Life can sometimes be like that. So can business if you target the wrong group of people for your products.
If this has happened to you already, then you’re in good company. It is something that’s a commonly made mistake by many businesses. It is a mistake made by those who fear they could be losing important sales by not targeting every possible person. But it ends up spreading you too thin and wasting your time and money fixing the problem later.
Let’s meet Lucy, a 31-year-old budding fashion designer. She has created a new line of baby clothing so is planning to create a high-class launch event. She feels her toddler’s outfits are chic and luxurious. She is a determined person who injects unbridled energy and relentless determination into every task she performs. She’s also a careful planner who leaves nothing to chance. Everything ticks the right boxes.
Many small business owners face the same challenge as Lucy. How do you target a specific group of people when you don’t have the budget to do detailed market research and find out who these people are? Fortunately, it’s easier than you think and doesn’t have to cost a packet.
The first thing you can do is to begin with what you already know about who will purchase from you.
Different meals for different tastes – understanding your customers
Start by thinking about what you know about the people who have already bought from you or expressed an interest in your products. Even if you only have a small number of customers or sales these insights can be extremely valuable.
Ask yourself:
By thinking about what you know about your customers and trying to put them into groups of similar types, you are doing what marketing people often call customer segmentation. Although every individual is different, people who share similar interests and problems tend to behave in similar ways because have similar reasons for buying or using a particular product, which can help you tailor the product to suit their needs or communicate with them in a way that makes sense to them.
There are many useful ways you can divide up your customers:
If you don’t know enough about your customers and can’t think of any ways you can divide them up? You can simply compare them against what you know about your competitors and what you have read about them in their Google reviews or in forums like Reddit.
How can you apply these customer segmentation principles to your website?
Your website has less than 1 second to make an impression
On the web no visitors means you’re basically invisible. And we all know that first impressions count. So how do you get people’s attention?
Unlike the physical world, where a passerby might glance at your shop out of curiosity, online you have mere seconds to capture a visitor’s attention and draw them in before they click away.
Studies show that your website’s window of opportunity to make a positive first impression is significantly less than one second. In fact, Forbes magazine recently reported that users form an opinion about a website in 0.05 of a second and people spend less than a minute (on average) viewing or reading content before they decide to click away.
So, if you’re not using every trick at your disposal to keep your audience interested, you’ll lose them. And if you’re targeting the wrong people, you have no chance. You need to make every eyeball count.
Whose eye are you grabbing?
This is where customer segmentation fits in. It’s not just about catching any visitor’s eyeball; it’s about catching the right visitor’s eye. A toy store’s bright colours and playful fonts won’t attract the same clientele as a high-end jewellery store’s elegant script and subdued hues. Your website must reflect your brand’s personality and appeal directly to your ideal customer. Because if you don’t succeed here, then you won’t stand out.
The key benefit of customer segmentation for a small business is n it allows you to attract and engage your ideal customers rather than looking for anybody. You are laser targeting your business’ limited resources to make the most of your marketing spend. In short, you stop yourself wasting money on people who aren’t interested in what you sell.
The benefits include:
A common mistake that small business owners make is to assume that what interests them is what will interest their customers.
When you go to a coffee shop, there is more than one type of coffee on offer for a reason. Not everyone will want a flat white or espresso. Different people like different things so if you want to appeal to your customers, you have to give them what they want. Even if you hate it personally.
If you are a young, tech-savvy fitness enthusiast, always buying the latest fitness gadgets to track your workouts and you decide to start up a business drop shipping smart watches, you might assume that everyone is just like you and wants to monitor their heart rate, sleep patterns and find the latest personalised workout plans. If you only target people who want the same, you limit your product range and may be competing head-to-head in a super competitive market. Have you thought about active retirees or those close to retirement? They may be active by walking their dogs, attending yoga classes and taking walks with their partner. What they want is something simple, easy and reliable. They have the money and are ready to buy. Should you just not sell to them? Having a section of your website dedicated to this audience could help you increase your product range and sell more of your items.
The trick is to decide what groups of people are important to you.
The good news is that there are lots of things you can do today to apply segmentation to your business. Many of these would require another whole article to explain. We’d be happy to chat to you about any of these if you want to know more.
Understand your customer
Remember our intrepid fashion designer, Lucy? Now you know about targeting an audience correctly, what could she have done differently to end up with a launch event (and website) that fitted her business’ needs?
Have a think and then scroll down to see our ideas for how she could have avoided the disaster.
By focusing on understanding your audience and reflecting that in both your product selection and website, you maximise the chances of grabbing the attention of people travelling past your website and considering your products and services. In an economy where consumers are tightening their belts, getting to the right mix of products and marketing is an essential ingredient to success.
Now you’re armed to take these ideas forward for your small business.
And if you need a little help, we’d be delighted to carry on the conversation. Let’s chat.
Elliot Jackson is the founder and CEO of CJ Digital, a premier web design and digital marketing agency based in Melbourne, Australia. With over 15 years of experience in the web design and digital marketing industry, Elliot has a wealth of knowledge in web development, lead generation, B2B sales, client account management, demographic research, product development, and digital marketing.
Elliot established Castle Jackson Digital Marketing in 2014 after gaining extensive experience in various sales and marketing roles. He trained in Advertising at Swinburne University of Technology and has since been dedicated to helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) enhance their online presence and grow their businesses.
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