Target Marketing 101

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The mission of Small Business, Big Brand is to give small business owners easy to use brand & marketing techniques to strengthen & grow their business. 

Target Marketing 101: 

Basic techniques to find your high value customers

Given that marketing is becoming more personalized, the key to success in business is reaching your high value target market.  So how do you find your target market?     
Use these Basic techniques to get closer to your target market… so you can give them what they want…
and grow your business. 

FIRST List the qualities of your ideal customer

• Who are your most loyal customers? 
• What problem does your product/service solve & who needs your product service most?
• Where can you find customers that use your product/service?  Locations offline/online, geographic, industry
• Why do they love your brand & who else is similar?
• Who else could become part of your target market that isn’t already?
• Think beyond basic demographics of age, location & industry to include life stage, hobbies, & values

NEXT  Create a target market communication plan 

• What forms of media do they enjoy and use regularly? 

• What advertising are they motivated by:  types of content, message type & form of media? 

• What is the cost of reaching your target market for each media type? 

• Which ones are in budget & likely to succeed? 

• Use a small sample to test your communication in multiple forms of media & with multiple messages. 

• Choose the one that works the best. 

FINALLY  Listen to your target market

Now that you are sending out your message...

• Use comments, social feeds, social media listening, your sales team & customer service to:
• Hear what your target market thinks of your brand, product/service, & marketing communication. 
• Adjust your campaign with this input as needed to stay 1) relevant & 2) ahead of what your target market needs.  Anticipate what will make them value your product even more. 

Let these techniques help you find your target market so you can reach them with the products and services they want and need for better business results.

Repeat this process with any new products to make sure you invest wisely in successful advertising, social media and marketing.

“Target Marketing means you are putting your customer and their needs at the center of your focus and attention.  You are making your customer the most important aspect of doing business, so your products/services are the best they can be. “ 
- Heather Bennett, Creative Brand Coach

Here are a few expert resources to keep in mind for more information about target markets. 

The Future of Marketing: 90% ofMarketers Say It’s All About Getting Personal 

from @MobileMktrDaily

My take: Marketing is moving to individualized message,  therefore it is important to know your audience to get the individualized message right.  

Don't Spoil Secrets with Retargeting: 5 tips 

by Bryan Pearson Simply collecting information isn’t the answer to understanding your customer and building a lasting relationship. Marketers need to use this data wisely and keep their customers’ needs and desires at the center of the business. The post shares 5 tips about how to do that.  My take: Clear tips to understand your target market.

Four simple steps todefining and reaching your target market

by Paula Hutchings & @TalentedLadies 

My take: This group sets the bar high for useful, helpful & practical business knowledge.  A terrific set of steps to help guide you to your target market

How to Use Laddering By Henk Hoets
Quote: "You use laddering to develop unique selling propositions in your ads. "

My take: Using laddering to better understand your target markets, useful to creating content specifically for your audience

Heather is the creative brand coach, a marketing consultant helping businesses & professionals build strong brands to connect with their target market. Her prior experience includes Research & Development and Brand Management Marketing for global consumer products goods companies.  For over a decade, she has helped small business owners focus on their passion and their products, while creating strong brands and solid business plans.

Find Heather via Twitter @creativebrandch or the blog SmallBusiness, Big Brand.