|
|
|||||
|
|
Ready, Aim, Fire! Advertising is often described as a "hit or miss" endeavour. You shoot off an ad into the big, bad world, hoping it will land somewhere nice and reap a substantial return on investment (that’s R.O.I. for those playing at home...) DREAM ON! One of the most important aspects of any marketing campaign is to direct it to the "Target Market". But exactly who is the Target Market? That isn't always an easy question to answer. Alas, the people your ad needs to reach simply don't have bullseyes on their shirts or the words: "Pick me! Pick me!", flashing in psychedelic neon lights across their foreheads. (Conjures up a pretty wacky image though....) Even industries in which the target market seems straightforward may, for some campaigns, need to analyse further just who they're trying to reach. Indeed, some campaigns may well be more effective when directed at the “target market within the target market”. Let me explain using O’Malley’s Tractor Company as an example. ** NB: the following story is fictitious and any similarity to tractor companies – or O’Malley, for that matter - is purely coincidental…** O’Malley’s Tractor Company has been making tractors for generations. It’s one of the best-known tractor companies around. O’Malley’s customers range from the rural sector - farmers, market gardeners and the like - to landscapers, excavation contractors and the building industry. Even the local council has been using O’Malley tractors pretty much since the company began. Mr O’Malley Senior reckons his grandson, Paddy, is about to take the business to a whole new level with his invention, the “O’Malley Widget-Weeder-Feeder” The O’Malley Widget-Weeder-Feeder (or WWF) is a weed-spraying device that attaches to the roof of a tractor, allowing the operator to kill unwanted plant species as he ploughs the land. Everyone in the O’Malley clan knows he’s onto a winner! There’s just one question…. HOW DOES PADDY SELL HIS WIDGETS? Well, there are several options. Paddy could take out a full-page ad in all the trade magazines represented by O’Malley’s customer base. Publications such as: Builders’ Weekly, Farmers’ Own, Life on the Land, Renovator’s Digest, Build it and Guild It. But how effective would this be? Paddy would make sure the ad was pretty. Great graphics, glossy and well laid out – no expense spared to showcase the family company’s newest jewel. But how effective would this be? Would the return on investment justify the expense in placing ads in all these magazines? Who is the target market according to this scenario? O’Malley’s entire customer base. Who should the target market be for this ad campaign? In other words, which section of O’Malley’s customer base would benefit most from this new product? Who is the target market within the target market? The O’Malley Widget-Weeder-Feeder is a valuable tool for farmers, market gardeners – people working on the land. Placing ads in magazines catering to these readers will therefore have a greater chance of being acted upon than ads placed in other publications. For example: Farmers’ Own readers will be more responsive than subscribers to Build it and Guild It. Basically, Paddy’s Return on Investment ratio will be higher by placing ads only in correctly targeted publications. SO, HOW DOES PADDY SELL HIS WIDGETS? By fully analysing just who his target market is for this particular advertising campaign. When Paddy’s next invention, Widget Mark 4 – boon to the demolition and excavation industry – is ready for sale, his target market will be different yet again. Marketing may still be a “hit or miss” endeavour, however, by scrutinising and analysing the target market for each individual campaign, you can dramatically increase the number of direct hits and the number of sales. Happy hunting! © Carol Dorman 2006
This article was posted on January 26, 2006
|
||||
