Know your customers: effective marketing thanks to target groups

Social media, email newsletters, Google, Facebook and Instagram ads or would you prefer offline marketing? Because of the wide range of options, some entrepreneurs do not see the marketing jungle full of advertising pillars. Anyone who invests their precious budget in advertising primarily wants to achieve profitable results. But how? In particular, be aware of the ways in which you can reach potential customers. The best way to communicate varies from product to product and from service to service. For example, a trendy modern restaurant reaches its young customers more effectively on social networks than with flyers in mailboxes. A stair lift provider is more likely to be less successful there. In order to find the right path and the right type of communication for your company, analyzing your target group (s) is essential first and foremost. Creating personas can help you identify yourself better with the target group, as you draw a concrete picture of them by giving them a face, a name and an appropriate identity. The collected data can then be used profitably for your company. In the following, we'll show you how to carry out a precise target group analysis for your company, create suitable personas and then use the right marketing tools to invest your money effectively and profitably.

What is a target group?

A target group means the entirety of all effective and potential people who are to be addressed with a specific marketing activity. It therefore means the number of all people in whom a particular advertisement arouses or could arouse interest. Target groups are usually described by the following characteristics, taking into account both social and economic aspects:Socio-demographic characteristicsDemographics:Age, sex, marital status, place of residenceSocio-economic characteristics:education and training, incomePsychographic characteristicsattitude to life, wishes, values, motivationBuying behaviorprice sensitivity, buying range, purchase frequency, first-time buyers or intensive users, price changes, customer loyaltyFeatures of media useDevices, portals, platforms, duration, which media how and when

Why are target groups so important?

A clearly defined target group increases the efficiency of a company's marketing. By only targeting people who are likely to buy, among other things, the conversion rate (percentage of those who carry out the action desired by the operator) of ads placed increases. By placing advertisements in a targeted manner, the budget for marketing activities is used more effectively and wastage is reduced. Since users are interested in the associated products, any advertisements are also perceived as less annoying, which creates higher customer satisfaction. The probability of a purchase increases by ensuring an existing interest on the part of those to whom the respective offer is made. Target group marketing is relevant in all industries today. Many entrepreneurs rely on their gut feeling when it comes to finding their own target group. Although this can work at first, in the long term, you are significantly better prepared for developments with regular analyses and appropriate personas. Knowledge of one's own target group also has a positive effect on the areas of product development and customer service, as these areas can also be adapted and optimized accordingly. Because you can always answer the question of what your target group really wants. For example, if you are looking for the name of the new smoothie stand in your restaurant, you should ask yourself which language your target group speaks. If you then notice that she likes to use Anglicisms and is interested in US products, you could call the fruity refreshment “Fresh-It-Up” rather than “Fabian's fruit corner.”

How do you do target group segmentation?

In order to identify the target group of a product or service, it is advisable to ask questions about the social and economic characteristics of the people. The following questions help you to find out more about your own customers and potential customers:

What gender does the person belong to?The percentages of the individual sexes can then be calculated and presented statistically.How old is the person?The average age and percentage distribution across different age groups can be calculated. What is the person's profession?The resulting information helps to understand where the target group can be addressed. For example, if there are many dentists among your customers, advertising campaigns related to dentistry could be carried out at appropriate trade fairs.What goals does the person pursue?For example, a fitness center operator can find out here that their target group wants to lose weight at the turn of the year. As a result, he can advertise a savings offer, which takes effect from the beginning of the year.What are the person's values?If you don't know enough about your clients' values, communication errors can occur. If, for example, you launch provocative and suggestive pop-ups to generate attention, but your target group is very conservative or strongly religious, this can lead to the loss of regular customers in the worst case scenario. What are the person's financial resources?Based on this information, entrepreneurs can determine the final price for products, weigh up whether and to what extent price changes are possible and discuss possible savings offers.Which media does the person use when and how?The answer to this question determines which channels are used to address the target group and via which devices this is done at what time and with what intensity.What are the characteristics of the person's buying behavior?Case study:The male customers of your hair salon visit your premises every eight weeks on average. To increase the frequency, you can now have automated emails sent once a month that include a discount voucher, which is only available for a limited time. As a result of the savings, some men come to your salon once a month to cut their hair.Which generation does the person belong to?In light of sociological observations, various experiences and socialization tendencies, trend research divides humanity over the past century into different generations. In particular, the three generations X, Y and Z are focused on, as they differ greatly from one another in their values and lifestyles. For this reason, it is highly relevant for you to know which generations your target group belongs to. The target group definition is never completely complete, as the target group is constantly evolving. For this reason, it must be adjusted again and again. As soon as a campaign does not achieve the desired success, a new target group analysis can help to make effective adjustments to the target group and the ads placed.

How do I reach my target group?

Today, all industries benefit from the numerous opportunities to place ads online and on social media. In order to achieve optimal targeting, you can make settings on the various platforms that precisely narrow down the corresponding target group. This means that advertisements placed by you are only shown to those who are really interested in your performance. This not only saves you money, your marketing campaigns are also significantly more profitable. Shishabar case study: Assuming you are the operator of a shisha bar and now know your target group, you can place ads exclusively for them. The following settings could be made on Instagram or Facebook, for example:Relevant age groups18-24 & 25-34gender70% men, 30% womenlocationmunichinterestsrap music, soccervaluessolidarity, friendshipwishesgood alcohol, energy drinks and DJsMost active timesTuesday 3pm-6pm

Abstract target groups become concrete personas

After the (main) target group of your company has been found, the next step can be taken: creating personas. Personas help to form concrete images from abstract and hard-to-grasp data from target group analysis. Personas are fictional people who represent your typical customer. The target group is now given a face and associated features that are characteristic of your customers. These buyer personas are based on the information resulting from target group analysis and are also essential for inbound marketing, a strategy in which the respective product is adapted to potential customers in such a way that it is independently visited and found by them. The information from the personas can be used for all decisions relevant to the product. Now, neither you as an entrepreneur nor your employees have to empathize with the target group every time, but it is possible to simply look at the personas and thus understand what the target group wants or needs.

Hair salon case study:

How do I create personas?

An effective way to obtain the necessary data to create personas is by conducting interviews. To do this, you can, for example, interview existing and potential (regular) customers of your organic supermarket. Another way can be to use social media to obtain important information about prospects. Platforms such as Instagram and Facebook offer the free option of creating a business account instead of a conventional profile. This is characterized by the fact that various demographic characteristics of your followers are statistically presented. For example, you can see whether your gym prefers women or men or which age groups are more interested in your car dealership.

Tools to address the target group

After all the necessary information has been collected, the target group of your bakery or optician has been found and corresponding personas are visualizing the walls of your office in the form of posters, it is now time to use all of this profitably for your company. Today, there are many different tools that can be used to create promotions. Now that you know exactly where your target group is, you can choose the appropriate (social) networks and contact your customers where they really are. In order to be able to reach your target group, the corresponding advertisements must therefore be adapted to them. With personalized newsletters, for example, you can address your customers directly. Emails can be sent automatically to congratulate regular customers on their birthday or to give a voucher for a unique free beer in your restaurant. If you know that many of the interested parties who signed up for a trial session at your gym did not sign up for a membership due to their low financial resources, you can now have the new savings offer sent by email at the start of the year. With the help of the Socialwave Marketing Package, such vouchers can also be displayed as a personalized pop-up as soon as one of your guests logs on to the free WiFi network. In this case, emails can also be used to remind you after the visit that, for example, the voucher for the discounted haircut in your salon will expire soon. If you provide your customers with free WiFi, you can use the data collected by WiFi tracking to analyze the buying behavior of your target group. You can find out at any time whether they are new or returning guests. The average length of stay can also be analysed. This allows you to constantly adapt your business to the changing characteristics of your target group. In order to be able to communicate successfully with your target group via social media and, for example, to provide information about the latest upgrades to your holiday apartment to be rented out, you need appropriate followers. By logging into the free WiFi network, customers can be automatically redirected to your Instagram page, effectively generating more followers who are automatically interested in and related to your product. Another efficient tool for easily communicating with your target group is the messenger tool, which allows you to send WhatsApp messages to your customers. This not only allows you to provide information from one side, it can also result in real customer conversations. In short: With the Socialwave marketing package, you can carry out effective target group marketing, save unnecessary expenditure and increase your turnover at the same time. More information about Socialwave's marketing package can be found here.With our WLAN marketing package, your customers/patients/guests advertise for you, are happy and recommend you to others.