Knowing who your people are is arguably one of the most important things in business. That’s why audience creation is one of the most important steps in our Holistic Marketing Strategy process. Using a combination of experience, data, and market research, we identify distinct target audiences that allow our clients to call in the right supporters.
In this article, I’ll talk a bit about how we strategically build target audiences and why we put so much emphasis on this part of our Holistic Marketing Strategy.
One Target Audience? Try Three. Our Audience Philosophy.
A target audience is a clear definition of the people you’re trying to reach with your brand. A lot of marketers say that businesses need to define one audience and stick to it. We don’t agree.
We think it’s a bit lazy to lump everyone into a single target group. People are multifaceted and their reasons for loving a brand are distinct. Those distinctions should be explored with care. So when we’re thinking about who a business is targeting, we typically build three target audiences. We have found that creating three allows for those important distinctions but doesn’t over-segment the brand when it comes to communications.
Additionally, because we’re a holistic agency, our target audiences are always based on the long and short term goals of the business – not just the people the business happens to be calling in at the moment.
Our philosophy is that whomever you build for is who you will call in.
How fruitful is calling in a massive audience that is lovely but doesn’t serve the goals of the business? Not very.
Key Takeaways
A target audience is a clear definition of the people you’re trying to reach with your brand.
Our philosophy is that whomever you build for is who you will call in.
To us, building the brand strategy around your target audiences is the essence of our Holistic Marketing Strategy. It’s the essence of what we do at Dandelion. It’s what makes us great marketers.
Time to Call: Building a Voice Around Your Target Audiences
One thing that sets us apart is how incorporated our audiences are into the voice, content, and strategy of a brand.
How many articles have you read that says “you need to define your audience” but then doesn’t tell you how to use those audiences in your business.
For us, the target audience is everything. I’m not just talking like, “speak their language.” Although that’s sound advice, it isn’t quite spot on.
For example, the voice of the brand needs to hold the level of authority that the audience expects to hear from you. Authority is definitely brand-specific, but sometimes it changes per target audience. This is especially true for our clients who have multiple stakeholders, multi-faceted goals, and holistic business plans.
Using our newly defined target audiences coupled with brand values and goals, we create a single unified brand voice that appeals to each distinct group while unlocking the personality of the brand.
I know – it seems like a small thing when it comes to branding. But a voice can be just as show stopping as a logo, font, or color scheme. It isn’t your visual identity that keeps people coming back, it’s the story you tell and the way you tell it.
What Story Does Your Target Audience Want to Hear?
This is when most marketers start talking about painpoints and positioning. We came up in this school of thought, and while we agree that painpoints are important to understand, we value transformation more than pushing on bruises.
Our goal is to help an audience member see themselves standing next to you. If you give them a traumatic shock every time they get close, they’ll eventually stop getting close. But, if an audience member self-identifies as part of your target audience, they are much more likely to continue showing up.
So we work their story into your story. We look for spaces to give them agency to make the choice to join your story and transform their [insert their problem] with [insert your solution]. It’s a subtle difference, but by asking, “what story do they want to hear” we design true brand loyalty through holistic content and communications.
The Dandelion Holistic Marketing Strategy & Target Audiences
I’m going to be a bit forward here. Truly understanding target audiences and building brands around them is the essence of our Holistic Marketing Strategy. It’s the essence of what we do at Dandelion. It’s what makes us great marketers.
I say this because I am the person behind audience and strategy creation. For me, detailing each audience for a brand isn’t just creating a list of demographics and activities. It’s a deep channeling of creative empathy that defines a person with likes, fears, and a history. They have unique relationships with authority and family, and there is something specific about their expectations of the brand. (I could go on – it’s one of my favorite parts of what I do).
You can imagine how building a whole brand strategy around those bespoke audiences is special! The Dandelion Holistic Marketing Strategy is not just a means to the end of your content calendar, it’s a design of the whole experience an audience member will have with your brand.
I’m gushing- I know. I love what I do.
If you want to talk to me a bit about what that looks like for your brand, schedule a call with me.
