The saying “if you market to everyone, you appeal to no one” is one of the most sobering quotes about product promotion. Marketing requires a specific approach to capture the attention of your ideal customer. This includes taking into consideration the sex, gender, ethnic group, age, socioeconomic background and geographical location of your target audience. Sounds kind of complicated, right? Well, let’s look at the breakdown of each category.
SEX & GENDER
Women are from “Venus” while men are from “Mars”. Their shopping habits are very different from each other. Women tend to shop out of desire, for instance, they will often purchase a new outfit for every social event. On the other hand, the average man tends to shop out of necessity. Perhaps, it was time to replace that white button down shirt he bought a year ago because someone spilled sangria on it during happy hour. Some men and women are androgynous, therefore, they prefer products that are not gender specific. This is true for accessories, but most notably clothing.
ETHNIC GROUP
According to a recent Nielsen report, the black population in the United States has the purchasing power of $1.2 trillion dollars. In fact, Nike’s largest customer base is the black demographic. The Asian market, more specifically China, has increased their disposable income in recent years. As a result, premium brands like Louis Vuitton & Tommy Hilfiger recognized the need to communicate with their customers through China’s own social network, WeChat. The black male demo has a strong interest in sports, more specifically, basketball, football with a large number of high school varsity and college athletes. On the other hand, let us not forget about the fact that sneaker culture has always been based around hip hop music since the late 70’s & early 1980’s. As a result, depending on who you wish to reach, you will need to study and understand the interests of your target demo.
AGE
The methods you would use to attract 18-years-old is vastly different from your approach to 40-year-old. Each age group has different interests, activities, spending habits and level of purchasing power. It’s true, some of these things might overlap, but it is more likely that a 40-year-old is a part of the “BeyHive” than the “Arianators”.
ECONOMIC BACKGROUND
In New York City, there are several news publications. The New York Post, a tabloid paper, is at the bottom of the pile, catering to an elementary reading level and is also the most inexpensive at $1 on weekdays. On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal ranks as one of the top, with an intermediate reading level and costs $4 each weekday with a monthly luxury magazine. The average household income of Wall Street Journal reader is approximately $242,000 per year, which is over $100,000 more per year than the average NY Post reader. As a result, you are more likely to see a Cartier ad in the Wall Street journal as opposed to the New York Post. See what I mean about product placement?
LOCATION
Last, but certainly not the least important is, the geographical location of your ideal customer. How you approach your audience will depend on their lifestyle, habits, interests and culture. In the United States alone, these categories can differ based on region, for instance, New York is very different from Los Angeles from the style of dress, to the weather. As a result, you must understand what appeals to your target demographic in order to attract them.
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