In the days before the internet, businesses used to market themselves to customers using a scattered approach. Distributing leaflets was one common strategy, with a focus on quantity of leads rather than quality. Nowadays, there is no more need for companies to adopt this hit-and-hope technique, as technology has enabled laser-like precision when it comes to targeting.
If you’re the owner of a business, you’ll find that you want to zone in on specific audiences. This is hugely important because it means you will always get good-quality leads and make a return on your advertising spend. There are also numerous ways to take advantage of customer feedback and refine the approach as you collect more data.
Analytics Can Spot Gaps in Business and Improve Targeting
There has been a massive surge in the big data and analytics sector over the last ten years, and this technology is helping businesses tailor themselves to the needs of their ideal clients. By collecting a vast amount of data from your potential customers using online surveys, you can get a clear picture of what kind of person your perfect audience member is. In addition to that, you can analyze the buying habits of existing customers and improve your product or service, so it fits their needs completely.
Using all the data at your disposal, you can try to identify gaps in your approach and ensure that you are gearing everything to your crowd. For example, from all the survey responses, you can get an idea about the language your customers use and then recycle this in the ad copy and text on the website, so they feel as though you are speaking directly to them.
Location-Specific Marketing is Crucial for Some Industries
One of the handiest tools of the internet is the ability to target people in specific geographical regions. Did you know that your Google search is going to look vastly different to someone typing the same thing in a different country? Indeed, on a state-to-state level in the USA, diverse options appear when users search the same thing. This is because a high proportion of sites are marketing themselves to people in specific areas. For example, what use would a pizza shop in New York be to a hungry internet user in Melbourne, Australia?
Luckily, businesses can specify the radius in which they operate, meaning that they are only shown to people within that zone. This is useful if you’re an offline company, such as someone providing a service like plumbing. It’s also handy for online companies that need to abide by the laws of different states. An example of this would be NJ online casinos, which market themselves to people in New Jersey because of regulations in other locations. It would be a waste of resources to advertise all the attractive welcome bonuses to people living in other places who may not be able to take advantage of them.
Whenever you set up a campaign on Google or Facebook, you can type in your zip code or select it on a map. From there, you simply widen the radius as far out as you desire, and then your ads will only appear to people within this setting.
Multimedia Tools to Improve Access for a Range of People
Despite having all the tools to zone in on your target audience, it’s also important to understand the individual needs of the people within this group. Not everyone will access or use your business in the same way. For example, some people may use Instagram, while others prefer Facebook, so you’d need to run your adverts on both.
Some customers may be blind or vision-impaired, so you should consider using text-to-speech, or image captions for people who are hard of hearing. When people become customers, they will use your site and services in different ways. Therefore, you’ll need to consider a diverse range of payment options to suit everyone, from classic debit cards to online wallets. You could also include multimedia on your pages to appeal to different preferences. These could include articles, videos, or gamification elements.
The old-school approach of advertising to the masses is over, and business owners should now be leveraging the power of technology to focus on their dream customers. There are various ways to do this, and you should always seek to refine your approach to maximize your ad spend and turn leads into paying clients. This is the best way to boost your business and give yourself a strong chance of success.
