As a business owner it is easy to think of your target audience as one big group of people that you are trying to convince to contact you or visit your store front. When you market your business to this group you do so as would address a singular person: with a singular message in a singular tone.
Sometimes the message resonates, but more often than not the message falls flat and goes nowhere.
Why is that?
Because your audience is not one big group of people. Rather, your audience is made up of several smaller groups. Each of this smaller group may resemble each other, however each of these groups is unique. Each group has a different set of concerns and pain points.
If you try to message the entire group as a whole then you will struggle to connect with your audience because your messaging will appear bland and impersonal.
An example of a business with different audiences would be Nike. They have products for both men and women. If you look at ads placed in a men’s exercise magazine compared to ads placed in a women’s exercise machine you would notice subtle differences. This is because Nike has segmented their audience into male and female. This allows them to create messaging that is specific to the needs of each segment of their audience.
While your business is likely not as large as Nike, you can still benefit from segmenting your audience.
Let’s examine some benefits of segmenting your audience.
Identify The Most Profitable Customers
One of the best reasons to segment your audience is to identify your ideal customers. These are the customers who are ready to buy now, are more likely to spend the most, or are more likely to become repeat customers.
These customers should be the priority of your marketing efforts. By identifying who these customers are, you are identifying who will most likely help your business grow.
Deliver More Relevant Content
One of the ways to segment your audience is via pain points. Referring back to our Nike example. Men and women have different needs and desires when it comes to athletic shoes and clothing. Knowing this allows Nike to deliver more relevant marketing content to each audience.
Another example is B2B versus B2C. If you provide services/products to both businesses and individual consumers, then there is a good chance that their needs are different. For instance a business may need an industrial size or strength for a certain product that would be too much for the average consumer. Messaging that acknowledges will allow the business to more effectively target both B2B and B2C segments.
Build Stronger Relationships
Your content is a reflection of your business. If your content is more relevant to your audience, then your entire business becomes more relevant. Your content will come across as more personal and authentic, meaning your business will appear more personal and authentic.
By segmenting your audience and then identifying and addressing their needs, you have positioned your business to become an integral part of your customers’ lives.
Develop Better Services/Products
When you have a deeper understanding and connection with your audience you are more likely to get them to complete customer satisfaction surveys. This will allow you to learn how and where you can improve your current business model.
Because you have segmented your audience you can ask specific questions about their experience. You can understand how the different segments of your audience differ in preferences regarding messaging, customer service, packaging, and the products/services themselves.
You can use all of this information to stay connected with your audience and ahead of your competition.
Segmenting your audience allows you to create more personal messaging because you are addressing individual needs and desires. This creates the opportunity to develop deeper connections with your ideal customers. They will view you as caring about their needs as opposed to just caring about their money. In the end, you will find it easier to grow a larger and more devoted base of loyal customers.
