How a Target Audience Can Save You Money

A target audience is the people who are most likely to buy your product or service and should therefore be the ones you target in your marketing campaigns.

Identifying and utilizing your target audience is extremely important because advertising to the wrong people is a waste of time and money.

After all, a little bit of advertising to the right people is often as productive as a lot of advertising to the wrong people. 

Finding Your Target Audience

Trying to pin down your target audience can be deceptively tricky and overwhelming. However, breaking it up into small categories can help ease the load. 

• Consider useful demographics. This includes age, gender, location, hobbies, interests, income, education level, profession, marital status, who they trust, what they read/watch, purchase intentions, subcultures, etc. Consider each of these aspects to determine where your ideal customer resides—the more specific, the better. Try creating 3-5 buyer personas with extremely specific target markets. This will help create more personalized and effective marketing campaigns. 
• The decision-maker vs. the supporter. Understanding the difference between the decision-maker and the supporter is key. The decision-maker is the one who ultimately buys the product or service. The supporter may not directly buy the product but heavily influences the purchase. For example, gift receivers and children reside in this category. Targeting both these demographics is useful, but it’s important to understand which one you’re reaching. 
• Research your current customer base. Usually, your target audience consists of people already buying from your business. Send out surveys and collect data on who are already your customers. Determining your competitor’s target market can also help determine your own. This will also give you insight into what your competitors are doing and what you can do to win over customers. Understanding your competitors is just as insightful as understanding your own business.

Reaching Your Target Market

Identifying your target audience is just the first step.

The next step is reaching them. This can be challenging, especially when not all people especially like being advertised to. 

Infer where your target audience receives advertisements.

Use various aspects of your target audience to determine the best way to reach them. For example, if you’ve determined your target audience prioritizes their health, perhaps the best way to reach them is through websites, magazines, and social media pages promoting health. 

Bring in third-party help.

Various third parties exist that can help you identify the best ways to reach your target audience effectively. For example, social media is quite adept at this. Many sites store user information for advertisement purposes, and businesses can then advertise through those sites to effectively reach their target audience. 

Timing is everything.

When it comes to getting the attention of your target audience, determining the best time to reach them is crucial. You’re going to want to reach them at a time when they’ll be most likely to see it. For example, if you’re trying to reach them over email, avoid weekends because many try to avoid their emails during this time. 

Determining your target audience saves your business money by helping you reach the people most receptive to your advertisements. However, target audiences aren’t everything. Don’t let it cloud your judgment and make you miss interested potential customers.

Elevate Your Marketing Campaign with Postcards!

Happy New Year! How crazy it’s already 2022! How was your 2021 marketing strategy? Whether splendid or slightly lacking, any marketing strategy has room for improvement.

In the new year, try incorporating (or reincorporating) direct mail marketing strategies. This long-standing proven method, with added new technology, is a perfect way to hit the ground running in 2022.

And the best part? It can start with a simple postcard.

The Many Benefits of Postcards

Postcards are highly effective.

Did you know that 86% of customers take the time to read through their mail? Due to postcards’ higher visibility, you can expect a higher response rate than any other marketing medium, along with a 70% higher brand recall.

This translates into a high return on investment.

Every $167 spent translates into about $2000 in goods sold. That’s a great investment! Increase your benefits by incorporating a fantastic postcard design. 

The Postcard Design

The postcard design is important and should complement your message and marketing strategy. Here are a few aspects of postcard design to keep in mind.

The material is part of the design, and it reflects on your company.  For example, if environmentalism is essential to your company, share that value with your customers by using recycled material. Or, if you want to send a message of quality, then use heavier material. If your postcards are high quality, then your customers will believe your products and/or services to be high quality as well. 

The size of the postcard is important too. Average-sized postcards are great and effective, but more oversized postcards will stand out due to their inherently larger nature. Try giving the 6-inch by 11-inch postcards a try. 

The two main finishes are glossy or matte. A glossy finish portrays elegance, while matte seems more professional.

A well-thought-out headline is important! You want the headline to sum up your main idea while prompting the customer to keep reading.

A call-to-action prompts the potential client to react in response to the postcard. Examples include requesting that the customer call, visit the store, explore the website, or like/follow social media.

Call-to-actions are most effective when there is a deadline associated with them. Therefore, many companies find it beneficial to offer limited-time deals. Along with driving customer interaction and sales, a call-to-action will help you determine the effectiveness of your postcard campaign for future use. 

Developing a Plan

According to Benjamin Franklin, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Set yourself up for success by planning your postcard campaign.

Set SMART goals. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. 

Set a budget. Don’t break the bank, but invest enough to see results. 

It’s important to be aware of the static and dynamic postcard costs. Static costs don’t change, while dynamic costs depend on the number of postcards you decide to send. The more postcards you send, the overall cost per card is lowered. Static postcard costs include copywriting and design, while dynamic costs include printing services and postage fees. 

Sending the Postcards

Next, you need to decide where you are sending these postcards. 

• Send the postcards to existing customers. Given that they already have shopped at your business before, these postcards would mainly promote another sale.
• Create or rent a new mailing list. This strategy will reach new customers, generating new business. When you create or rent this new mailing list, ideally, you’re going to try to find households within your target market demographic.
• Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM): In this strategy, you mail a postcard to every household within a geographic area. Sometimes specific demographics congregate in neighborhood clusters. If you can identify your target market within a neighborhood, this strategy is useful. If your business is close to a certain neighborhood, it may be helpful to let the locals know about you, and they may love your business out of proximity convenience. 

Repeat!

Send follow-up postcards.

Potential clients need to hear your company’s message about seven times before they decide to buy. The more familiar your business becomes to the customers, the better off you are. In marketing, familiarity generates sales because people are drawn to the familiar.  

Developing a postcard marketing campaign will set your business up for success in 2022!