Businesses can't and won't succeed without marketing. Whether the business is as simple as a lemonade stand or as complex as a multi-billion dollar conglomerate, the marketing plan is the main avenue of communicating with and attracting potential customers. Ensuring the marketing plan is focused on the "right" customers and reaching them through the proper channels is what ensures a company can achieve.
The "Right" Customer:
The "right" customer is one who has the most need for the product and has the will and way of paying for it. The target customer is selected after extensive market research that ensures the company is focused on attracting those who have the most interest in the products/services. Most companies build a customer profile and use this as a guide in their marketing decisions.
Some of the considerations a company chooses in selecting their target customer are age, income, interests, geographic location, related purchases, and market size. The market is sliced up based upon some characteristics. Companies often focus on only a small percentage that constitute their most lucrative buyers. Each marketing campaign has a return on investment, conversion rate, and other metrics to ensure it is maximizing resources.
Customer Channels:
The target customer demographics will also determine which channels are best. For example, older Americans may prefer certain print media formats while younger generations are more reachable using online advertising. Because a large percentage of Americans use the Internet, online marketing has exploded many times over in the past decade.
It isn't only the channel that is important but the words, symbols and methods transferred across the channel that counts. Specific words and images are going to attract the target customer more than other ones. Knowing how they like to receive messages and what images most appeal to them can make a big difference in ensuring they respond accordingly.
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