How do I target my audience?

Targeting the specific audience for your product or service is the key to unlocking success in your strategic communications. You should spend significant time on this exercise. In the Strategic Planning Institute’s MARKET™ method, analyzing your Audience comes second in the strategic planning process, after establishing a link to your Mission.

Here are the steps you’ll need to follow to target your audience:

• First, determine what are the tangible benefits of your product or service. Answer the question “what’s in it for me?” from your target’s point of view. This will help you form a realistic picture of what you are trying to market.
  

• Make a list of your audiences. Who are you trying to reach? Who is most interested in what you have to offer? Be as specific as possible. (For example, instead of “teachers,” try “middle school social studies teachers in Wisconsin.”)

• Going audience by audience, determine:
  • How you already communicate with them and how you’d like to communicate with them. Where do they hang out online? Are there any missed opportunities?  
  • What do you want each audience to do? What is a teeny, tiny first step they can take to get there? And even better: how can you incentivize that first step?
  • What are their values and beliefs? Can you find the intersection between what you want and what they want?
  • What sort of messaging is likely to resonate with them? Do you know their pain points and can you speak their language? (hint: do some research!)

Research is the next step after your audience analysis in the MARKET™ method, followed by Key Content and Channels, Evaluation, and Tracking. For a deeper dive into strategic planning, consider becoming a Certified Communications Campaign Manager through the Strategic Planning Institute, where you'll have exclusive access to the tables and templates needed to write your own strategic communications plan.