The Importance of Targeting in a World Bent on Creatives & 5 Tips to Succeed
Marketing is an essential aspect of every business, but to get the most out of marketing, you need to get the targeting right, whether you are a freshly founded startup, a well established business or a DTC ecommerce brand.
Contrary to tons of marketers out there who falsely prioritize the creative aspect, from an ROI standpoint, without the right targeting, you are throwing cash to the wind. Using account-based targeting techniques to acquire the most accurate list of prospects is the number one focus a marketer should have. Once that is established, then the focus should be to nurture their interest through creative content and visuals.
In this article, we will discuss the importance of targeting and how to most effectively generate the best lists of prospects. Lets look at five essential techniques that you can use to generate more accurate and effective lists of prospects.
1. Define Your Ideal Customer Profile
The first step in effective targeting is to define your ideal customer profile or ICP. You need to know your customer’s demographics, psychographics, and behavior patterns to create effective targeting strategies. The more detailed your customer profile, the more accurate and effective your targeting will be.
To define your ideal customer profile, you need to conduct research on your current customers and analyze their data. You can also use social listening tools to gather information about your customers' preferences, needs, and behaviors.
One real-life example of creating an ideal customer profile comes from Salesforce, a cloud-based software company that provides customer relationship management solutions. The company identified their ideal customer profile as mid-to-large size businesses in the technology industry, with a focus on sales and marketing departments. Through their research and analysis, Salesforce found that these businesses have complex sales processes, require advanced automation tools, and place a high value on customer experience. With this information, Salesforce was able to tailor their marketing and sales strategies to target this specific audience, resulting in a significant increase in lead generation and overall revenue. This demonstrates the power and importance of creating an ideal customer profile, and how it can positively impact a business's bottom line.
Once you have a clear picture of your ideal customer profile, you can use it to create targeted campaigns that resonate with your audience.
2. Leverage Data and Analytics
Data and analytics are crucial to effective targeting. With data and analytics, you can analyze customer behavior, preferences, and engagement with your brand. You can use this information to create more targeted and personalized campaigns that resonate with your audience.
You can use tools like Google Analytics to track user behavior on your website and social media channels. You can also use CRM tools to collect and analyze customer data to get a more complete picture of their behavior and preferences.
Let's say an e-commerce company wants to improve their targeting for a new line of athletic apparel. By analyzing their website and social media data, they discover that their audience is primarily active women between the ages of 18 and 35 who follow fitness influencers and frequently use hashtags related to health and wellness. Based on this data, they create a custom audience in their advertising platform using demographic and interest targeting options that match their ideal customer profile. They also create lookalike audiences based on the data of their current customers to expand their reach to similar potential customers. As a result, they see a significant increase in engagement and conversions from their advertising campaigns.
With the right data and analytics tools, you can identify your most valuable customers and target them more effectively.
3. Use Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
Account-based marketing (ABM) is a highly effective targeting technique that involves targeting specific accounts or companies rather than individual leads or customers. This is a great technique to use for B2B startups and businesses. ABM allows you to create highly personalized campaigns that resonate with your target accounts and drive engagement.
To implement ABM, you need to identify your target accounts and create highly personalized campaigns for each account. You can use a variety of tactics, including personalized email campaigns, paid and non paid social media campaigns, hyper targeted Google Ads campaigns and account-specific landing pages.
One real life example of a company that used ABM successfully is Terminus, an account-based marketing platform. They used their own platform to launch an ABM campaign targeting Coca-Cola, one of their ideal customers. They first identified the key decision makers and influencers within Coca-Cola through data and analytics, and then created personalized and targeted content for each individual using Terminus' account-based platform.
The campaign was a success, resulting in a significant increase in engagement from the Coca-Cola team and eventually leading to a deal between the two companies. This is a prime example of how ABM can be used to target high-value accounts with a personalized and targeted approach, leading to significant business growth and success.
ABM is highly effective for B2B businesses that want to target specific companies or decision-makers.
4. Segment Your Audience
Segmenting your audience involves dividing your customer base into smaller groups based on specific criteria, such as demographics, behavior, and interests. By segmenting your audience, you can create more targeted campaigns that resonate with each group.
You can use tools like email marketing software to segment your audience based on their behavior, preferences, and engagement with your brand. You can also use social media analytics tools to segment your audience based on their interests and engagement with your social media channels.
One example of a company that used segmentation successfully to grow their business is Spotify. Spotify, a music streaming service, segmented its audience based on their listening habits and preferences. This allowed Spotify to tailor its recommendations and playlists to each individual listener, creating a personalized experience that kept them coming back for more. Spotify also used segmentation to target specific demographics with targeted advertising campaigns, such as promoting its family plan to parents and its student discount to college students. By effectively using segmentation, Spotify was able to increase user engagement and retention, leading to significant growth in its user base and revenue.
Segmenting your audience allows you to create more personalized campaigns that resonate with each group, improving engagement and conversions.
5. Use Lookalike Audiences
Lookalike audiences are groups of people who share similar characteristics to your existing customers. By targeting lookalike audiences, you can expand your reach and find new customers who are likely to be interested in your products or services.
To create lookalike audiences, you need to analyze your existing customer data and identify common characteristics, such as demographics, behavior, and interests. You can then use this information to create targeted campaigns that resonate with these audiences.
One example of a company that has used lookalike audiences successfully is Airbnb. The company used Facebook's lookalike audience feature to expand its reach and target potential new customers. By uploading a list of its existing customers' email addresses and using Facebook's algorithm to analyze the data, Airbnb was able to create a lookalike audience that matched the characteristics and behavior of its current customer base.
The company then targeted this lookalike audience with highly personalized ads based on their interests and preferences. As a result, Airbnb was able to drive significant growth in its user base and increase revenue. By leveraging lookalike audiences, Airbnb was able to target potential customers who were more likely to convert and become loyal users, which ultimately helped the company achieve its business goals.
Lookalike audiences are highly effective for businesses that want to expand their reach and find new customers who are likely to be interested in their products or services.
In conclusion
Targeting is an essential part of any successful marketing campaign. Without targeting, a campaign is like a shot in the dark, hoping to hit something. By focusing on the right audience, businesses can ensure their marketing efforts are more focused and more likely to achieve their desired outcomes.
It is important for businesses to understand their target audience and create messaging that resonates with them. This can be achieved by leveraging data, conducting research, and creating buyer personas. The more businesses understand their audience, the more effective their targeting efforts will be.
In addition to understanding the target audience, businesses should also consider the various targeting techniques available to them. Whether it is account-based targeting, demographic targeting, or interest-based targeting, each technique offers unique benefits that can help businesses reach their target audience more effectively.
Overall, targeting is a critical component of any marketing campaign, and businesses should make it a top priority. By focusing on targeting, businesses can maximize the effectiveness of their marketing efforts, increase engagement with their target audience, and ultimately drive more revenue for their business.
