08 Feb Marketing to your target demographics

While working with a client recently the conversation came up as to ‘who is the ideal customer’ for this new to market product that is being launched. We needed to figure it out so that we knew who to target and appropriately spend money engaging. The interesting part was that everyone at the table had a different take on it. The price point demanded that the person have disposable income, but beyond that qualifier there were a lot of variations such as gender, age and product need that we couldn’t agree upon and what we realized is that everyone was coming at the subject with their unique perspective. Women thought the product was for women, men thought it was for a male demographic, etc.

This is trap that is easy to fall into. We made the mistake in thinking that the product was for us, as individuals, instead of casting a broad net and seeing who the product actually resonated with.

Of course, it is important to focus marketing efforts otherwise you will waste money, but especially in the beginning it is better to take a broad approach in marketing and then narrow down to your key demographics. Focus on what you know versus what you think. You, as a unique being, are not your customer. If you model your audience on you, then you will dramatically limit your potential customer base.

Having said that, there are ways to honing in on your target demographic. I found this article to be useful https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/202334.

Go forth and get all the customers you can!