How to Reach Your Target Customer

Every business attracts target customers. As a group, target customers are those most likely to use your products and services. Members of this group represent a specific demographic who share common characteristics such as age, occupation, and income.

Recognizing your target customer is critical to the success of your business. In this article, we’ll explore how to identify and market to your target customer.

Look for trends

Begin to identify patterns in your current customer base. Note your average customers’s age, income bracket, gender, marital status, and professional background.

Not every customer will fit neatly into a category. Still, identifying demographic trends will help you recognize the type of person most likely to support your business.

Identify patterns in your current customer base.

Location, location, location

Learn where your target customer lives and works. Are most customers local or do they drive out of their way for your services? Do they walk, drive, or take public transportation? This information will help you make important decisions such as how late to stay open, if you should consider opening a second location, or if you need to offer more onsite parking.

Explore customer values

Psychographics is the study of personality, interests, values, and lifestyle. Get to know your customers and learn what makes them tick. Ask customers why they live in the area, what first attracted them to your business, and what keeps them coming back. As you familiarize with customer’s values, you’ll learn how to keep product options and marketing content relevant.

Identify customer needs

Identify what specific problem or need your business addresses. Do you meet a local demand, satisfy a niche interest, or offer more affordable options than competitors? Learning what makes you unique as a business will help you understand the type of customer your business attracts.

Apply what you know

Target customer research should inform the way you use Smart Pickle to send promotions–from your selection of a template to the promotion’s content to the channel you use to reach customers. As you develop a clearer picture of your target customer, you’ll learn how to tailor promotions to customers’ needs, limitations, and preferences, ultimately helping you bring in the right customer at the right time.

Some this content was resourced from Lynda.com – Marketing for Small Businesses.