Most marketing strategies spend too much time on product attributes, too little time on the consumer. Even with the Web’s tracking technology that can produce highly specific user profiles based on purchasing patterns and predictive behavioral models, marketers still need to have a deep understanding of target consumers’ mindset.
When developing your prospect definition as part of your marketing plan or creative brief, you have to go beyond demographics. You have to put flesh on the bones. Define attitudes and usage patterns that help the creative team talk to the most likely buyer. Create a snapshot of the target by including what we know about them that will help us see them and imagine their life as it relates to the product. Are we talking to a young Starbucks barista that lives in an urban apartment, or a suburban mother of three?
Developing a lifestyle and psychographic profile helps creatives see your buyer as an individual, not a mass.
Consider answering these questions about your target buyer:
- What are their hopes, dreams and aspirations?
- What keeps them up at night, or worries them?
- How does the product fit into their lives?
- Why would they want the product?
- How important is the product to them?
- What do they ultimately want the brand or product to do for them?
- What media do they consume the most?
Digging deep and creating a detailed profile can provide useful insights about your target audience, that ultimately lead to better, more relevant marketing strategies and creative execution.
Image from Blawg House.
