Who is your target customer and how to identify them
Where to start? First, you need to identify who is most likely to want or buy what you have for sale. This is classified as your “
Target Customer“. Your target customer is the person you must always keep in mind when you consider your marketing efforts. You must have an understanding of who they are and why they want to buy from you, this will assist you in making informed decisions moving forward.
Demographics
This might all be new to you OR you are already a seasoned pro, but knowing your demographic and your ability to create a profile of the potential audience allows you to cater to them more directly. If you know your audience you know what they want – put that thing in front of them and see the dollar roll in.. well that is the idea anyway.
What can make up a demographic? Some examples:
- Age
- Gender
- Income and occupation
- Local climate
- Cultural tradition
- Ethnicity and religion
- Personal taste
These all have an impact on what customers choose to purchase. Note that you can not please all customers, but with the right knowledge of your demographic, you can divide your audience/market into segments that cater to the individual’s needs.
Social social social
You are likely already on multiple social accounts, is your business? If not, get socialising.
Tap into your existing base, on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and any others. The more your base is aware of what you have, the more likely they are to approach you. With your shop being on Shopfront, your products are now available 24/7 – let them know about that. We will be providing some
tools (
will need to add this) to aid you in your efforts.
Use your social accounts to get insights into your customers, their posting, trends, likes etc. Engage your audience, start a conversation, and don’t be afraid to interact – it will be a learning experience.. it will help guide you.
This will require some dedication on your end, set aside some time to view these social accounts, on a specific day, or time.. a good idea is to set an appointment in your calendar and pencil out that time so that you are not disturbed, it is an important meeting/time slot that you need to take seriously.
Facebook is about “
Likes“, and Instagram “
Tags” – encouraging your followers to tag/like you in photos/posts where they’re using your products, this might provide some insight into how your products fit into your followers’ daily lives.
Participate
Don’t assume your customers will simply come to you just because you have products available, you might need to meet them halfway. Participating in online communities, local events, in the community as a whole will let people know that you exist. Ask questions, and communicate with your audience. Let them know that you too are a customer, maybe even their customer. In communicating you might find common themes; common ground; common issues and this can allow you the knowledge to correct certain aspects of your business or product line.
Labels help – know what you are selling and who to
If the products that you are selling are labelled correctly then your customers will not know where to look for what. Maybe even experiment a little, “
Ideal for birthdays“; “
For the lady in your life“; or “
Dad bods only“, record how these do and see if you have an increase in sales. Add-on services, perhaps offer product wrapping or free label to go with purchases – if you stand out and are different (
in a good way) to all the other stores you are likely to have returning customers. Be part of the crowd, get comfortable using the slang your audience does, and replicate those terms in your titles, descriptions, and tags/labels.
Target your marketing efforts to your customer
Ultimately, the goal is to define a persona for your target audience, utilising the data you have gathered to truly know who they are. These might be hypothetical shoppers but represent real people who want what you have for sale.
Josephine Alfred | University Grad. | Junior Manager at the Bank | Husband, two kids.
What is Josephine looking for, what does she desire? What is your product line can you market to Josephine, this will allow you to formulate your marketing strategy. Ask – what marketing effort will be most effective with Josephine?
Note that Josephine represents a percentage of your customer base. Perhaps a post about products that keep the kids quiet (
she has two children), or, ideal pants for outdoor work (
something to get the hubby to clean the yard) – hopefully you are getting the idea.
Now that you’ve identified your base, you can determine
when,
where, and
how to grab their attention as well as the most effective way you can engage them along their buyer journey.
Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
There are lots of stores selling similar items throughout the globe, why should a customer shop with you?
You need to identify a good reason why customers should shop with you over your competitors. What makes you shout out, what do you do differently? How does your store vary from all others?
A very good example of this is Apple. Their stores are uniquely different to the core, different in different locations. So much so that shops now want to emulate this idea.
The key to your success is having a solid brand identity, knowing your customer and giving them what they want and like.
Some suggestions:
- Make a promise
- Define who you are
- Create a strong USP
