mDev solutions: Article

Home

Services

Products

Support

Archive

Affiliates

Site Map

Contact Us

Please click on the archive button above to read other Viewpoint articles. Creating a brand that works Pt2 Focusing on your target audience Your value proposition must be relevant to your target market. This means your target market must be clearly defined. It's not uncommon for a business to have to refocus and revisit their targeting, especially if it was not clearly identified in the beginning stages of business. It is necessary to find the right balance when defining your target market in a way that causes your audience to recognize that you are talking specifically to them. This often requires companies to narrow down their target market. Why is Your Target Market Important in Branding? It does not matter what your Brand mission is identifying and gaining the devotion of your target audience is the necessary means to reaching those objectives. To achieve your brand marketing goals it is important that you know your target market inside and out. This requires conducting a market analysis. This market analysis must be as in-depth as possible providing you will all the data you need to reach your target effectively. By knowing your target audience you will be more confident in the steps to take to connect with that audience. The power of your brand relies on the ability to focus. That is why defining your target market will help to strengthen your brand's effectiveness. There are two steps in Lesson four of the Developing Your Brand's Strategy course. The first is to conduct and informal market analysis of your target market and the second is to write a target audience definition for your company. The instructions below will walk you through the process of completing both of these steps. Conduct Your Informal Market Analysis The following questions will help you assess your market analysis. Make your study as complete as possible. Use the Internet to conduct research. You can also read news stories that are related to your target market. This will help you to narrow down your target by interest, demographic, and common trends. 1) Who is your target audience? 2) Where is your target audience located? 3) What do they think about your current brand? 4) What would you like them to think about your brand? 5) How will you attract them to your products or services? 6) Who else is competing for their loyalty and devotion? 7) Are you targeting business or consumer sectors? Write your target market description Using the questions below write a target market description. Be as specific as you like. The more specific the better. Second draft a statement on the type of relationship you would like to have with your clients. Discover and Crush Your Brand Barriers When creating your brand strategy for a product or service it is important to perform a careful analysis to determine principal barriers that you may come in contact with. These barriers are also known as market conditions that can keep your product or service from achieving success. For example they could include the following: Competition Timing Financing Location Lack of demand In order to be prepared to face these obstacles or barriers it is important to spend time doing a careful analysis of your product or service. This analysis will assist you not only in the development of your brand, but also in the positioning of your product or service. Careful and thoughtout analysis will assist you in answering the following questions: Do you have a niche market? What problem does your product or service solve or need? How should you determine the price of your product or service? Who are your biggest competitors? What can you do better than them? Who are your potential customers and where can you find them? How should you advertise? Where will you find your target market? Will you use new media, traditional media or both? Now that you have your questions where do you start your market analysis research? Starting your research is actually easier than you think, but it will take time. You will need to dedicate hours to this research in order for it to be useful and effective. Let's start by visiting some very popular Internet websites that you can use for your market research: Is there a great demand for your product or service? Find out by using a keyword suggestion tool. By typing in key terms you can see how often your product or service is searched for on the Internet. Search Term Suggestion Tool Who are your competitors? Investigate them online by using seach engines. Keep informed on current market conditions and trends in your vertical market by subscribing to trade publications, news alerts, and electronic newsletters. Who makes up your target market? What are their statistics and economic position? Where are they located? You can find this information by viewing industry surveys and research documents. Use the resources and questions above to analyze your market and discover any brand barriers you may come up against. I have no doubt that you will find at least one barrier. When you've located that barrier develop a plan to crush it and move it out of your way so that you can move forward towards success in marketing your business. Brand Packaging: Are You Reflecting the Right Company Image? Branding is your identity in the marketplace, is yours saying what it should? Your company image is all about the appearance of your packaging. What is your company image saying to the marketplace? It's important to realize that packaging always either has a negative or positive influence on the purchaser. A negative impression can detour a potential customer, just as a positive reaction can influence a customer to buy. A time to pay special attention to your packaging is when you are in the launch of a "new" brand. If you've already built a strong brand that others recognize often people may not pay as close attention to the packaging. How can you package your brand so that it is an integral part of your business and represents a strong identity? Keep in mind that I am not speaking of packaging has only a box that contains a product, but as a vehicle that reflects your company's brand and image. Packaging can be judged and represented by the following common business tools: business cards and stationery web site answering system email address What image are you putting across with these business tools that you use everyday? What are they saying about your company? Take a few moments and lets look at each one of these. What are your business cards and stationery saying? Are they saying we are strong, we are confident, and we can succeed in helping you? Or does it reflect an image that says we are flimsy, our dynamics are minimal, and we will try but we cannot guarantee continuity? What does your web site say about your company? Does it reflect professionalism, clarity, and show them that you respect and care about them? Or does your web site confuse viewers, project an untrustworthy image of your company and ultimately drive potential customers away? What does your answering system and call return policy say about your company? Does it say we are here to help, eager for you business and will do what it takes? Or is it putting across the message that you are too busy to cater to new clientele, don't care about their needs, and wish they would just quit calling? What does your email address say about your company? Does it suggest your role in the company, is it easy to remember, and does it say something about you and your business? Or does it project a meaningless or generic emptiness? If you are using the email address hotbabe4u@hotmail.com for your business dealings................it's time to change!!!!! As you can see all these things speak volumes about your image and they either strengthen or weaken your brand. Your image is all in the packaging. Would potential clients take a second look or is your message getting lost? If you thought these things were not worth the investment or didn't matter, you were wrong. Clients and customers will make assessments of your company based on these things and while not always conscious, that customer appraisal says much about your business, your attitude and your priorities. About The Author Laura Schneider has a passion for marketing. She is known for her publicized work with About.com since 1998, she has been featured on TV, Radio, and in many articles (both online and in print) in magazines and publications such as PCMagazine, USA Today, and TechTalk. Many of her articles have been syndicated and publicized over more than 4000 websites Every business can be more profitable if it first recognises that it can be better. If you believe that your organisation can do things better than what it is today, click on the "Contact us" tab and let's get started.
	Sounds like common sense, doesn't it? ©mDev solutions group Pty Ltd              Contact Us

Search WWW Search www.mdevsolutions.com