02 Defined Audience
Your brands defined audience is comprised of three parts: your ideal client, additional clients, and external segments.
By understanding your defined audience, it will become clear which aspects of your market position should be communicated to each audience segment.
- Identify your ideal client and additional clients.
- Assess segments of your audience integral to your brand growth.
59% of consumers believe personalization has a noticeable influence on purchasing.2
3 Steps to Defining Your Audience Warm Up
A defined audience will sharpen the focus of your market position by knowing exactly who your brand must communicate with.
3 Steps to Defining your Audience
01 Identify your ideal client
Knowing the attributes of your ideal client is going to enable your communication to speak to those who create revenue for your business.
02 Identify additional client segments
There are clients that use your service other than your ideal client. Generally, these clients will work with you at an involvement level and price point that is different from your ideal client.
03 Identify external segments
Determine external audience segments that your business must communicate with to ensure long-term success. These are the brands that help you grow and/or grow when you grow. Examples of external segments can include suppliers, media outlets, influencers, related brands, and brands that serve a similar audience.
Takeaway
See your brand through the lens of your audience. The more you can relate your market position to your defined audience, the higher the chance your offering will connect with their needs.
Speak to Those Who’ll Grow Your Business Deep Dive
Without a defined audience, resources will be spent in the wrong place. This creates less than ideal results from your communication.
The Problem
A local jeweller revising her website needs to create messaging for the front page. She’s thrown into the deep-end thinking about what the website should say and who it should speak to.
Without a defined audience, resources will be spent in the wrong place. This creates less than ideal results from your communication.
The Problem
A local jeweller revising her website needs to create messaging for the front page. She’s thrown into the deep-end thinking about what the website should say and who it should speak to.
The Solution
Step 1: Identify your ideal client.
When you cover the needs of your ideal client, your brand will have a better chance of long-term success.
How this could go wrong
The communication focuses on all clients equally; the ones that refuse to pay for quality, and the ones happy to pay for the excellent service and craftsmanship they receive. This attracts a mix of low and high quality clients, which will not create a climate of excellence for the jeweller to do her best work. If stellar work isn’t displayed, your brand will not be recognized for high quality work.
How to get it right
Your messaging focuses on your brand strengths through the lens of your ideal client. Reflecting on previous client work, your brand can decide who your ideal client is.
Think about when clients have candidly discussed your brand strengths. These insights become the building blocks of your brand story.
Step 2: Identify additional client segments.
There’s the ideal client who is looking to create their dream ring, but you also serve those needing jewellery repair, alterations, and those looking to buy ready-made rings. You must satisfy the needs of all these different segments. If your business has a sole-focus on custom jewellery, additional clients segments will be avoided intentionally. In order to be known specifically for your one service offering.
How this could go wrong
If the additional clients aren’t actively considered, you’ll fail to create a connection with people other than the ideal client. This will hinder long term success due to the additional clients not knowing your full range of service.
How to get it right
Think about your business. Are all your service offerings communicated to your clients? Are there new service offerings that you can provide to access new clients? By understanding what your additional clients are in need of, you can effectively communicate your full range of service.
Step 3: Identify external segments.
External segments are related to your brand and grow as you grow. These brands may also be a candidate for a partnership. Creating a partnership will provide access to those who otherwise wouldn’t hear of your brand. Although the external segments may not provide you direct business, they can offer you access to new clients and increase the perceived value of your brand.
How this could go wrong
By limiting your scope, you fail to acknowledge how external segments can grow your business.
How to get it right
Who does your brand need to communicate with for long-term success? Determine external brands and organizations who will benefit when their audience hears about your service. Creating wider awareness for your brand opens new markets, and you will reach people who otherwise wouldn’t receive your communication.
Conclusion
In this section you’ve looked at your communication externally from your audiences perspective. You know your ideal client, additional clients, and external audience segments. These three segments create your defined audience. Identify your defined audience by going through the Defined Audience template to ensure your communication will focus on those who will move your business forward. The most effective medium to communicate with each segment of your defined audience will differ, and you’ll learn more about this in 04 Medium. Once your audience is defined, you’re ready to start 03 Brand Story.