Could the answer to your marketing woes be that you’re targeting the wrong audience? In marketing, you must be reaching the right audience. When marketing efforts fail to reach the desired audience, businesses lose money. It seems obvious and straightforward. But when you’re marketing something, you have to consider what type of customer could and should be buying it. But even if you know that information, your efforts can still miss the mark, especially if you and your team don’t match the same profile as your target audience.
Here are the five signs that you’re targeting the wrong audience.
1. You’re Not Getting the Desired Response
One of the surest indications that you are targeting the wrong audience is if you are not getting the desired response from customers. Let’s say that your website is very plain. But you’re selling high-end shoes. With this mix, you’re going to reach the wrong audience. Conversely, using the same example, there is a difference between simple and plain. A website that is simple, yet elegant, you can succeed in reaching a high-end customer base.
2. You’re Getting More Visitors to Your Site Than Actual Customers
If you’ve been getting a lot of site visitors after producing a lot of marketing material and putting it out there without many customers, you’re targeting the wrong audience. When the number of visitors goes up, and the number of actual customers goes down, you’ve got a problem.
Businesses that are reaching the wrong audience will get more people looking at their website than buying from it. Any marketing professional knows that to fuel growth and increase sales; you have to get attention. The problem is when you’re getting the wrong kind of attention; you’re not going to grow or increase sales.
3. You’re Spending More on Marketing
Another sign that you’re targeting the wrong audience is that spending on marketing services has gone up significantly. More specifically, if high marketing costs have been sustained over a long period without much to show for it, you’re targeting the wrong audience.
4. You’re Getting An Unusual Amount of Negative Reviews
Businesses that are experiencing an uptick in negative reviews after recently spending money on marketing and promotions might be targeting the wrong audience. When you spend money on marketing, the last thing you want to get in return is a slew of bad reviews.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the correlation between targeting the wrong audience and getting bad reviews. Say you ally your business with a specific cause and tout that cause in your marketing. Now imagine that the cause you’ve attached yourself to is something that deeply offends the types of customers that you are looking for. A simple example of this would be a company promoting logging while trying to appeal to environmentalists. I won’t work, and you’ll get bad reviews. While this example is relatively simple, it’s always important to consider your customer’s interests and tastes in detail.
5. You’re Experiencing a Sudden Spike in People Unsubscribing From Your Newsletter
Businesses use email newsletters to reach their customers and maintain a presence. Keeping a good number of active subscribers to your newsletter helps increase customer retention. If you’re noticing a sudden drop in the number of subscribers you have, it could be a sign that you’re targeting the wrong audience by producing the wrong content.
Newsletter content has a tone, a flavor, and an angle. If any of those elements is out of line with the views of the customers you’re targeting, you won’t retain their interest.
Final Thoughts
If your marketing isn’t working, one of the first things to assess is whether your efforts are targeting the right audience. Even a slight miss can lead to disappointing results. Create a clear profile description for your target audience. Make sure it’s something everybody on your team understands. Then set regular audits to assess how your marketing is performing and if adjustments need to be made based on your target audience.