There are a few meanings behind the term target. In sales terms, we define a ‘target’ as a goal to be achieved, it is usually about acquiring a certain number of customers or sales of a specific amount. Marketing, however, interprets what target means differently. For marketers it is the definition of the target group to which we direct our message. It can also be interpreted as the entire pool of customers who have already made at least one purchase with us.
What can we define as a target in marketing?
We know what target means as a term to those individuals involved in marketing, however, it’s worth mentioning that it is much more than just a simple concept. If we already have an accurately defined target our actions must be planned effectively. Each advertisement must have a carefully considered target group, if our mailing was sent out to people outside of our target group we would achieve unsatisfactory results. Since we now know what the target is and how important it is for a marketing campaign, let’s see how to properly define it.
What is a target in marketing?
We should strive to be as accurate as possible. The more detailed data we have, the more effective our campaign will be. Effective retargeting or social media campaigns requires good knowledge of our target group. It is worth noting that at the time of creating a company or launching a product or service, it is necessary to determine to whom it is to be addressed. In this way, the first promotional campaigns are created. As the number of customers grows, we can determine more and more specific indicators of the target. We see the relationship between the type of products sold and, for example, social media on which we are active. It is worth remembering that our target may be completely different on different platforms. Therefore, the more data we have, the better we know how to apply the target e.g. in paid campaigns.
Tools for defining our target group
Of course, there is no single best and reliable tool. It all depends on what we are using and what data we want to get. A few tools we can choose from are:
Facebook Audience Insights - allows us to get a better idea of the people who interact with our profile. Please note that the data that Facebook uses are self-reported by users. Therefore, they may not be fully accurate.
Google AdWords Display Planner - a tool from Google that allows even better planning of remarketing campaigns. We will find out what keywords we should use, what interests our customers have, or which pages they watch and visit
MonsterInsights for WordPress - plugin allows you to track traffic on your website/blog. We will get information about the sources of traffic, its monthly distribution and which posts are the most popular.
There are many more tools of this type. You can use them all, but the most important thing is to know at the stage of creating a product/service who you want to reach. Thanks to this we do not rely on blind chance but create conscious actions from the beginning.
