Are you out of touch with your target audience?

Audience segmentation is no picnic.  It might seem easy, but many times people are going so broad on their audience ("We appeal to women") that they end up not appealing to anyone in the real world - just a caricature of the company's creation.  For example, if I see another company targeting women like me but using lots of pink and a frilly font, I think I might scream. The fact is, target audiences are not cut from the same cloth. I talked about this is a <a href="know-thy-audience-and-the-marketing-plan-will-follow">prior article</a> - about getting very specific and detailed about who your audience is, what they like, where they work, what they watch, what clubs they belong to, etc. Only then can you pursue the best ways to reach them. You may have different audience groups you need to appeal to, and that is okay, too, as long as you have very clear messaging with which to attract them.  This also enables you to alter the messaging based on who you are trying to target.  For example, my value proposition as a marketing consultant drastically differs if you are a solopreneur or a large corporate client.  I talk differently about the value I provide to each group.  But my core brand message always remains the same: fresh, crisp, experienced marketing support. That is very important to keep consistent no matter who you talk to. But what if you THINK you know your target audience but you are really way out of touch?  Companies that are trying to appeal to kids or teens come to mind.  You may have an idea of what you think is appealing to them, but remember, generations change.  Today's world is not what it was "back when we were young." Kids are a lot less innocent and childlike at younger ages than they were in the past.  They are exposed to so much more and so many media images.  In essence, they grow up pretty fast. I'm not suggesting that you appeal to them with imagery or messaging that is not good for them.  I'm just saying to bear this in mind.  Remember that scene in A Christmas Story, where he gets a pink bunny suit from his Aunt and is forced to wear it?  He says, "She still thinks of me as a 5 year old."  This is a woman who is out of touch with what her audience really wants - you don't want your company to be his Aunt! You want to be Apple who has found a way to translate "cool" into something appealing to both young people and adults.  They are not off the mark but right on target in understanding what hip and cool really means to their target audiences. But there is hope!  Whether it's teens or old ladies, get to know your REAL audience. Type in some Search words on Bing and see where it leads you; conduct some focus groups; put out a survey via Survey Monkey (if your audience is on email, that is!); read the magazines they are reading, watch the TV shows they are watching, visit the websites they are visiting.  Stay in touch with your audience and don't reduce them to an idea you have in your head, or a vanilla, generic version of themselves.  You have to walk in their shoes a bit to know what will grab them. 2009-06-19T21:45:53Z