Why is it so important to know your target audience
“Calling all cars, calling all cars… We’re on the lookout for a […] male between 4’7 and 6’8, and ‘tween 120–180 pounds. He’s wearing Nikes! … Get this man!”
I’ve always been a fan of stand up comedies. The other day I was watching one of Dave Chappelle’s where he made this joke on generalisation quoted above. I caught myself laughing but it wasn’t until а few days later, when I received a brief, and the joke turned out true. Before reading all the information about the product, I wanted to see what’s in for the users and who were they. I scrolled down and what once made me laugh, now sent shivers down my spine:
“Target profile: 20–45 y.o., male and female, living and working in the big city, tech-savvy.”
It wasn’t funny. Not only because it was obviously neglected part of the brief, but because it planted the seeds of doubt about this brand’s values and their campaign.
Creating friendships with a “click”
In the wake of the advertising, it would’ve been pretty easy to have great products that meet the majority’s needs. But today the wide variety of choice is rapidly growing and many products fail to find a place in people’s hearts. Last year’s Havas Media “Meaningful Brands” study has shown that people wouldn’t care if 74% of the brands they used just disappeared. And most of the time this is because brands wouldn’t care enough about people.
Integrity is an important thread that connects your business with your audience. Think of your ideal user as of someone you will be making friends with — treat them with empathy (and the relevant dose of ethics) and show your best sides so they would like you and let you in their zone. Once you make the first small breakthrough (e.g., get them to register or subscribe), keep your cool and be a good friend: make life easier, don’t nag them and be of help when needed.
It takes one person to change your world (business): the right one.
People are what they believe in. And if you find the right people who believe in your product, the word would spread. When you know your audience you’re closer to make things work — people hang out with like-minded friends and know best who would appreciate your friendship (service).
In his book “Purple Cow”, Seth Godin suggests that products and ideas reach different audiences but you shouldn’t strive to catch everybody’s attention right from the start. Rather than that, you should focus on the “innovators” and treat them specially. What’s common between “innovators” in his case and the right target group in our case, is that those people aren’t the vast majority. It is crucial to define and find the ones who are really interested in what you’re doing and stick with them.
The more real the targeted user is, the more successful the business is
Whether you make a marketing persona or you dig deeper into a lifestyle, knowing your target audience can help you improve your product. When you face your ideal user’s habits and needs, you can ask yourself if your product or service offers what’s needed and you can keep an open mind for possible upgrades. But if you target the universal Homo Sapiens, you wouldn’t know much about specific cases involving the product.
So, next time you handle a brief, put people first and don’t consider the product the best part of it. Because you know what they say - “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. Better know which one you’re talking to.
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I hope you enjoyed reading this. Let me know what you think.
