How to Find and Identify your Company's Target Audience

Are you starting a business? If so, you will need to be able to identify your target audience. But, how can we identify this potential clientele and why exactly take the time to do it?

How to identify your business's target audience

In order to target the category of consumers you want to join, focus on the following by studying the profile of your consumers as well as conducting market research:

• Age or more precisely, the age category;
• The level of education (post-secondary or non-post secondary education);
• Job;
• Family situation;
• Number of children in the household, or number of individuals in the household;
• Type of household;
• Marital status (common law, married etc);
• Annual Income;
• Pastimes;
• The method of purchase (impulsive or reflected);
• The best time to get in contact with the potential customer;
• The ideal way to reach them (phone, email, social network, etc).

This information will help you get a better idea of the typical profile of a consumer that is a part of your company's target market. With this data in hand, you will gain more power as a company and your marketing strategies will yield better results.

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Now, you know who is buying!

Following the collection of this information, you will be able to determine the expectations of your target audience and the nature of their daily habits in terms of consumption. How can you meet these expectations and how will you provide your customers with a quick way to get the product or services that they desire? Since the purpose of your ambitions as well as your business is to generate as much income as possible, you must focus all your attention on the buyer.

Another question of interest in your target audience analysis would be this: how much is your client willing to pay? Of course, your service offer will have to be adapted to the financial means of your target audience. Otherwise, your efforts will be wasted. In addition, the time when your customers tend to make purchases will be of importance. Choosing the wrong time or period to publish could mean that the offer will go unnoticed.

Do you have the characteristics of your target audience’s buyer profile?

Identify a marketing strategy for your client

With all of this information, you should now be in a position to identify your typical client.  Depending on this, you will be able to develop an effective marketing strategy. Since a website is the cornerstone of any good marketing strategy, the information you collect will be used to determine the textual as well as the visual content. Then, the aesthetical aspects of your site, as well as its configuration, will need to be determined.

Indeed, the way that your website's elements are laid out, as well as colours, images and vocabulary are all aspects that can vary depending on the type of public we are addressing. Therefore, this is the type of thing that requires enough time and consideration, always taking into account the information that was gathered during the previous inquiry. 

Further, it is important to identify the most searched keywords by your target audience to create an SEO-optimised article. As a last step, develop a list of ways in which you will be able to find new clients. Among these, it is worth mentioning that social networks are an ideal way to find new customers. Our article all about how to use social media to find clients will guide you with ways to implement these tactics. Moreover, you should know that Facebook for business offers the possibility to find people with particular types of profiles, and this is based on factors such as place of residence, age as well as interests. This will help you to learn more about your target audience through Facebook.

Lastly, start elaborating a list of ways through which you will be able to get new clients that are a part of your target market. Amongst these, social networks represent an ideal way to find these new clients. Our article that touches on this subject will guide you with regards to the strategies you should take on. 

As a matter of fact, you must know that Facebook offers the possibility to reach individuals with a specific profile, whether that be according to their place of residence, their age and there hobbies/interests. You can also learn more about your target market through the use of Facebook and the tools it provides.

However, it just may happen that another social network is more interesting to reach your target market. Study the possibilities and evaluate which one of these networks deserves more money, time and effort on your part. To learn about the main social networks where you can communicate with your target market, check out our article "4 best social networks to increase your company's visibility". 

The key is to adapt to your customers

The identification of a target audience is consistent with the logic of responding directly to their expectations as well as their specific needs. It is essential to avoid approaching this with the belief in mind that you will be able to shape the behaviours and habits of your potential clients. It should always be your role to adapt, as this principle is the very basis of the relevance of developing an effective marketing strategy.

What if your target audience is companies and not consumers?

In this case, the criteria allowing you to identify your market segment will be different. You will need to find out:

• The region of the business's location;
• The type of client they are looking for;
• The turnover;
• The main area of expertise;
• The size;
• The legal status.

With this information, you will be able to complete research work and targeting that is similar to that which is described in the previous paragraphs. This research will help you gain a better understanding of the needs of the companies with whom you are collaborating or wish to collaborate. 

Identifying a target market is a fundamental element in terms of a company's success. Without gaining access to this information, it is simply impossible to adjust your company's strategies. This is why the research work described in this article is so fundamental.