in the Room?
Great news, your competitors have most likely done some of the audience research for you. Or all of it. Take a close look at the brands in your space, especially the ones that have good market share. Who are they talking to on social media? Read their online reviews and notice the tone of voice they use to respond. Make a few notes about the people who are engaging with enthusiasm.
Competitive research and social listening isn’t about copying your competition. It’s really about brand recognition. If the same type of person keeps showing up across multiple brands in your category, that’s important intelligence. Pay attention to it. Next, ask yourself and your colleagues if that’s the audience that’s appropriate for your brand. Or, is there an opportunity to look at another audience segment? Sometimes the most valuable discovery in competitive research isn’t who your rivals are targeting, it’s who they’re ignoring.
For my hospitality client, a quick review of three competitors revealed a consistent focus on affluent couples. This made sense for these venues, because their locations were in high-income areas. Our clients, on the other hand, could potentially reach more local and middle-income families. This observation became the foundation of the audience strategy and, eventually, their brand identity.
Create a Real Customer Personal
First, let’s clear something up. A stock photo with a made-up name and a bullet list of demographics that nobody references is not a customer or audience persona. If you’ve ever taken a marketing class, you’ve likely encountered this approach. But even in a professional environment — if your experience is anything like mine — you’ve probably witnessed how quickly personas can become an afterthought.
Done right, a persona is a powerful point of reference. The challenge is to uncover more than vanity metrics. Age, income, and location matter, but they don’t tell you how someone makes purchasing decisions. What does your ideal customer worry about? What do they aspire to? Where do they spend their time online and off? What would make them trust a brand they’ve never heard of?
If you have existing customers, talk to a few of them. I’m not recommending to send out a survey. Have an actual conversation. Ask them why they chose you. Ask what almost stopped them. Ask what they’d tell a friend about your product. The language people use when they describe a brand they love is gold. Use this information to develop a persona that reflects reality.
If your brand is just getting started and customers don’t exist, you can still build a useful persona. Start with a few assumptions based on the problem you’re solving. Who is most likely to share similar pain points? Treat your current persona as a hypothesis to test and refine over time. Customers, and their personas, are constantly changing. Even for the biggest brands, it’s common practice to revisit and refine target audiences as the business evolves and, hopefully, grows.
Keep Asking, "Who Really Cares?"
Defining your audience doesn’t have to be a large research initiative. It starts with paying attention to competitors and customers. When you ask the right questions, you’ll start to notice to patterns emerge. Rest assured, though, your first persona won’t be perfect. And, your competitive analysis won’t bring new customers. But both practices will give you something infinitely more useful than “local residents between 25 and 65.” Cast a wide net at first, and then work to get more specific. The goal isn’t to find everyone who might buy from you. It’s to find the people who are most likely to love what you do, and to build your brand around them.
To help get you started, we created a helpful Audience Persona Worksheet. Download it below, and fill it out for multiple audiences. Then, reference it whenever you’re about to create any brand communications. When you’re ready to evolve or elevate your brand identity, schedule a call with us.
