The impact of a well-researched and fully developed buyer persona that targets your end-consumer cannot be overstated. Making sure that every department within your company — from product development to sales to marketing to customer service — knows the buyers inside and out is crucial for your long-term success. When considering the significant investment that can come with digital advertising, it is important to have buyer personas well-defined as a starting point before developing your advertising strategies. Without knowing who you are trying to reach (online or in-store), it will be nearly impossible to figure out how to reach them. This can result in lots of wasted spend, lost consumer trust, and missed opportunities, all impacting your bottom line. So how do we put your advertising dollars in the right areas?
You have to spend money to make money
We’ve all heard that old saying that you need to spend money to make money. While this is true for any business, the key is that you have to wisely spend money to make money. It is estimated that nearly 60% of the world’s population has access to the internet, and that number jumps to nearly 87% for developed countries. Even the world’s largest manufacturers would not try to reach all of those users, and why would they want to? Manufacturers that do not tailor their digital advertising to fit their ideal consumers soon find that they are out of marketing dollars without generating enough revenue to make up the difference.
An important concept for any successful marketing strategy is that you must reach your customers where they are. Example – will your buyer be shopping at their favorite retail store or will they be browsing online for the new dinnerware set they’ve been wanting? We have discussed this before and for good reason. Without a clear picture of where to reach your target audience, you might as well be shouting your well-tailored marketing message from the top of Mount Everest. Each time our team considers which advertising channels to recommend to a partner, we ask… is that where their audience shops?
Another way to avoid wasted advertising spend is by knowing when your buyer is open to your message. Are you trying to market your product(s) to working professionals during business hours? Or when your audience is in weekend mode? Telemarketers have a bad reputation for a reason; no one wants to be sold to while they are enjoying their family time. This is why many marketing platforms allow marketers to choose which days and times of day to display their ads. With an expert-knowledge of who your consumer is, you will know exactly when he/she will be open to your message.
One-Size-Fits-All … Never Really Fits All
Having a laser-sharp focus on your audience (or audiences) can help you make smart decisions on the types of messages you craft. What problem does your product seek to solve for your customers? Is this a problem that your audience is already aware of or do they not know of the problem yet?
When you envision your product being used, is it only by one, narrow demographic? Chances are, “No.” Your product is used by a wide range of audiences and they all find that it solves different “problems” of theirs. Your audience may consist of both working-moms and jet-setters, but the same message that speaks to your working mom audience will fall flat with the jet-setters. Expertly crafted buyer personas can help define your distinct markets, identify each buyer’s pain points, and address them in a personalized way.
All of this work to get to know your audiences serves to build trust with them. When a buyer feels that his/her needs are understood and addressed by a business, marketing suddenly becomes less about going out and finding your customers, and more about building and retaining loyal brand ambassadors. Maintaining a passionate audience is much cheaper than finding a brand new audience. They seek you out when they want to purchase, share their experiences with friends and family, and are more open to your messages.
Never Miss an Opportunity
So you’ve got the right message to the right people at the right time in the right places. Now what? Just like everything else in the digital marketing world, the work is never done. After all this work, it is time to listen and learn some more. What are your customers saying about your product and company? Can your targeting or messaging be refined? Are there new opportunities you didn’t consider?
As my colleague mentioned last month about social media never being static, people are quick to let you know what they think of your products. The good, the bad, and everything in between. Maybe there is a design flaw that you never considered, but it really irritates your customers. Or maybe there is a barrier to purchase that you already have a solution for, but your customers don’t know about it. Sometimes they even surprise you by using your product in a way that you never expected. Monitoring and listening to your audience through their social channels are all are great opportunities for you to expand your digital marketing efforts and better connect with your customers. Sometimes these exercises not only help guide our direction with your advertising strategy, it may help you with developing your next product that your (already loyal) customers will be ready to jump on!
The Bottom Line
Taking the time up-front to fully understand your distinct audiences makes a big impact on your bottom line. When a digital marketing plan is developed and executed around audience personas, your customers will enjoy a more seamless experience with your brand, move down the purchase funnel faster, and purchase at higher rates. With less of your precious marketing budget spent on ineffective ad channels and messages and more revenue coming in, this all adds up to a higher Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
That’s why we love working with houseware brands! We take the time to really understand your consumers, diving deep into who they are, where they shop at and what is important to them so that we can better help you connect with them to grow your brand.
