Who Are Your Target Customers?

Brain overlaid with words Who Are Your Target Customers?Knowing what makes your customers tick will help you make marketing decisions, from pricing, distribution, and choosing the color of your logo, to deciding what to put on your website and using Facebook effectively.

When you know why people are drawn to your products or services, you can focus on attracting customers who will be excited about what you offer.

Here are some tips to help you find the best customers for your business or organization.

Continue reading Who Are Your Target Customers?

DIY Market Research

Cover slide image for DIY Market Research

Market research is simply the process of finding answers to your questions about the market, your customers, and your competitors. Whether you’re launching a new business or growing an existing one, you can use Do-It-Yourself (DIY) market research to answer key questions, such as:

  • What trends are on the horizon? How can I use them to help me create or improve my products?
  • Are there people who want to buy my product or service, and if so, what’s the best way to reach them?
  • How many potential customers can I attract?
  • Who’s my competition?
  • Who are my current customers? How do they like what I offer?

Market research firms can provide the information you need or research it for you, BUT they usually charge thousands of dollars. Here are some free and low-cost tools you can use for Do-It-Yourself (DIY) market research.

Continue reading DIY Market Research

Using Focus Groups to Avoid Mistakes

Illustration of a focus groupIn 2015, Bud Light printed beer cans with the slogan, “The perfect beer for removing ’no’ from your vocabulary for the night.” The marketers who came up with the phrase probably intended to create a fun, lighthearted message, but after protesters pointed out it looked like the company was condoning rape, drunk driving, and other unacceptable behavior, Budweiser quickly apologized and withdrew the cans.

If only they’d run the slogan past a focus group, they could have spared their reputation—and their budget. Chances are that someone in the focus group would have pointed out that the slogan was offensive and Budweiser wouldn’t have printed the cans.

Want to know what people really think about your idea before you launch it? Run it past a focus group first.

Continue reading Using Focus Groups to Avoid Mistakes