A presentation for entrepreneurs and marketers that discusses the importance of defining your target market. Research basics are outlined, and basic steps for developing and executing a research plan are outlined. The basics of consumer profiles and personas are touched on. The presentation also discusses the benefits and uses of a defined target market, and how to utilize it inside and outside your organization.
Presented for Start Garden in Grand Rapids, MI. http://startgarden.com
5. +
Target market and target audience are
interchangeable, and refer to the group
of potential consumers with similar
attributes.
Terminology
Target consumer and target customer
are also interchangeable, and refer to a
theoretical “person” who embodies the
common attributes of your target market.
Consumer or audience profiles and
personas are ways to display common
attributes of your target audience as
easy-to-use tools.
There are two types: aspirational and
actual.
6. +
Why Bother?
Even with limited resources, you can implement more surefire
marketing and sales initiatives.
It’s exhausting trying to be everything for everyone!
Leads to better market research opportunities in the future.
Everyone within your organization will be on the “same page”.
8. +
Why your target market isn’t “everyone”
Is your product or service meeting a need for everyone? It’s
unlikely.
It’s not always complex.
Start small - don’t get ahead of yourself!
Communication with your customer is key.
Marketing to everyone is expensive!
10. +
How many target audiences should
I have?
Varies depending on product or service
Must be distinct differences between target audience groupings
Must be representative of actual buyers – no fictional buyers
Remember to start small
12. +
Primary vs. Secondary Research
Primary Research: Research specifically designed and
conducted for your project
Secondary Research: Research conducted by a third party with
no relation to your own research, which is later analyzed and
applied to your project
14. +
Qualitative Research
Denotes quality of responses
Number of respondents is secondary to the quality of individual
responses
No set minimum for number of participants
Typically is conducted as primary research
Examples:
Longer, one-on-one interviews with a few potential customers
Open-ended questions like, “Tell me about your job responsibilities.”
Visiting a store or office with a potential customer and observing their
behavior
15. +
Quantitative Research
Denotes quantity of responses
Quality of individual responses is secondary to the number of respondents
Typically not considered reliable data unless sample size is greater than
30
Could be primary or secondary research
Examples:
Short surveys given online, over the phone, or in person to a large audience
Closed-ended questions like “Have you ever read the New York Times?”
Questions where results can be easily analyzed as a group, like “On a scale of
1 to 10 , how would you rate your interest in American Idol?”
Observation over a long period of time, observing large quantities of people
completing a specific task or behavior
17. +
Developing a Research Plan
Understand what you want to learn before you attempt to do
research.
Prepare a list of specific items you’re trying to touch on.
Align objectives with research methods to create a plan that
meets your needs and resource capabilities.
Keep it realistic!
18. +
Consumer Research Objectives
Examples
Defining Your Market
Analyze existing customers to
uncover trends in
demographics, behavior
Develop a cursory profile of
your target consumer
Understand their basic
interactions with your brand and
competitors
Understanding Your Market
Track their media habits
Uncover their motivations for
purchase and use
Use problems and pain points
to make product innovations
Test new product concepts on
likely customers
Develop a sound messaging
strategy that resonates with the
target audience
19. +
ACTIVITY
With a partner, discuss one characteristic you would like to learn
about your target market. Also name one thing you don’t think you
need to learn about your target market.
Was there any overlap?
20. +
One-on-one Interview
Focus Group
Survey (qualitative or quantitative)
Observation
Selecting a Method
Experimentation
Make sure you choose the best format
for achieving your objectives.
A/B Testing
Open Forums
Usability Testing
Secondary Research
21. +
Create an Outline
Once you have selected a research method, create an outline
to alleviate stress and stay organized.
Craft an introduction to get respondents comfortable.
Group related questions under the same topic for ease of
organization, and to help the respondent track with your
questions.
22. +
Question Flow
Begin with simple questions to get your respondent
comfortable.
Move through your outlined topics by starting with more general
questions, and delving into specifics later in the survey.
If using scales or rating systems, stay consistent.
Demographic questions should be asked at the very beginning
or very end of the survey – personal preference.
23. Types of Questions
Dichotomous questions:
Yes/No
Used Product/Did Not Use Product
Male/Female*
+
Likert Scale:
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral/Don’t Know
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Rating Scale:
Number scales: 1-5, 1-7, and 1-10 are
most commonly used.
Other scales: Excellent, very good, good,
acceptable, poor.
Open-ended
Word association
Uninstructed
Can be long or short format
You may use a blend of question types
depending on your format and
objectives.
24. +
Crafting Questions
DON’T
DO
When using a scale, define the
scale and try to be consistent.
Probe and clarify open-ended
responses.
Offer “other” or “N/A” responses
whenever possible or
necessary.
Allow respondents to move on if
a question confuses or
frustrates them.
Bias respondents by calling it
“your product”. Call the product
by its name.
Change inflection, tone, or hint
at your own preferences.
Cut respondents off in the
middle of a thought.
Attempt to guess at answers,
especially demographics (like
gender, race, age, income).
25. +
ACTIVITY:
With a partner, please try to rewrite these questions:
•
•
Why do you like my product?
Rate how much you like Facebook on a scale of 1-10.
26. +
Recruiting Respondents: Who?
No target market defined
Use your research to test your
own hypothesis
Start with existing customers
and gather their demographic
information
Start by using a few of the
attributes of your target market
Look for a diverse but
representative demographic
group
Defined target market
If you have multiple target
markets, make sure to gather
data in a way that keeps these
separately
27. +
Recruiting Respondents: How?
Small Budget
Obtain referrals
Speak with existing customers
You can hire a recruitment firm
Look within your own network
to recruit
Large Budget
You can offer incentives to help
aid participation numbers
28. +
You may not have the time to conduct
primary research, or you may already
know enough about your target market
to utilize secondary research.
Competitor information
Secondary
Research
Third-party groups like:
Forrester Research
Pew Research
eMarketer
Many more…
Government databases including:
Census
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Many more…
Library resources:
Look for studies related to your
industry or target customers
News and other media
30. +
Analyzing Your Results
When doing quantitative research, you are going to end up with
a lot of data.
Look for instances where the data is “telling a story”.
Just because something is statistically significant doesn’t mean
it’s important.
For example, you might find that almost 100% of people use paper.
That doesn’t mean you need a chart to show it.
31. +
Analyzing Your Results
With qualitative research, you should look for common themes
amongst multiple participants.
In the case of a consumer profile, divergent data could mean
different things:
In one case, if half your consumers are college students and the other
half are parents, it indicates you likely have two target audiences.
In another case, if you find half your consumers don’t use sunscreen in
the summer, it’s likely not a relevant attribute of your target market.
Be wary of picking sound bites just because they support your
hypothesis – is there evidence that the opinion is shared by many?
33. +
What is an Audience Profile?
Small set of attributes for a target audience or customer base
As a design tool, they are a quick way to communicate who the
designer should design for
As marketing communications tool, they provide some details
on the recipient of your message
Profiles can be created with minimal research and time,
whereas their counterpart, personas, are much more detailed
and resource-intensive
34. +
Elements of an Audience Profile
Name
Photo
Demographics
Psychographics
Research-specific findings
36. +
What is a Persona?
Detailed set of representative attributes and data for a target
audience or customer base
As a design tool, they are a powerful way to communicate
behaviors, goals, wants, needs and frustrations
As marketing communications tool, they provide insight into
reaching and engaging your customer
Effective personas are driven by research data and focus on
how a particular profile uses a particular application in a given
context
37. +
Elements of a Persona
Name
Motivations & Behaviors
Photo
Verbatim Quotes
Demographics
Background Information
Psychographics
Pain Points and Frustrations
Technographics and Media
Usage
38. +
ACTIVITY
Review the profile and persona examples. Note some differences
between the persona and the audience profile example.
39. +
ACTIVITY
The next several slides outline some benefits of using personas or
audience profiles as tools. Let’s go through each one and discuss
whether it’s a benefit of the persona, the profile, or both.
40. +
To put a face to the
people you want to reach
47. +
ACTIVITY
Think back to some of the benefits of identifying your target market
that we discussed.
What uses can you think of for a audience profile or persona?
48. +
How to interact with and market to
your target customer
Use research to uncover pain points, then use marketing to
exhibit how your product or service alleviates problems
Reach them using media outlets they use frequently
Craft messaging in a tone your audience will be receptive to
Consider different approaches for speaking to different
audiences
If you rely on customer service, use your understanding of the
customers to better aid them
Involve your target market in research for product advances or
new products – make them a part of your team
49. +
Target customers and your staff,
partners, and vendors
STAFF
Utilize target consumer profiles
or personas for training
Help sales target the right
markets or individual buyers
Make a clearer case for funding
Craft a narrative built around a
realistic buying scenario
Aid in product development of
new features
PARTNERS
Give marketing a clear
objective and audience to
speak to
VENDORS
Enlighten vendors with more
detailed specs and
considerations
Empower every part of supply
chain with information