Why a Consumer-Focused Marketing Strategy is Key to Making the Most of Your Marketing Budget
Everywhere you look right now, people are talking about money (or for some, the lack thereof). During this period of recession and the inflated rates that go with it, it’s no wonder that people are focused on how to stretch their dollar by creating budgets or by limiting their spending in areas that they may deem non-essential. This is no different for brands, both big and small, when setting their marketing budgets for their end-of-year campaigns. While consumers are comparing prices in the stores, brands are trying to make the most impact with the marketing budget that they have to work with. For many brands, the focus is not only on determining how much of a budget is enough to cover all marketing expenses, but more importantly on how to get the most return from their investment. By using a strategy that is consumer-centric and focuses on understanding all aspects of your consumer, you can ensure that your marketing budget is spent in a way that will deliver the best results for your brand to build, nurture and grow your consumer and in turn reach your goals.
Is a consumer-focused marketing strategy really that important? How does it help you meet your goals? Why does it work?
When you take the time to learn who your consumers are, you are able to better determine what their goals and needs are and how your brand or product can meet those needs. This knowledge enables your brand to not only reach your consumers but to create stronger engagement rates and connections with them by distributing or producing content that truly resonates with them. To put it simply, you are showing your consumers why they need your product or service, how their life will benefit from having it, and how your brand is there to help and make things easier for them. Your consumers should feel like you are speaking directly to them in an intimate conversation that develops a relationship. By understanding your target consumer through research and social listening you can reach them through the digital channels they interact with, at the establishments and events that they visit, and the stores that they frequent.
So how exactly is a consumer-focused marketing strategy created?
First, you need to know where to reach your consumers or what they are all about and to do this you need to build a consumer persona. This tool allows you to define who your target consumer is (or will be) and works as a point of reference when creating content and developing a brand activation strategy. This tool can be used to ensure your message is consistent across all fields and to evaluate how your target consumer will react to that message. A consumer persona should have all the details that are necessary for your brand to know about your specific target consumer. The more specific details that you are able to include, the more effective it will become. Demographic information, professional background or history, motivations and frustrations, goals, and brands they enjoy are some of the common information typically found on consumer persona documents. When creating your consumer persona, your researching skills will come into play as consumer personas are based on market research results and actual data on who purchases your products and services.
Another great way for your brand to understand who your consumers are is to use the data provided by social media platforms. For example, using Meta Business Suite will allow you to gather some demographic information about your Facebook and Instagram audience and followers. On social media, you can see who your followers are and who interacts with your posts. The people who comment, like, share, and direct message you are probably a good representative of your target consumers. Social media can also be a great tool for reaching out to your consumers to learn more about their lives, preferences, and needs. One way to do this would be to create a fun survey for your followers about their technology preferences. Some of the information that you are able to collect on social media can even help you in building your consumer persona.
Knowing where your consumers LIVE, PLAY & SHOP is essential to making sure your marketing goals are met while ensuring that every dollar in your budget is allocated correctly. Understanding where your consumers LIVE in the digital world, or how they spend their time online, allows you to focus your digital strategy on these areas. Figuring out where they PLAY including events they would attend or places they hang out at on the weekends will allow you to focus on a guerilla marketing or OOH advertising plan that targets these events. Having a clear idea of where your consumers SHOP will allow you to build an in-person brand activation or sampling activation in the stores your consumers frequent. Learning where to find your consumers both digitally and in-person is how you are able to effectively reach them and engage with them, ensuring the success of your marketing efforts.
Focusing on strategy that highlights your consumers, allows you to use your marketing budget in a way that will make every dollar count because when you understand who your consumers are and you know where to find them this is what will produce the best results for your brand’s marketing budget because these actions not only make sure that your message will engage your consumer but that your message is reaching the intended consumers.
