Step Two: The Correct Target

{Read Step One here}

Who are you advertising to? Who is your core consumer? Do you know? Or do you think you know?

Most entrepreneurs have a handle on these questions – kind of. The answers are key to the success of any advertising program. For the purpose of this blog, I want to talk about what defines a customer – a heavy-user if you will.

We’ll begin with the premise that narrow is better. When we meet with clients and get to this part of our creative problem solving process, many times we’ll get answers like - we want to reach homeowners: or it’s women. That’s a great place to start, but what we know is that every demographic model can be further divided into unique consumer groups. The trick is to define these as narrowly as practical and then prioritize.

Let me demonstrate. My target is Adults 25-54.

Oh, is it really? So you want to reach lower income, non-English speaking adults 25-54 that live . . . you get the idea. The answer is usually no.

So here is what Adults 25-54 can look like:

Men, Women, 25-34. 35-44. 45-54, White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, HHI of $50k, $75k, $100k, $150k, over $200k, single, married, own home, rent, blue collar, white collar, professional, executive, drive a Honda, drive a Ford F150, live in Richardson, Live in Ft. Worth . . . and the list goes on.

You can see that I began with the demographic information, and that is important. However, everything that came after that is probably more important. It’s easy to discern the age of consumers. But is important to define the qualitative, or lifestyle composite of your target. The more specific you can become, the more successful you will be.

With a clear and vivid picture of your correct target(s), and an accurate analysis of your sales, by category, it makes it very easy to prioritize. And at the end of the day, we recommend that you invest 100% of your advertising budget against your highest priority target: that is until we have achieved our reach and frequency objectives against the target with a compelling message that matches their motivation. When we have achieved that objective, then and only then will we move to the second “in order of importance” target. Gone are the days of “broadcasting” a message. We’ll never return to the halcyon days of the 50’s consumer revolution that was spawned by the end of WWII and the Baby Boomers. Today we communicate instantly with our peers and personal recommendations (peer to peer) – of which you have no control – are more powerful than ever. Today’s consumers want short, concise bits of information that answer THEIR questions. They really don’t care about what you are selling or what service you are providing. More than ever, they care about their very narrow self-interest and sought after benefits.

And speaking of a demographic, let’s look back at an demographic rage that spans thirty years. That’s my dad and me. And if you think that we’re thinking the same and responding the same to your messaging, you would be wrong. I’m on Facebook, Twitter and the Internet daily. He plays Free Cell on the computer. I have a smart phone; he has an eight-year-old Nokia cell phone. I drive an Acura MDX. He drives a Cadillac DTS. I like loud music and rock concerts. He likes Country Western and the Gaithers. And it’s been that way for years.

So at the end of the day, narrowly define your demographic and then prioritize it. We recommend that you look at target age then consider 5 years on either side. So if your core consumer is a 39-year-old woman, then we’ll target women 34 to 44. See how easy that was. Don’t forget the important part though:

In addition to being 39, she is also white, married, college educated, with 2.8 kids, lives in a 2,500 square foot house in the 'burbs, drives a Toyota Sienna Mini Van, is a school teacher and teaches Sunday School at her church and with her family, shops with coupons and goes to Destin Florida every year for family vacation where they buy sea shells and hermit crabs for souvenirs.

Or just maybe, she is 39, black, single, a lawyer, with her own practice – sues Insurance Companies for personal injury, drives a Maseratti, lives in the W downtown, collects fine wine, goes to church when she can and travels alone to a different country every year for vacation where the only "souvenirs" she obtains are rest and relaxation.

And I’m just getting started…

If you haven’t developed this kind of ACCURATE profile for your “multiple-targets” then prioritized them…do it today. Then execute your marketing and advertising strategies against them, in priority order, with discipline and fervor.

Next week, we’ll learn how to make your advertising activate. Hmmmm….

Fantastic Ad Friday

Flash mobs seem to be making an appearance everywhere these days. From Apple stores to appearances on The Bachelorette, this is certainly a marketing "buzzword" and an entertaining way to get attention.

This humorous spot pokes fun at the phenomenon by urging you to switch to AT&T so you can always be in the loop: