The Winning Way

Good Morning!
I Have Been Thinking

In the last issue we talked about basic branding techniques that you can use to make your business more successful. In this issue we are going to go over some of the reasons why  your audience is everything.

Audience is everything when it comes to branding your business.If you don’t know the audience that you are targeting then you cannot begin creating a brand for your product or company. There are many reasons that audience must be considered. Knowing your audience well will work for you in the long run.

Your audience is the targeted customer base that you are hoping to reach out to for purchasing your product.  Audience may include gender, age, geographical regions, and more.

The age of an audience must be considered when branding occurs. This is because if you are targeting a younger and more hip crowd they may want to see a brand that is vibrant and more hip. If your audience is older and more sophisticated then they may be looking for a brand displaying more professionalism.

Gender of an audience is often an issue if you are selling women’s clothing, men’s hats, or other items. However, when you create a brand for a man, remember that you can create ad campaigns targeting the women to purchase the products as gifts for men.

Income isn’t something that many people think about when they consider an audience when developing a brand.  This is often where companies go wrong. If you are selling a video gaming system that is several hundreds of dollars in a local store down the street and the average income of families in the area is less than $25,000 a year they may not be able to afford the product.

You cannot sell an expensive product to a cash poor audience. Also, people with a very high income may not consider purchasing a very cheap product. The value of your brand must match the income of the people you think will be your primary target as customers.

Geographical regions are also very important. Many people open businesses and try to sell products and services where there just isn’t a need. This is a good way to fail. For example, if you have a company selling snow shovels then it wouldn’t make sense to try to sell them to home owners in Florida. Know your geographical
locations and which regions will benefit the most from your product or services.

There are many things about your audience that you must know when you are creating a brand. If you do not have a clear understanding of which your audience is then you will fail.

When you determine your audience it is important to narrow it down based on the age, gender (only if specific), geographical region (only if specific), income levels, and more. Your audience will be defined as something like 20-30 year old, male golfers that are left handed.

Some brands may not be this specific. However, the more you can narrow down your audience the more your brand will separate you from the competition.  This means you will have less competition to worry about also.

Older groups of people often want to see a brand as one they can trust. They want credibility and a professional look. If the image appears to be young or unprofessional then you may find that your revenues are lacking.

The same practice rings true with a younger crowd. If you are targeting a young crowd and your brand is too professional and comes across as boring then they will not be interested in what you have to offer. For example, if your target audience is to sell stylish MP3 players to 20 year olds then you want a very exciting brand that is hot. If your brand is professional and so is your appearance it will be hard to convince a 20 year old that you MP3 player is the one they must have.

Always brand by audience.  Find out what they want to see. You may even want to talk to different age groups and find out what they would like to see.  This would be a good place to start 

Opportunity is never lost
It goes To Those Ready to Accept It!

Carolyn

   Ice Breakers
 
 Rear Window Love

My cell phone quit as I tried to let my wife know that I was
caught in freeway gridlock and would be late for our anniversary dinner. I wrote a message on my laptop asking other motorists to call her, printed it on a portable inkjet, and taped it to my rear window.

When I finally arrived home, my wife gave me the longest kiss ever. “I really think you love me,” she said. “At least 70 people called and told me so.”

 Tips and Techniques

Branding by your audience will allow you to be more successful with sales and develop long lasting customers that are dedicated to you. Targeting the wrong audience can cause problems with
credibility and trust.

Happy designing!