Use These Methods to Keep Your Target Market Research Fresh
An ideal customer profile can make all the difference when creating an effective marketing campaign. The key is to stay relevant to your niche with updated research methods.
Conditions and technology are always changing — your business needs to map out who your audience is ongoing. If your brand message doesn’t keep up with the latest trends, it can become out of date and irrelevant. What your prospects were interested in one month ago may have become something else.
According to Hootsuite, you should be taking a look at several factors in order to determine the right approach to your marketing:
- Median age
- Time zone and location
- Primary language(s)
- Buying power – what are they purchasing and why?
- Hobbies and interests
- Specific pain points
- Lifestyle
Here are several steps you can take now in order to create your ideal customer profile:
1 – Engage In Consistent Planning and Research
In order to stay up to date with the latest changes, your brand needs to create a specific schedule in order to track your target market. It’s best to do this well before you have a new product to launch or an update for your branding. The more consistent you are the better your results will be with the use of precise tools that can provide frequent alerts. Depending on your niche this could be on a monthly basis, every six months, or annually.
2 – Create Valuable Solutions
Keep in mind the golden rule of customer sales and that it is, “what’s in it for me?” Your current research will help you offer improved products and services, often exceeding their expectations over the competition. Through communication and audience feedback you can also discover better ways to help them solve their problems. Engage in social listening each day in order to learn more about what your niche is asking about and how they perceive other brands.
You may also want to read: How To Conduct A Competitive Analysis In Marketing
3 – Provide The Right Information People Are Seeking
There are many ways to add value to your community and to keep them informed:
- Maintain a strong social media presence and interact daily with your fans and followers.
- Regularly write a company blog and try to get interaction and conversation going among readers.
- Conduct surveys and analyze results on a regular basis.
- Ask for reviews and feedback.
- Spend time on specific social groups related to your business.
- Host live videos, podcasts, and webinars to get to know your audience personally
- Create chats on Twitter to engage with your followers
4 – Segment Lists Into Subgroups
Take a look at who is specifically purchasing your products or services and why. Divide these into different groups depending on the type of transaction, the geographical location, whether this is a new purchase, the age, and gender of the buyers, etc. This type of information will enable you to introduce something to your customers that they may not have considered before, and would be most likely to buy. Use this information either on a spreadsheet as well as inside your email marketing software.
5 – Monitor The Competition
One of the best ways to make adjustments in your sales and marketing strategy is to track what your leads are purchasing from other brands in your niche, why, and how much they are being charged. This will help you determine whether your business can offer them something different or even better at a price that is appealing. Check out the various reviews online and on social media — these are great places to gather consumer feedback without having to directly approach them.
You may also want to read: Things To Keep In Mind For Your Next Digital Marketing Campaign
6 – Update Your Website
Test both your content and website on a regular basis in order to ensure you are reaching a wide audience on various devices. Your information should be original, specific to your target market’s needs, and current. A website that is adapted to the latest technology will garner the most engagement and increases your chances of a potential buyer taking action. This includes mobile responsiveness and including interactive content such as a link to your live videos, podcasts, and webinars.
7 – Both Data and Behavior Matter
Include both qualitative research, which is focused on the actual data, as well as quantitative research, which provides insights on consumer actions, feedback, and the latest trends. Each one provides enough results that go beyond just statistics and considers all of the various scenarios that can affect a buyer’s purchase decisions.
It’s easy to assume that your target market’s preferences are still the same and that the products they loved before will always continue to be in demand. Companies that stay on top of the latest trends and technology are able to maintain their client base while growing their sales for the future.
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Susan Gilbert
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