In order to increase conversion in an online store, first of all, you need to know the products you sell and define your target group. An advertising message cannot be targeted at everyone; therefore, it is so important to adopt a specific strategy to reach a well-defined audience. What is actually the target group and how to select it?
What is the target group?
The starting point for sales activities must be determination of the target, i.e. the target group who we are going to direct the advertising message to. This does not have to be one group, there may be even several of them, depending on the business specificity. For example, a women’s jewellery store will target both women and men who want to buy something as a gift. However, other criteria such as age, social class, and affluence should also be taken into account.
Simply put, the target group is a set of consumers or companies to whom we want to direct marketing and sales activities. When being aware of characteristics of our potential customers, we will learn, among others, where to communicate an advertising message and how to present a product or service. All actions are based on good communication, which obviously must be closely adjusted to the recipient.
Read also: Targeting – what is it about?
How to define the target group?
In order to define the target group, in some cases it is not necessary to conduct marketing research. The obvious example is people buying console games – the target will be young men with a suitable device. The group needs to have something in common to create relevant profiles, i.e. personas. It can be defined on the basis of the analysis of recipient website behaviour using segmentation and scoring.
The target market may be broad, so in some cases it is worth finding a niche and dividing your audience into several smaller groups. In such a situation, it is possible to adjust the offer to each of them or focus on one. For example, everyone buys mineral water, but apart from taste, we also pay attention to bottle ergonomics, available capacities, and the material. People who care about the environment and ecological lifestyle are more likely to choose water in glass bottles. However, one has to bear in mind that it is more expensive, so the offer will also be addressed to more affluent people with a higher social status.
Target group selection criteria
When establishing a marketing strategy, various criteria should be used, such as demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioural data. It is worth finding answers to such questions as whether our recipients are families with children, single persons, residents of large cities or villages, what they do in their free time, what their goals, dreams, or political views are. The target market should be well-defined, taking into account deeper consumer desires that they may not be aware of. In fact, when buying chewing gums, the recipient not only wants to take care of fresh breath – this is of course the first need, but it can also be associated with confidence and being more attractive to the opposite sex to create a happy relationship. In other words, it’s about selling the promise of a happy life.
