What is a Target Audience and Why Does it Matter?
A target audience must be at the forefront of everything you do and say.
It is never too late to stop and ask the most important question:
Whose problem does my product solve?
By Robin Stephenson
Your venture’s success depends on how you create success for your customers. Your target audience must be at the forefront of everything you do.
According to CB Insights, one of the top reasons startups fail is there is no market need for their product. The power to last is more than creating a thing, but creating a thing someone needs.
What is a target audience?
In general, a target audience is pretty easy to understand: You wouldn't waste your time selling cars to people who do not drive. Yet, it is surprising how many business fail to grasp this simple concept.
The people in your target audience are a group of people with similar characteristics who are most likely to buy your service, product, or be a member of your organization. In other words, a group of people with problem you can solve.
For example, if you sell affordable cars, your target audience is made up of people who drive and people earn around 50 thousand dollars a year. You can even narrow it down from there as you dig deeper into your products benefits.
Once you identify your target audience, you can then build segments of different types of people (personas) within that group and personalize messages and content to be even more effective.
A blurry picture won’t attract customers
Recently, a solopreneur with a photography teaching service contacted me for help. He wasn't getting students. He had a well-designed website, included a lead magnet, and his social content was engaging. So why wasn’t it working?
He didn’t start with his target audience. In fact, he missed them at every step of his process.
Although his content was well executed, the message was blurry. He didn’t speak to his ideal customer and tell or show them how he could solve their problem. It wasn’t on his home page. It wasn’t in his lead magnet. And it wasn’t in his videos.
Finding focus
Ignoring your target audience is expensive and has long-term ramifications for your business.
It is never too late to stop and ask the most important question: Whose problem does my product solve and who needs it?
Once you answer that fundamental question, design your content and marketing strategy for those people. A good rule of thumb is to always keep your audience front of mind.
