Target group

Target group
See also
Target population Forms of advertising Selection of target markets Targeting Areas of marketing Promotional plan Market opportunity Precision targeter Analysis of customer

The target group is a set of specific recipients to which the given advertising message is directed. An accurate selection of advertising recipients and the creation of a campaign tailored to their preferences is one of the most important tasks for employees of advertising agencies and marketing departments in enterprises.

Profile of the representative of the target group

The selection of the target group should be preceded by marketing research , which will indicate who most willingly reaches for a given product. Demographic criteria (for example: sex, age, marital status), social (such as education, profession, social group), economic (material status, income, expenses), geographic (place of residence, country of origin, etc.) and behavioral (what, where and why the consumer buys). This allows you to specify the profile of the customer to whom the advertisement will be targeted. A good understanding of the preferences, lifestyle and habits of both current and potential customers, allows it to more effectively interact with them through well thought-out marketing activities.

Determining the characteristics of representatives of the target group

Ignorance of the target client makes it difficult for the company not only to carry out an appropriate advertising campaign, but also to adapt the product to the needs of the recipient. When creating an image of the target group, it is worth treating it as a single organism and not as a collective. This process is facilitated by marketing research and analysis of the profiles of potential clients allowing to learn data such as for example:

• demographic data,
• geographical coverage,
• education,
• professional life
• monetary situation,
• life situation,
• professions,
• level of industry knowledge,
• expectations for the product,
• the benefits it wants to achieve with the product.

Promotion and consumer preferences of the target group

It is particularly important in the aspect of management of promotional campaigns to shape them based on consumer preferences. Skillful use of such knowledge contributes to building the competitive advantage of the company . Often in the previously selected market segment there are internally differentiated consumer preferences. Their knowledge enables effective targeting of promotional activities, through a logical combination of consumers' tendencies in the area of one advertising campaign or the creation of several advertising campaigns based on the largest or best-prospective, group of similar preferences separated from the recipient segment.

6 phases of preparing the marketing communication policy process

Effective marketing communication with the consumer should be based on the knowledge of clients' preferences as the target group of the activities carried out. There are 6 phases in the process of preparing the marketing communication policy process to which they belong:

1. determining the target group of the marketing messages,
2. clarifying the desired reactions of the target group to the presented message (consumer response),
3. selection of the most appropriate form of the message (content and image),
4. selection of the most important product features for the target group of the message,
5. gathering information and analyzing the effects - evaluating the effectiveness of the marketing communication activities undertaken .

Target group and internet promotion

Nowadays, the Internet is one of the most important areas of marketing activities. The ability to define the target group is as important in it as in the case of traditional advertising. The STP strategy can be used to define the target group for e-marketing activities. It consists of:

1. Segmentation according to demographic, geographic, economic, social and behavioral factors.
2. Targeting, which consists in defining the target market and selecting at least one segment of users of the product to be the recipients of the message.
3. Positioning to achieve the highest possible place in search results.

References

• Zenker, S. (2009). https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sebastian_Zenker/publication/228624122_Who's_Your_Target_The_Creative_Class_as_a_Target_Group_for_Place_Branding/links/02e7e5300eae00ecb0000000.pdf Who's your target? The creative class as a target group for place branding]. Journal of Place Management and Development, 2(1), 23-32.
• Riefler, P., Diamantopoulos, A., & Siguaw, J. A. (2012). Cosmopolitan consumers as a target group for segmentation. Journal of International Business Studies, 43(3), 285-305.