How to Better Understand Your Target Demographic
When you speak directly to your target market, you speak to those who are already searching for and interested in what you offer. SEO optimization services can help with targeting exactly who you're trying to reach.
SEO for eCommerce brands
You’ll only spend time and resources creating marketing content for the right people, which means you’ll begin to see a higher return on investment for your digital marketing efforts.
Once you know your target market, you’ll better understand how to create content that focuses on the benefits they truly care about.
Conversion rates on your e-commerce site will increase because more prospects and customers who visit your site will be able to find precisely what they’re looking for during their online searches.
Keeping in mind why it’s important for you to know who your target market is, here are a few things you should do to better understand them.
Gather and Analyze Data
If you truly want to understand your target market, you’ll need to collect and analyze as much data as possible from the following data sources:
Your Current E-Commerce Site and Customers
Before collecting data from all over the internet, you’ll want to collect data from your existing e-commerce site first and from your existing customers and prospects. Understanding your current users and customers is the best way to gauge what’s working and what’s not, as well as what can be improved in the future. In order to fully understand your customers and reach, try finding SEO optimization services to help your brand!
Google Analytics is your friend
With certain analytics platforms, such as Google Analytics, you’re able to discover where on the web most of your converting traffic is coming from, as well as which keywords and landing pages gain more conversions. Additionally, you can run custom reports that will show you the number of visits per online source, their details, and data on revenue and how valuable a visit is.
Analyze the data and look for patterns
Additionally, you’ll want to analyze transaction data, what content on your site users engage with the most, and how often they buy or view certain products. Sending out customer surveys and holding focus groups is another great way to learn a lot about your current customer base and what they prefer.
Social Media and Review Forums
Next, you’ll want to collect and analyze how people are engaging with your brand and talking about your brand on social media sites and review forums. Beyond determining if you have more positive reviews and mentions than negative ones, you’ll want to record what keywords and phrases people are using when they talk about your brand.
Social shopping is the future of social media
We suggest using a social media marketing platform to get better reach and engagement! You’ll most likely want to match the tone and style of voice others are using to discuss your brand online when talking about your own products and services on your e-commerce site, as well as in marketing material.
Be sure to use the same keywords they’re using, as those will be the keywords they use to find your products and services online. Social media comments and reviews will also allow you to gain real insight into what your target market cares about (in their own words), as well as their general sentiments about your brand and products.
Competitors’ E-Commerce Sites
Last but not least, you’ll want to see what your direct competitors are doing online. Collect data about what brand positioning, pricing models, and products and services your competitors are offering. Then figure out a way to differentiate your e-commerce business and its target market from theirs.
Who is your competitor targeting?
Understanding your competitors’ target market is a great way to create a target market of your own that’s not currently being fulfilled by them. Use the void in their branding messages to speak to those prospects who are being ignored in your industry or niche. Use a social media marketing platform to better understand your audience and recognize who you need to be reaching with your message.
Build Customer Profiles and Personas
After you collect data about your current customers and prospects, as well as those who you want to begin targeting more often, build customer profiles and personas for each of them. Those customers who find your products or service attractive often share similar characteristics. You’ll want to make profiles of these characteristics to keep in your records, so you can always keep them in mind as you’re creating marketing content.
Audience profiles can help you understand your core buyers
Each customer profile should consist of demographic information such as age, location, income level, etc. They should also consider things like what your target customers’ pain points are, their interests and hobbies, their attitudes and beliefs, their purchasing behaviors, what influences them to buy, what type of content they engage with most often, and how they like to engage with that content.
Continually Monitor Assumptions
Most importantly, after you gather and analyze all the types of data mentioned above, you’ll want to continue to monitor that data, alongside your assumptions about your target market. You should always question your assumptions about what your customers like and dislike on a rolling basis, and ensure your customer profiles are being updated with recent and relevant data.
The best way to understand your target market is to constantly refer to data about what they’re actually doing and saying online, and realize those factors will constantly change.
