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Defining Your Target CustomerEmily GremelStrategist, Square One DesignNovember 6, 2013

+Agenda

Overview

Research Basics

Research Process Objectives and Methods Writing Questions Recruiting Respondents Secondary Research Analyzing Results

Audience Profiles

Personas

Applications

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ACTIVITYIntroduce yourself! Please share:• Your name• Your background• One thing you want to learn today

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Overview

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Terminology

Target market and target audience are interchangeable, and refer to the group of potential consumers with similar attributes.

Target consumer and target customer are also interchangeable, and refer to a theoretical “person” who embodies the common attributes of your target market.

Consumer or audience profiles and personas are ways to display common attributes of your target audience as easy-to-use tools.

There are two types: aspirational and actual.

+Why Bother?

Even with limited resources, you can implement more surefire marketing and sales initiatives.

It’s exhausting trying to be everything for everyone!

Leads to better market research opportunities in the future.

Everyone within your organization will be on the “same page”.

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ACTIVITYCan you name a product or service that is truly for EVERYONE?

+Why your target market isn’t “everyone”

Is your product or service meeting a need for everyone? It’s unlikely.

It’s not always complex.

Start small - don’t get ahead of yourself!

Communication with your customer is key.

Marketing to everyone is expensive!

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ACTIVITYHow many different “target audiences” do you think you have?

+How many target audiences should I have?

Varies depending on product or service

Must be distinct differences between target audience groupings

Must be representative of actual buyers – no fictional buyers

Remember to start small

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Research Basics

+Primary vs. Secondary Research

Primary Research: Research specifically designed and conducted for your project

Secondary Research: Research conducted by a third party with no relation to your own research, which is later analyzed and applied to your project

+Research Methods

Primary Research• Focus Groups• Surveys• Interviews• Observation• Experimentation• Open Forums

Secondary Research• Journals• Industry Press• Research Reports• Competitor

Information• Other third party

data

Aggregation Combining multiple sources and findings to project realistic,

meaningful findings.

+Qualitative Research

Denotes quality of responses

Number of respondents is secondary to the quality of individual responses

No set minimum for number of participants

Typically is conducted as primary research

Examples: Longer, one-on-one interviews with a few potential customers Open-ended questions like, “Tell me about your job

responsibilities.” Visiting a store or office with a potential customer and

observing their behavior

+Quantitative Research

Denotes quantity of responses

Quality of individual responses is secondary to the number of respondents

Typically not considered reliable data unless sample size is greater than 30

Could be primary or secondary research

Examples: Short surveys given online, over the phone, or in person to a large

audience Closed-ended questions like “Have you ever read the New York Times?” Questions where results can be easily analyzed as a group, like “On a scale

of 1 to 10 , how would you rate your interest in American Idol?” Observation over a long period of time, observing large quantities of

people completing a specific task or behavior

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Research Process• Objectives and Methods• Writing Questions• Recruiting Respondents• Secondary Research• Analyzing Results

+Developing a Research Plan

Understand what you want to learn before you attempt to do research.

Prepare a list of specific items you’re trying to touch on.

Align objectives with research methods to create a plan that meets your needs and resource capabilities.

Keep it realistic!

+Consumer Research Objectives Examples

Analyze existing customers to uncover trends in demographics, behavior

Develop a cursory profile of your target consumer

Understand their basic interactions with your brand and competitors

Track their media habits

Uncover their motivations for purchase and use

Use problems and pain points to make product innovations

Test new product concepts on likely customers

Develop a sound messaging strategy that resonates with the target audience

Defining Your Market Understanding Your Market

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ACTIVITYWith a partner, discuss one characteristic you would like to learn about your target market. Also name one thing you don’t think you need to learn about your target market.

Was there any overlap?

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Selecting a Method

One-on-one Interview

Focus Group

Survey (qualitative or quantitative)

Observation

Experimentation

A/B Testing

Open Forums

Usability Testing

Secondary Research

Make sure you choose the best format for achieving your objectives.

+Create an Outline

Once you have selected a research method, create an outline to alleviate stress and stay organized.

Craft an introduction to get respondents comfortable.

Group related questions under the same topic for ease of organization, and to help the respondent track with your questions.

+Question Flow

Begin with simple questions to get your respondent comfortable.

Move through your outlined topics by starting with more general questions, and delving into specifics later in the survey.

If using scales or rating systems, stay consistent.

Demographic questions should be asked at the very beginning or very end of the survey – personal preference.

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Types of Questions

Dichotomous questions: Yes/No Used Product/Did Not Use Product Male/Female*

Likert Scale: Strongly Agree Agree Neutral/Don’t Know Disagree Strongly Disagree

Rating Scale: Number scales: 1-5, 1-7, and 1-10 are

most commonly used. Other scales: Excellent, very good, good,

acceptable, poor.

Open-ended Word association Uninstructed Can be long or short format

You may use a blend of question types depending on your format and objectives.

+Crafting Questions

When using a scale, define the scale and try to be consistent.

Probe and clarify open-ended responses.

Offer “other” or “N/A” responses whenever possible or necessary.

Allow respondents to move on if a question confuses or frustrates them.

Bias respondents by calling it “your product”. Call the product by its name.

Change inflection, tone, or hint at your own preferences.

Cut respondents off in the middle of a thought.

Attempt to guess at answers, especially demographics (like gender, race, age, income).

DO DON’T

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ACTIVITY:With a partner, please try to rewrite these questions:

• Why do you like my product?• Rate how much you like Facebook on a scale of 1-10.

+Recruiting Respondents: Who?

Look for a diverse but representative demographic group

Use your research to test your own hypothesis

Start with existing customers and gather their demographic information

Start by using a few of the attributes of your target market

If you have multiple target markets, make sure to gather data in a way that keeps these separately

No target market defined Defined target market

+Recruiting Respondents: How?

Look within your own network to recruit

Obtain referrals

Speak with existing customers

You can hire a recruitment firm

You can offer incentives to help aid participation numbers

Small Budget Large Budget

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Secondary Research

Competitor information

Third-party groups like: Forrester Research Pew Research eMarketer Many more…

Government databases including: Census Bureau of Labor Statistics Many more…

Library resources: Look for studies related to your

industry or target customers

News and other media

You may not have the time to conduct primary research, or you may already know enough about your target market to utilize secondary research.

+Analyzing Your Results

Understand that correlation does not always equal causation.

+Analyzing Your Results

When doing quantitative research, you are going to end up with a lot of data.

Look for instances where the data is “telling a story”.

Just because something is statistically significant doesn’t mean it’s important. For example, you might find that almost 100% of people

use paper. That doesn’t mean you need a chart to show it.

+Analyzing Your Results

With qualitative research, you should look for common themes amongst multiple participants.

In the case of a consumer profile, divergent data could mean different things: In one case, if half your consumers are college students and the

other half are parents, it indicates you likely have two target audiences.

In another case, if you find half your consumers don’t use sunscreen in the summer, it’s likely not a relevant attribute of your target market.

Be wary of picking sound bites just because they support your hypothesis – is there evidence that the opinion is shared by many?

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Audience Profiles

+What is an Audience Profile?

Small set of attributes for a target audience or customer base

As a design tool, they are a quick way to communicate who the designer should design for

As marketing communications tool, they provide some details on the recipient of your message

Profiles can be created with minimal research and time, whereas their counterpart, personas, are much more detailed and resource-intensive

+Elements of an Audience Profile

Name

Photo

Demographics

Psychographics

Research-specific findings

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Personas

+What is a Persona?

Detailed set of representative attributes and data for a target audience or customer base

As a design tool, they are a powerful way to communicate behaviors, goals, wants, needs and frustrations

As marketing communications tool, they provide insight into reaching and engaging your customer

Effective personas are driven by research data and focus on how a particular profile uses a particular application in a given context

+Elements of a Persona

Name

Photo

Demographics

Psychographics

Technographics and Media Usage

Motivations & Behaviors

Verbatim Quotes

Background Information

Pain Points and Frustrations

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ACTIVITYReview the profile and persona examples. Note some differences between the persona and the audience profile example.

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ACTIVITYThe next several slides outline some benefits of using personas or audience profiles as tools. Let’s go through each one and discuss whether it’s a benefit of the persona, the profile, or both.

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To put a face to the people you want to reach

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To understand how your customers make purchase decisions

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To learn how customers interact with your product or service

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To understand their frustrations or pain points

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To enlighten your online strategy by understanding their web behaviors

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To understand consumers’ use and interactions with various media types

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Applications

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ACTIVITYThink back to some of the benefits of identifying your target market that we discussed.

What uses can you think of for a audience profile or persona?

+How to interact with and market to your target customer

Use research to uncover pain points, then use marketing to exhibit how your product or service alleviates problems

Reach them using media outlets they use frequently

Craft messaging in a tone your audience will be receptive to

Consider different approaches for speaking to different audiences

If you rely on customer service, use your understanding of the customers to better aid them

Involve your target market in research for product advances or new products – make them a part of your team

+Target customers and your staff, partners, and vendors

PARTNERS

Make a clearer case for funding

Craft a narrative built around a realistic buying scenario

STAFF

Utilize target consumer profiles or personas for training

Aid in product development of new features

Help sales target the right markets or individual buyers

Give marketing a clear objective and audience to speak to

VENDORS

Enlighten vendors with more detailed specs and considerations

Empower every part of supply chain with information

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QUESTIONS?