Brand Relatedness
The Five Steps To Identify Your Business's Target Consumer
Post Created By Eric Burton | August 1, 2024
Even if you haven’t studied business management or aren’t great at research, you can sense there’s a framework for starting a business. For example, before an entrepreneur transitions into owning a business entity, there are a few details to check off the list:
- Naming the business
- Creating a business plan
- Completing tax and legal documents
- Obtain licenses and permits
- Set up business financing
- Develop products and services
- Develop a brand identity
- Planning a marketing strategy
- Define a business process and workflow
Two of the most critical components not apparent on the list but stand out during the marketing strategy phase are storytelling and finding the target consumer.
While much of the business process remains a mystery to shoppers, what they do connect with are stories and moments shared by small business owners. These narratives, which often feel more human and personal, are what genuinely resonate as brand relatedness.
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Consumers love to hear how a business takes action, deals with problems, and makes decisions. They also want to understand how a company aligns with the social and political landscape. A clearer picture of the person behind the curtain often plays a significant role in shaping a company’s public perception and helps consumers understand what a brand means to them.
Here are the five steps used to identify your business’s target audience and create a storytelling strategy that relate to them more effectively:
Build A Competitive Analysis
Study your competitors by analyzing their branding and marketing strategies. This insight can provide information you may have yet to consider and help you find gaps or opportunities in the market.
- Include pricing for product or service offerings.
- Research common visual aspects of the market, such as logo design, color palettes, and shape language.
- Analyze how competitors acknowledge their consumers, such as responses to feedback, direct interactions, brand messaging, and advertising.
Create Consumer Profiles
- Write down all the ways customers find your brand.
- Look for what influences your consumer’s purchasing decisions.
- Learn how consumers interact with your products to help identify critical touchpoints and areas where you can better meet their needs.
- Study demographic information, behavioral traits, preferences, and pain points.
- Look for consumer values and political and social alignments.
- Use stock photography to visualize your target audience.
Use Groups & Forums On Social Media
Learn & Adapt To Consumer Behavior
Observe & Interact With Your Audience
- During your analysis, look for common characteristics among repeat customers, such as demographics (age, gender, income level, education), geographic location, and purchasing patterns.
- Make detailed notes of positive and negative consumer responses to products and services on social media and the company website.
- Chime in and ask about consumer preferences, needs, and satisfaction levels.
Conclusion
Identifying your business’s target audience is essential to achieving long-term success and brand relatedness. By following these five steps—building a competitive analysis, creating consumer profiles, using groups and forums on social media, learning and adapting to consumer behavior, and observing and interacting with your audience—you can better understand who your customers are and what they value. This insight allows you to create a storytelling strategy that resonates with your audience on a personal level, strengthening your brand’s connection with consumers and driving business growth. Remember, the more you know about your target audience, the better you can serve their needs and tell relatable stories.
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About The Author
Eric Burton, Brand Identity Designer
Eric is a visual identity designer and brand strategist who helps small businesses launch new products and services with content-driven solutions for print and web-based media.
With over five years of experience in graphic design, working in various industries and environments, from manufacturing and non-profit to freelance and collaborative. he enjoys working with executives, LOB leaders, vendors, and printers to ensure quality and consistency across all channels and platforms.
His mission is to create impactful and engaging designs that connect with a business’s target audience to achieve goals such as increasing brand awareness, trust, loyalty, growth and equity.