In conversations with small business people about their customers, I’ll hear these words:

Target Audience

Who do you want to reach?

Everyone can use my product!

Okay.  But not “everyone” is beating the doors down to get this small business owner’s product, so the premise that “everyone” is the audience doesn’t hold water.

Let’s go a step further.  “Everyone” could purchase Coke, but they don’t.  Some prefer Pepsi, others want Mountain Dew and others prefer Dr. Pepper.  So, Coke could spend a lot of money and resources trying to convert these drinkers of competitive products or they could recognize that such efforts are going to be expensive and difficult.  Rather, they focus on the low hanging fruit.  They find new “Coke” drinkers; drinkers who have similar characteristics to current Coke drinkers but  who have not established strong soft drink preferences.

Yes, I understand Coke is not a small business and I don’t have any insider information regarding Coke’s marketing, but this is an example of how any business owner can and must zero in on their ‘natural’ audience – those who are predisposed to their products or services.  But most of all, small business owners need to have a deep understanding of the people who make-up this “natural” audience.

Demographics

Marketing typically starts with demographics. Concentrate on the top 20% of your current customers  (they probably represent 80% of your sales and/or profits) and sketch out a demographic profile using some standard measures.

  • Average Age
  • Gender
  • Average Household Income
  • Occupation
  • Marital Status
  • Household Profile (young professionals without children, middle aged couple with teens, mature empty-nesters, etc.)
  • Home Ownership:  Rental, Condo, Single family home; Suburban/Urban
  • Internet and tech gadget usage

Behaviors/Attitudes

Now, that you have a rough outline of the demographics of you audience, how would you describe their behavior and attitudes relative to your product or service?  Go as far as you can with this part of the exercise.  You’ll be surprised at how much you really do know about your audience.

  • Are they free spirits, hard working responsible types or somewhere between?
  • Are they formal, informal?
  • How do they typically dress…always designer, blue jeans only, etc.?
  • Do they live to work or work to live?
  • Are they shopaholics or penny wise shoppers?
  • What kind of car do they drive (e.g. newest model, environmentally conscious, gas guzzling truck, vintage BMW, etc.)?
  • Are they experiencing some current difficulties or pain that your service or product can address?
  • What do they really purchase when they buy your product/service?  A sense of confidence, pride, quality, reliability, sense of worth?
  • Why do they come to you for product/service?  What are you offering them that keeps them coming back?

Picture is worth a 1000 words

Now that you have a mental picture of your audience’s demographics and an idea of what makes them tick, write a paragraph that puts all of the pieces together.  Give your customer description a name…Jane, or Pete or use a photo of a recognized personality (e.g. Tom Hanks, Margaret Thatcher, etc.) to constantly remind you or who you are trying to reach.

Use this picture of your audience whenever you’re making a marketing decision about new products; when writing a blog post; when crafting your advertising or marketing strategy. This is who you are currently reaching and your job is to continue to find more people like this. If you do, it will help you become better at meeting the needs of your customers, which can only help the bottom line of your small business.