As a business owner, it’s important for you to always think of creative ways to reach your target market. What you will find is only traditional methods can take you marketing strategy so far and you have to do A/B testing to really hone in on what works for you.
By testing different tactics, you’ll be able to gather in-depth data about the audience you attract and can use this data to make value-driving modifications to your plans.
If you are currently thinking about how you can get on the same page with your desired target market, here are some ideas:
Communicate Brand Values
Brand values are beliefs held by your company. Emphasizing brand values helps you become more than just a label—it helps humanize the people behind the brand.
The last thing you want to do is come across as a company only interested in scoring deals. Even though your business hopes to make money, you also want loyal customers.
Think about how you can reinforce those values in your messages and communications. And of course, make sure you lead by example behind the company walls. Examples of brand values include trust, fun, diversity and innovation.
If “community” is a core value, you may want to focus on building relationships with local businesses, volunteering, and buying products that support local fair employment practices (see sites like Frank Dolittle).
Captivate Their Emotions
Without a doubt, one of the best ways to appeal to your target market is to appeal to their emotions. As a business, you can leverage human emotions to resonate and connect with your audience. When done right, emotional marketing messages can work wonders.
Take a look at some of the successful campaigns to achieve this and you’ll get a better understanding of what this means. For example, women’s product brands have always built campaigns around the “like a girl” slur to illustrate how being “like a girl” is positive.
To appeal to their emotions, think about the problems your target audience is facing and how you can create solutions for them.
Your Customer Survey
No matter how much market research you do, data isn’t always enough. Oftentimes, getting real feedback from real users is critical to understanding how people perceive your brand and what you can do to grow your business.
Create a survey to get invaluable feedback—doing it also shows that you care about what they think and want to be a better company. Outside of surveys, you can conduct exploratory customer interviews and pay more attention to customer service questions.
Finally, use social media monitoring tools to pay attention to how your brand is perceived in real time across various social platforms. This allows you to stay ahead of your image and maintain an accurate pulse on the market.
Share User Generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) is content that is organically generated by your customers. Sharing content or user-generated reviews and testimonials is a great way to build social proof and give potential customers peace of mind.
One way to encourage user-generated content is to run contests that offer some kind of incentive to make it easier for them to want to talk about your brand. Many consumers are happy to receive credit when you share their content; You don’t have to give away too many products or lose money when you need it most.
Work with Influencers
Influencers have become synonymous with marketing. Influencers are a great tool for marketers because they offer a unique way to harness the power of personal recommendations. It’s easy for any business—from one-person startups to corporations—to roll out a strategy.
Simply select your preferred influencer marketing platform, use filtering tools to hone in on your target influencers, and contact them regarding potential partnership arrangements.
Working with influencers isn’t just an easy strategy that you can implement right away. It is also a flexible strategy that you can use time and time again. Once you start a solid working relationship with an influencer, they are likely to act as brand ambassadors for you even after they have finalized their final deal.
Furthermore, influencer marketing strategies accommodate all types of budgets and can reach all types of audiences.
