A to Z of Business Storytelling: Audience
One of the most fundamental aspects of building your business is focusing on identifying your target market. Your audience is made up of the people or companies who will buy your product or service, and it's critical to know who you're targeting before beginning any marketing or brand-building campaign.
If you’re getting ready to launch your business or your business is still new, you need to do your research to define your target market. We've come up with the 5 Questions Small-Business Owners must ask about your target market.
- Who has a need for your product or service?
- What are their demographics – meaning how old are they? Where do they live? Are they men or women? There are a lot of questions you can ask, and they're all important.
- Who can afford to pay for your product or services?
- Who do you LIKE working with?
- Do you hear the words "anyone" or "everyone"? If you do, it's time to reflect and learn how to BE SPECIFIC. When I sit down and talk with clients, one of our first conversations is about target market – and if I ask who their target customer is and the answer is “anyone” or “everybody,” we go through these questions together until we come up with a more specific, strategic answer.
And one tip I’ve learned over time is that as your business grows, your target market might change – and that’s okay! In fact, when Verano started shifting from primarily serving one-owner businesses to larger companies, it was really exciting. Our services expanded and the team grew, too. And as that happened, we had to consider our target market all over again, and it was certainly worth doing. We saw growth and expansion in a whole new way.
So, in short – collect data, ask questions, and get specific. Knowing your target market is the first step in building a great brand story.
