I’ve been going to meetings, with both B2C and B2B clients, for over 25 years now. Many things have changed over this time, from how we present (no more spray mounting physical work) to where we present (video calls are my new best friend). But one thing hasn’t changed, and that is the seemingly impossible task of getting people to focus on who really matters to their brand – the people that are buying it and buying into it. (Note; this isn’t all clients, just some clients)
Whether my meetings are with CMOs or Heads of Marketing, CEOs or Heads of Brand, I’m constantly amazed by their inability to decide on or define who their audience really is. I find this astounding, because these are the people who really matter to the brand (I know of course your internal audience, your partners, your shareholders, among many others are important). These are the people who are going to pay you to deliver them something. Whether that is a product or a service, it is their financial contribution that is going to keep your business going (hopefully).
Who Is Your Brand For?
Before you start to work on anything you are trying to ‘sell’ to your audience – be that the brand proposition, your organization’s offering, or your business’ actual product or service – you must, must, must define who you are hoping will buy it.
Always define your target audience first. Always.
Don’t Go Too Wide Or Too Narrow.
Now, defining your audience can be quite difficult (but it can actually be quite simple). If you set your net to reach as many people as possible, then there is a degree of ‘wastage’. You will be speaking to a good deal of people who will never convert to a sale, nor will they have any interest in your brand. But, if you go too narrow then if you’re not careful then you may miss out on people who could convert to a sale, or who could be brand evangelists.
Reach too many people and you’re wasting money. Reach too few people and you’re wasting opportunities.
Every business or organization is different, and so every one needs a bespoke analysis of their audience. But there are approaches you might take in order to define your audience.
Maybe, Define Who Your Audience Isn’t.
One approach is to actually define who your audience isn’t rather than who your audience is. I’ve written about this approach previously, but put simply this method defines your outsiders, and anyone else becomes your target audience.
Depending on your industry or offering, these people might be outsiders because they simply can’t afford what you offer, or they have a preference that’s opposite to your offering (eg meat producers and vegetarians), or even that them being associated with your brand would be detrimental to your brand (see Burberry and UK football hooligans). There are many valid reasons people might be ‘outsiders’ for your brand, both practical and emotional.
This is just one approach and will only be right for selected businesses or organizations.
S And T Before The P.
What holds true, whatever approach you take, is the fact that you need to do some targeting of your audience. There is a reason the old marketing structure of STP still holds true today. Because it is still right.
- Segment the populace.
- Target those people who you want in your audience.
- Position the brand (or product or service. Although that would be an S) to appeal to them.
Audience-First. Always.
If you are in charge of a business or an organization. If you are responsible for taking that business or organization to the market. Please do some work on defining your audience first:
- What are their attitudes?
- What are their behaviors in your category?
- Are there specific demographics that are important?
- What media do they consume?
- Might you have one or multiple audiences?
- What are their key characteristics?
- What is their mindset and worldview and situation?
- What information do they typically need to make decisions on purchase or involvement?
- What factors might they compare when considering you and the competition?
- What are they worried about (that your brand/product/service can fix)?
- How might they like to be recognized?
- How can they see that you understand them (that so many others don’t)?
One thing you don’t need to worry about is what they are called. If your audience identification is someone in your marketing department writing a lengthy bit of prose about your ‘audience profiles’ or ‘audience personas’, and then giving them catchy names or titles, please do stop.
Paul Bailey is Brand Strategy Director at Halo – a brand-first agency in the UK, who with bold strategy and commercial creativity improve audience experience and business performance through brand.
At The Blake Project, we help clients worldwide, in all stages of development, define or redefine and articulate what makes them competitive at critical moments of change. Please email us to learn how we can help you compete differently.
Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Growth and Brand Education
