Target marketing is a simple philosophy. But there are many complexities to the process as well. Matching the right message with the right audience can produce a marketing home run. The key is addressing the unique needs of each market with a message that resonates. Here’s how ...
Target marketing is a simple philosophy. But it’s not easy. If it was only a matter of throwing darts at a board of qualified prospects, you’d be hitting the proverbial bull’s eye.
It’s much more complex than that, though the dart board analogy helps illustrate what you’re trying to accomplish with your marketing and copywriting objectives. That is, take specific aim on your intended target, stay focused, and chances are good you’ll hit your mark.
Just like that dart board, your target market is a mosaic of many, many different segments. These can be broken down by industry, geography, company size, job function ... any way you decide to slice it.
Whereas mass appeal was once effective, the one-size-fits-all approach to marketing is teetering on the brink of extinction. What’s most important is that your marketing is tailored to the specific audience you intend to reach with a message that addresses their unique needs.
To do so requires an understanding of your target market that goes deeper than demographics and data cards.
An example is the software marketer for a product that expedites the shipping process for e-commerce companies. Beyond touting the time and effort saved by one-click shipping, a different marketing message was created for each segment of buyers.
A food distributor is most concerned about quicker packaging and delivering, which the software makes possible. Conversely, a consumer electronics store is more concerned about trackability of each delivery to protect from fraud, which the software also provides.
The same product addressed their individual needs in very different ways, hence the effectiveness of targeted marketing.
Even when you’ve narrowed your target market down to, say, a specific company, it may be necessary to further segment your pools of prospects. Because your product or service will benefit each group in different ways. And, more than likely, each individual will play a different role in the buying process.
Regardless of how you slice your target markets, you’ll get results much faster with a focused marketing campaign. A tight, well-defined market will be more receptive to your message. You’ll communicate on a much deeper level than you would with an across the board approach. And your prospects will listen more closely, because you – having developed a better understanding of them – know what they want to hear.
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