What if we said there was one trick any nonprofit or small business could do to start seeing better marketing results pretty much instantly? You’d probably think we were trying to sell you something. But we’re not—that statement is true.
The fact is, anyone can instantly become a better marketer without going to night school. (Your pets are already thanking you).
How? Simply by learning to ask more—and better—questions.
Put the audience first.
Here’s how the typical marketing campaign tends to go:
“We need to say something about X (insert product or service). We want to reach and convert as many people as possible. What should our campaign look and sound like to accomplish those goals? Ooooh–here’s a cool idea! Let’s get started.”
As noble-minded as this train of thought is, it’s wrong. Or at least, it’s missing a big piece of the puzzle. Whoever had this thought probably went on to brainstorm a catchy slogan, a brilliant product/service description and compelling calls to action that generated decent results.
But they could have done better. How? Just by inserting a couple of questions.
Rethinking the obvious.
Let’s see what would happen if the same train of thought looked like this:
“We need to say something about X (insert product or service). Based on our main value proposition, who is our target audience? Where do they consume most of their media? What kinds of things do they need, cherish and think about in their daily lives? How should we tailor our messaging and strategy to reach them? Our deliverables should probably include (blank). Let’s get started.”
See the difference, and why the second line of reasoning is likely to generate far more conversions?
By asking a few simple questions, the second marketer will generate powerful insights to help their campaign resonate with individuals who are ready to be receptive to their messaging. If the first marketer was throwing darts at a barn door, this one was aiming them straight at a bullseye labeled return on investment.
Putting it into practice.
Target Audience Identification is one of the simplest yet most powerful tools at your disposal to start experiencing better marketing results—instantly.
It’s about asking common sense questions and then using those insights as a launchpad for more successful campaigns. In many ways this feels like a backward approach: Commercials have taught us that clever ideas and appealing text and imagery are what hook the audience. In reality, those clever ideas and subtle persuasions were born from a deep understanding of what human beings like you and me want and need to hear to proceed to checkout.
In other words, the clear path to marketing victory starts by putting the audience first. The right message will follow.
Download our free guide.
The good news? Identifying your target audience doesn’t take a research department or hours of professional focus groups (unless you can afford that type of thing). Like we said before, it’s mostly about believing in an audience-first mentality, then letting your curiosity about your audience run wild.
We created this handy dandy free guide to help you get started with Target Audience Identification. Check it out and then challenge yourself to make audience-first strategies a bigger part of your subsequent campaigns.
We can practically guarantee that over time you’ll see more conversions, a better return on your investment and even a more efficient use of resources as you start to hone in on the Who, What, Where, When and Why of what your marketing messages need in order to be (wildly) successful.