To define your target audience is to choose which customers your business is most valuable to, and to get to know that group so well that you know what they need, where they search and why they choose you. A good target audience is specific enough to communicate with directly, and big enough to build a business on.
'Everyone' isn't a target audience. If you try to speak to everyone, you usually don't really speak to anyone. In this article you'll learn how to define your target audience in five steps, using data you often already have.
Why defining your target audience matters so much
Your target audience is the starting point for almost every marketing choice. Once you know who you're doing it for, other questions get easier:
- Which words you use on your website, and which keywords you choose.
- Which channels you're active on and where you advertise.
- Which photos, examples and reviews you show.
- Which services you highlight and which you drop.
- Which price fits what your customers expect.
A clear target audience also means less waste. Your ad budget goes to people who could genuinely become customers, and your copy strikes the right chord.
Step 1: look at your best customers
Don't start with who you'd like to have, but with who you already have. List your ten to twenty best customers. 'Best' means: pleasant to work with, good for your revenue and satisfied. Then look for what they have in common:
- Who are they? Consumer or business, age, household situation, industry or company size.
- Where are they? In your own town, in the region or spread across the country.
- What problem did they come to you with?
- How did they find you?
- Why did they choose you and not someone else?
You'll often spot patterns you didn't expect. Maybe your best customers all come from one industry, or mainly through recommendations.
Step 2: use the data you already have
You don't need to commission expensive research. There's often a lot of information ready and waiting:
- Google Analytics: which regions visitors come from, which pages they read and through which channel they arrive.
- Google Search Console: which keywords you're found for. That shows the words your customers think in.
- Reviews: what customers themselves mention as the reason they're happy.
- Your inbox and phone notes: which questions keep coming back?
- Social media statistics: who responds and follows you.
Keyword research is also a form of audience research. It shows you exactly what people type when they have a problem you solve.
Step 3: talk to customers
Numbers tell you what people do; conversations tell you why. Call five customers and ask a few open questions. Most customers like being asked. For example:
- What was going on when you looked for us?
- What were you unsure about before you got in touch?
- Which other options did you consider?
- What tipped the balance?
- How would you describe us to a friend?
Write the answers down as literally as possible. The words customers use themselves are often the best words for your website and ads.
Step 4: segment and choose your target audience
You may now see several groups. An installer, for example, might work for homeowners, landlords and contractors. Those are three segments, groups that each have different needs. Choose one as your main target audience, and at most one or two as secondary. Useful questions for choosing:
- Which group brings in the most, per job and over time?
- Which group do you have the most experience with and the best story for?
- Which group is big enough in your region?
- Where is the competition weaker?
Choosing can feel like turning customers away. It isn't. You can still help other customers; you're just focusing your marketing on the group you get the most out of.
Step 5: create a persona
A persona is a short, concrete description of one typical customer from your main target audience, with a name. It makes your target audience tangible. A target audience example for a landscape gardener:
- Name: Petra, 52, lives with her partner in a semi-detached house with a large back garden.
- Situation: works full time and has neither the time nor the inclination to look after the garden herself.
- Wish: a garden that looks tidy and needs little maintenance.
- Doubts: what will it cost, and will the gardener keep their promises?
- Searches via: Google, reviews and tips from neighbours.
- What convinces her: photos of similar gardens, a clear price indication and good reviews.
Use the persona when you write copy or create an ad: would Petra understand this, and would it take away her doubts?
Common mistakes when defining a target audience:
- A target audience made up only of age and gender, without needs and doubts.
- Inventing a persona behind your desk, without ever talking to a customer.
- Too many target audiences at once, so your copy becomes vague again.
- Creating the persona once and never using it again.
Defining a B2B target audience
If you sell to businesses, it works a little differently. Your target audience is then a type of company, and within it the person who decides. Think of industry, number of employees and region, and of the role of the person you're talking to: the owner, a buyer or an operations manager. Often several people have a say. In that case, also describe what each of them cares about. For this audience, LinkedIn marketing for businesses is often a logical channel.
From target audience to marketing
Once you know your target audience, you can tailor your website, copy and channels to it. Put it in your marketing plan for small businesses, so your choices are set down. We can help: from a website that answers exactly your customer's questions to campaigns that reach the right people. Our online marketing starts from €599 excl. VAT (€725 incl. VAT) per month, with no minimum term and cancellable monthly with one month's notice.
Want to sharpen your target audience together? Book a free quickscan. In 30 minutes we discuss your customers and what you offer, and afterwards you get brief written advice with a price indication, with no obligation.
Frequently asked questions
How do you define your target audience when you're just starting out?
Look at the customers you've already had, even if there are only a few. Talk to people who could be your ideal customer and look at keywords and competitors. Adjust your choice once you have more customers.
What is the difference between a target audience and a persona?
A target audience is a group of people with shared characteristics. A persona is a concrete example of one person from that group, with a name, situation, needs and doubts. The persona helps you picture your target audience.
Can you have more than one target audience?
Yes, but choose one main target audience for your marketing to focus on. If you really have different groups, create separate pages or campaigns per group instead of one text for everyone.
How often should you review your target audience?
Look at it at least once a year, and also when you launch a new service or notice your customers changing. Your Analytics data and conversations with customers often show early on that something is shifting.
