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Know your audience. This simple principle is the basis of all marketing. Without targeted customers
in mind, developing a marketing plan can seem very daunting. And without a marketing plan your efforts
can become scattered and counterproductive to your image. Targeted customer groups will direct your
energy into strategic, focused and successful marketing. This article will guide you through target
customer identification and how to use your analysis as a tool for marketing campaigns.
So, who are your target customers? If you say, "women, aged 20-60 with middle to upper income levels,"
then you have only scratched the surface of your customer analysis. The biggest weakness we saw in our
2006 Business Development Grant competition entries was the lack of targeted customer definitions. The
above statement is not targeting. It describes an enormous population in this country with very little
in common with each other aside from gender. Moreover, targeting is more than just basic demographics
like age and income. Jewelry is an emotional purchase. Targeting needs to include tastes, interests
and self-image or "psychographics."
It is true that your jewelry may appeal to a wide range of women. However, you should see that your
designs sell best to a core group that has a great deal in common with one another. These commonalities
will extend beyond just preferences in jewelry. To identify a primary target group it is a good idea to
start with yourself. Your tastes and design style will likely appeal to people very similar to you.
Try answering these questions about yourself and your clients.
- What are your family situations?
- Where do you live?
- What are your career situations?
- What are your primary social activities?
- What are your hobbies?
- What clothing stores do you frequently visit?
- What are your definitions of a typical night on the town?
Now consider the following three example target groups defined by these parameters:
Young Urbanites
Women 22-30
- Single, dating, perhaps have a roommate
- Live in the city, most likely in apartments
- Career-minded, educated and upwardly mobile
- Socialize at work, bars, nightclubs, the gym, coffee shops
- Enjoy spending time with friends, reading, sports, travel and music
- Shop at Anthropologie, Banana Republic, The French Connection
- A night on the town includes a group of friends, dinner at a trendy restaurant, and drinks
at one or more hot spots.
Modern Stay at Home Mommies
Women 27-40
- Married with young children
- Live in the suburbs, mid-sized cities to small towns
- Taking time off work to focus on family
- Socialize at play groups, book clubs, and neighborhood barbeques
- Enjoy crafts, scrapbooking, gardening
- Shop at The Gap, JC Penny, Target
- A night on the town includes a babysitter at home with the kids, dinner with husband and
perhaps another couple at a family restaurant, and a movie.
Power Suits
Women 40-60
- Single or married with older children.
- Live in exclusive suburbs or upscale townhouses
- Top executives in established companies or small business owners
- Socialize at work, country clubs, and fundraisers
- Enjoy golf, tennis, spas, international travel, fine dining
- Shop at Talbot's, Ann Taylor, Nordstrom's
- A night on the town includes dinner at a top restaurant followed by a cultural event such
as the theater, opera or a concert.
Now imagine the types of accessories that would appeal to each of these target groups. What would each
type of woman wear on her night on the town? What would they wear Monday through Friday? Where would
they look for their accessories? The answers are very different from one group to the next.
These are just a few of the hundreds of target groups possible. You can play with the identification
parameters to make groups fairly broad or extremely specific. Many nationally recognized target groups
identified by marketers have become household names. You have probably heard of Soccer Moms, Yuppies,
DINKS (dual income no kids), Gen Xers, Babyboomers and more. Some groups are closely related or even
overlap. How would you imagine women in the following target groups? Yoga Health Nuts, Religious
Conservatives, Metaphysical Enthusiasts, Globetrotting Adventurers, Soho Loft Artists.
Target group analysis is a useful behind-the-scenes tool for savvy marketers. These classifications
are not intended to be offensive or stereotypical. Instead, they are means of identifying people with
similar tastes in order to effectively reach them with products tailored to their lifestyles. It is
much more specific and achievable to develop a marketing approach for Young Urbanites than it is to
successfully sell to all women, especially when you have limited available funds. You will always have
customers outside of your target groups. But, remember that you cannot successfully appeal to everyone
all the time. Use your target customer profiles to direct your efforts and prioritize your spending to
maximize impact.
The next step is to ask yourself how your target customers' behaviors translate into means of
communication and promotion for your products. Where should you advertise or seek out public relations
opportunities? Below are marketing plan outlines for the three example groups in this article. Refer
back to the group descriptions above as you read each plan. Notice that the plans are specific and
actionable.
Young Urbanites
- Print Ads: Metropolitan arts & entertainment magazines, fashion magazines
- Product Placement: Popular music groups, prime time celebrities, fashion blogs
- Sales Channels: Shopping event parties, trunk shows and the following retailers
- Internet: Fashion forward retail boutiques like Style Bakery
- Stores: Franchises carrying apparel for the young, single party girl
- Website Style: Fun, bold colors, current fashion references, links to local events
- Notes: Price point and collateral materials appeal will be extremely important.
Modern Mommies
- Print Ads: Parenthood magazines, local lifestyle magazines
- Product Placement: Talk show & soap opera celebrities, local newscasters, motherhood blogs like Posh Cravings
- Sales Channels: Home parties, fashionable catalogs and the following retailers:
- Internet: Boutique sites like Red Envelope and Ancient Echoes
- Stores: Convenient locations like beauty salons and mall shops/kiosks
- Website Style: Stylish with in-depth bio information to personally connect with clients
- Notes: Mothers' bracelets and other family focused designs are perennial sellers.
Power Suits
- Print Ads: Regional/local lifestyle magazines, women's business magazines, special interest magazines
- Product Placement: Leaders on the speaker circuit, socialites and fundraising professionals, national newscasters
- Sales Channels:
- Internet: High end boutique galleries like Notanonymous and Fragments
- Stores: High end boutiques, art galleries, spa and resort shops, personal shopper lines
- Website Style: Classic, conservative and high service
- Notes: Couture pieces and limited editions are a good fit. Service level will be critical.
If you are a new business, you will be most successful branding your jewelry line if you stick to 1-2
target groups. Adding geographic target zones will make this process even easier. Consider Young
Urbanites in San Francisco, for example. Targeting will also help you determine what approach to take
with your writing and graphic designs for sales materials.
Marketing can be overwhelming when you are not sure where to start. Identifying your target customers
is the best place to begin. With target group information in hand, the rest falls into place. Then it
is a matter of researching each exposure opportunity and budgeting your marketing dollars. At every
step ask yourself how your target customers would respond. Once you know your audience, the answers
will be at your fingertips.
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