Building a Better Target Audience

We all know to market to a target audience. I mean, what marketing person didn’t learn in school that you need to target to a particular audience, and think about things like size of company, industry, and geography? So basically, if you are a U.S. company who can handle clients in a variety of sizes and a variety of industries, your target looks like this:


Obviously, this is not very helpful. And, of course, I am exaggerating to make a point.

For years, this is essentially how a target audience was identified:
- Market: SMB
- Industries: Professional Services, Financial Services
- Region: West Coast
If you had a sharp marketing team, they added:
- Company Size: 50-250 people
- Role in the Company: C-level (CEO, CFO, COO, CMO, CSO)

Bullseye

As the marketing field matures, there is a need to drive not just leads, but strong, qualified leads. To help with this, the EMM team has been working with our clients to create full marketing personas, so we market to individuals, not statistics. If your target audience is a dart board, then the marketing persona is your bullseye.
For example, take the scenario above. Instead of saying “SMB”, put the size of the company into layman’s terms. Let’s say, we are targeting companies that have around 100 employees, who may be accountants, lawyers, or consultants. They are headquartered on the West Coast, but may live anywhere in the U.S.

Then go even deeper. Think about your target audience as a person. What do they like? What’s their view on technology? What keeps them up at night?

For example, the accountants are likely to be very analytical, and like facts and figures. They are detailed and task-oriented. They are focused on business outcomes, and not technology. They are responsible for managing the finances and financial risks of the corporation. They will be concerned about security, cyber risk management, and growth. They are predominantly male, ages 40-60. They have advanced degrees, either Master’s level or CPA.

Go the Extra Mile

The next time you create a marketing or sales piece, spend the extra time to figure out your marketing persona, and your pieces will be much better targeted, and honestly, easier to write!

By creating a full marketing persona, you can almost SEE the person you are marketing to.  This helps to create marketing pieces that are on track, and speak to your audience.