Tag Archives: consumer demographics

Owning A Business – Part Five

Now that you know who your customers are, what they’re buying, and the value you offer them, it’s time to consider the message delivery channels. This is generally considered to be the area where you advertise your business, and it is one of the most challenging aspects of business ownership.

Get your message through

Choosing the right method to deliver your message is important.

Where do you spend your advertising dollars? You need to know what you want your ads to do:

  • Create exposure
  • Increase brand awareness
  • Get paying customers in the door
  • Generate a return on the investment
  • Build brand loyalty

Modern advertising theory holds that customers must first know you exist. They will then investigate and vet you to determine if you’re legit and how you’re different. Then they purchase. Age, gender, lifestyles, and other consumer demographics determine how best to deliver your message.

When you think about texts, most people respond almost immediately when they hear the text message alert. Whether it calls them to action on your behalf is another matter.

Consumers will vet your company by checking out your website or social media presence, so take care to ensure it achieves your goal and purpose of being relevant to the message.

TV commercials can build brand awareness and create a sense of urgency, but remember most consumers with a DVR (digital video recorder) fast forward through commercials.

Direct mail and other print channels can be effective if targeted to specific consumers and delivered with a definite call to action. Newspaper and magazine ads can work if the message resonates with the readers and are designed for maximum impact.

As the business owner, consider engaging a professional marketing firm to manage your advertising, but you must make the ultimate decision on how much to spend and where. If your ads fail to achieve your objectives, make the necessary changes.

Brand Your Work – Work Your Brand

Owning A Business – Part Three

You’ve had some time to evaluate your products or services from the perspective of your customers, so now you have a much better perspective on what owning your business means to them. This third part of business ownership involves consumer demographics: How well you know who your customers are, why they buy from you, and what may or may not bring them back to your business.

Owning a business involves knowing your clients

How well do you know your prospects and customers?

You would be amazed at how many business owners, when asked who needs their product or services, answer “everyone” can use what we offer. Banish that thought!

Sure, everyone needs to drink water, but why should they drink the water you produce when there are several brands on the shelves and some that comes out of the tap in their home? They ask, before they purchase: What makes you different?

The secret lies in knowing your customer demographics as well as you possibly can. Are they women or men? What ethnicity? Young, older, or more mature? Where do they live, primarily? Where do they work? What are their hobbies or interests? Are they active in the community as volunteers? What hits their hot button? If they’re a couple, who’s most likely to make the buying decision?

This laundry list about your customers can be rather extensive, but as you’ll see, it’s important to know so you have perspective on how to reach them. If they purchase clothes at outlet retailers, they may be more likely to listen to country radio than if they shop at higher end retailers.

How do they get around? Do they take public transportation, walk, or drive a vehicle? Signs in train stations or billboards along the highway may be avenues to reach them.

Do they listen to the radio, and when? What genre, and how many different options are there? Sponsorship and advertisements become possibilities, and the same holds true if they watch television programs. Keep in mind that certain generations use a digital video recorder (DVR) and fast forward through commercials. Viewing preferences are constantly changing, which merits considering professionals to assist in identifying prospective customers and appropriate channels to reach them with your message.

Engaging a professional marketing firm can save you money and help you wade through the swamps of advertising possibilities. The focus needs to be on getting returns from your investment.

Brand Your Work – Work Your Brand