Customer selection is an important part of any branding effort. Here I define customer targeting and demonstrate its place in an overall brand campaign.
A definition of customer orientation:
Customer orientationOr simply pointingrefers to the seller of a product or service who takes steps to specifically and clearly outline the types of customers who are likely to want to purchase that product or service.
A complete profile of the target customer group could include factors such as geographic location, income level, comfort level with high technology, whether they drive a car, what kind of music they listen to, and/or many, many others. It is important for the seller to point out which qualities are most relevant to the product or service in terms of how those qualities may affect who buys it. At that point, the salesperson can proceed to build a solid profile of the target customer group, or segment.
Marketers can reap three important benefits from taking the time to profile their target customers. First, they can tailor the features of their product or service more precisely to the needs of the target customer segment.
Second, they can more specifically call or speak to their target customers in their ad campaigns, allowing the salesperson to more directly engage the people who might actually want to make a purchase.
Third, customer targeting can save a seller a great deal of money by enabling them to develop more targeted and efficient advertising campaigns. By only contacting people within the targeted customer segment, the marketer can afford not to buy expensive TV or newspaper advertising and can instead put their advertising budget on more focused pieces such as direct mail, pay per click (PPC) with geo-targeting. and opt-in email campaigns.
Targeting is an important step in an overall brand campaign. In sequential terms, this should occur after the seller has developed a brand identity, but before formulating tangible image associations, creating messages and logos, determining advertising channels, etc. If conducted early enough in the product development cycle, the results of customer selection can be used to fine-tune product or service features, influence marketing efforts, and inform other customer-facing materials.