No matter what kind of a business you run, you can’t make any money if you don’t know who you want to sell to. So, learning about the best strategies for identifying your target customers should be the number one task you tackle. It may sound like a simple thing, but it isn’t. Make a few wrong assumptions, and you’ll quickly end up on the path you don’t want to be on. You’ll market to the people that don’t care about what you have to offer, and that will be the end of it.
Luckily, there are ways to figure out who your target audience is for sure. Of course, we’re here to share them with you, so let’s dive right in.
Conduct market research
The first thing you need to do is analyze the market. You want to pay attention to all aspects of it, so doing a SWOT analysis is the way to go here. When you do your market research, you’ll know what all of your business’s strengths and weaknesses are, but also opportunities and threats.
Here’s what you’ll find out in this phase.
- The location of your audience
- Demographics
- Psychographics
- Buying habits
- Personality types
- Industries
- Competition
The more you can learn, the better. You want to know what a buyer’s journey should look like so you can use it to your advantage. If you position yourself on the market well, you won’t have to search for customers. They’ll come to you on their own.
Market research is right on top of the list of the best strategies for identifying your target customers.
Talk to your current customers
If you have been in business for some time and already have some customers, you can take a shortcut here. Call your clients and offer them something in return for a bit of their time. Thanks to the psychology of coupons, a gift card or a discount on their next purchase should do the trick.
When you get their attention, ask them about their big pain points and how they solve them. After a few interviews, you’ll see who has what kinds of problems. You’ll be able to connect the dots and put together a picture of who the people you can send your product to are.
If you don’t have it already, investing in a CRM system will save you a lot of time here. This is a powerful tool, and if you use it correctly, it will help you increase your customer base. You’ll understand your clients better, provide them with a better experience, and you’ll get more people on board.
Use SEO tools to learn who visits your site
SEO tools can get you a lot closer to your audience than you might think. They can show you what people are searching for when they land on your site. You’ll see all the keywords and phrases you rank for, which will allow you to create content that will draw more traffic to your pages. However, it will also clarify which of your products or services interests people the most.
Since it adds so much value to your buyer personas, using these tools is without a question one of the best strategies for identifying your target customers. But that still isn’t everything they will bring to the table.
Another great thing about SEO tools is that they will allow you to research your competition. You’ll get to see which pages on their sites get the most clicks and what keywords they rank for. The more research you do, the more you’ll find out about your target audience, their needs, and how to help them.
SEO tools can tell you how your target audience behaves online.
Get your product out there
If you’re just starting, it can be hard to get your product in users’ hands. This kind of problem is common among small businesses, and you shouldn’t let it discourage you. Instead, focus on getting the sales going on a small scale.
Although it may sound strange, selling your products on Amazon or eBay can really get the ball rolling. As it turns out, more than half of all Amazon shares come from third parties, so there’s no reason why your company can’t benefit from it. You’ll get your brand in front of people’s eyeballs and right into the hands of the customers.
Of course, this shouldn’t be your end goal. However, it will help you to see what the customers want. Listen to their feedback and improve your products to deliver what people want to buy. On top of that, your target audience will become familiar with your brand. And for a small business, that can make all the difference.
Listen to social media
Social media platforms can offer a lot to any company, and that’s why you need to establish a presence there. Most people use it to drive their brand awareness up and engage their customers. Naturally, you want to do that as well, but we want to focus on a different use case.
Yet again, we’re talking about research. Spend some time on Facebook and Twitter and see what your potential customers are talking about. If you know where to look, you’ll get plenty of insight into what troubles them and how they solve the problems they have.
It pays off to identify your target audience based on their needs rather than on demographics. You’ll know more about them if you do it this way. So, when the time comes to add social media to your marketing plan, it’ll be easy for you to determine your next step.
Social media can bring your target customers closer to you.
The bottom line
If there’s one thing to list as a takeaway here, it’s that you don’t want to cast a net with a broad reach. It’s a much better idea to spend some time figuring out who your ideal clients are and market only to them. The people you want to see and buy your products will be aware of your presence, and that will bring the chances for your sale up.
Use the best strategies for identifying your target customers we talked about today to do that. Promote your products to the right people, and they’ll spread the word about your business and become your advocates. Your customers will be loyal, and your brand will grow. What more could you ask for?
About Author:-
Neel Goldsmith is a freelance writer and a digital marketing specialist from New York. Currently, he’s working with moverstech.com on helping moving companies thrive. When he isn’t working, he spends his time bird watching with his daughter.