Market Research Series: Who
Marketing research is critical to the success of any marketing campaign or any entrepreneur who is looking to start or grow their business. Today we’ll look at the first step in conducting market research: the whos.
Let’s break it down. First, you need to understand your audience. Ask yourself the following questions:
Who is your product or service for?
What are their direct demographic categories?
Age
Education
Region
Occupation
Income
Lifestyle
Who else can benefit from your product or service?
Hootsuite’s article on audience research describes it perfectly: “Here’s a hint before we dig in: Your target audience is not ‘everyone.’ Your task in defining your target group is to identify and understand your particular niche so you can dominate it.”
You need to understand exactly who makes up your target audience so that you can reach them where they are and talk to them in a manner that is relevant to them. Personalizing messaging will be your key to success, and understanding who you’re personalizing for is the first step.
For existing businesses, compile your customer data and analyze it. Understand the majority versus the outliers for the demographics listed above. You can even group them by the content they have consumed. For example, those that only complete a purchase with a coupon or discount code, or those that only buy when shipping is free. These are rudimentary buyer personas, but they can help you take a large pool of buyers and split them up for a smaller group of “whos” that you can target with specific campaigns.
Define your target audience by specific product or service that you offer, and as a brand overall.
For new businesses, define who your product or service is directly for. Then arrange a time to meet with a few people who could benefit from your brand. Ask them specific questions that will help you refine your audience.
Would you recommend this to your friends/family?
How often would you buy this?
Do you know anyone who uses products/services like this one?
Understanding who has the problem that your product or service solves and defining them is the first step in the right direction. Who you’re selling to is step one in starting a business or a marketing campaign. Read the next post, Step 2: How to understand exactly what your audience is buying now or what they’re actually looking for.
