How to use audience research to reduce your marketing budget
Marketing is typically a huge expense for both small and large businesses, as a typical marketing budget costs around 12% of total revenue. However, many businesses utilize mass marketing, which involves targeting a non-specific audience in an attempt to reach the most customers possible. Although this can be an effective strategy, it typically has less consistent and promising results than targeted marketing. Targeted marketing involves focusing on one group of people to sell products or services to. This strategy can help reduce your marketing budget by allowing you to tailor your advertising mediums or platforms, content, website, and more to that specific target audience. Here is how small and large businesses can lower their marketing costs by utilizing audience research:
Identify Your Target Audience to Limit Scope
In order to be successful, your business must identify your target audience, or the group of people most likely to buy your products or services. For example, if you sell off-road running shoes, then you would not target all people who run; instead, you would focus on people who enjoy hiking or trail-running. To get a clear picture of your ideal buyer, you should perform audience segmentation. Audience segmentation involves dividing your target market (off-road runners or hikers) into smaller groups based on demographics (age, sex, geographic location, etc.) and interests or behaviors.
There are many audience segmentation tools you can use to make this process easier, as modern technology uses sophisticated analytics and statistical data processing to identify these relationships. Choose the audience segment (group) who resonates most strongly with your brand, product, or overall company. This allows your business to limit its marketing scope and focus on only appealing to this target audience. You can reduce costs by cutting advertising strategies or mediums that are not effective for this audience.
Reach Your Target with Their Preferred Medium
Now that you have identified a selective target audience, you can focus your entire marketing efforts on reaching, persuading, and maintaining these customers. Your business can reduce your marketing budget by only using targeted advertisements where your audience is most active. For example, 90% of people aged 18 to 29 use social media, while only 40% of those over 65 do. Therefore, social media would be a great, low-cost advertising platform for businesses targeting younger people, while print media is better for senior citizens. In addition to targeted advertising, maintaining a business website with targeted content is crucial. Again, this content should be intended for your target customer and show how your product or service meets their needs or wants. Offering helpful, engaging, and informative content is key to remaining relevant to your target customer.
Researching your target audience can also help your business discover new trends or opportunities to incorporate into future product lines, making it a great investment for both marketing and your entire business’s trajectory. Focusing on your target audience can help your business reduce costs while also obtaining strong results, making it a powerful tool for large and small businesses.