Audience segmentation in marketing analysis is one of the most important aspects of strategic marketing. It consists of taking a target audience and breaking it down into smaller sub-groups. A company might have a target audience of adults between 50 and 70 years of age. However, because this company might be involved in refinancing existing mortgages, audience segmentation is used to identify the target audience narrowed down to those individuals who are homeowners.
Data Analytics
How does a company or organization find the right audience? It’s done with data analytics, where a wide pool of data is refined to filter out unlikely candidates for whatever product or service is being shopped around. With all of the information currently out there that’s available to advertisers and organizations, data analytics working in conjunction with audience segmentation is an invaluable tool.
Personalization
If there’s one road leading to a potential gold mine when it comes to attracting attention from advertisers, it’s personalization. When advertising is connected with the target audience, the likelihood of sales increases. Audience segmentation allows individuals to receive information that directly applies to them.
Online Details
Most people spending time alone are leaving behind virtual traces of themselves that advertisers and websites are using. Amazon, as reported in Forbes, takes the information when someone purchases an item and uses that information to add to their data pool of their customers. Someone purchasing a model building kit of a Ford Mustang would have their information added to the data pool of people purchasing model building kits, as well as people collecting Ford memorabilia.
Going Overboard
There’s a danger to audience segmentation in which taking the larger group and breaking it down into a small sub-group and taking that smaller sub-group and breaking it down further into a sub-sub-group. When the potential target audience is too narrowly defined, it can work against the company because too few people are being included in the analysis. The only time that might not be a problem is if a niche market is being targeted, since niche markets are practically self-segmenting.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the easiest ways to develop audience segmentation. A company might collect email addresses of individuals who want to receive information on purchasing a new swimming pool. Once those addresses are collected, the company might then obtain email addresses from individuals wanting information on pool maintenance and market their advertising to those individuals.
Knowing the Audience
An article in Entrepreneur pointed out that it’s vital to know one’s audience. This means understanding the differences in various demographics. Gen Z is different from Gen X and Gen X is different from Baby Boomers. While it might not make sense to market children’s’ toys to Baby Boomers, marketing executives know that grandparents of the Baby Boomer generation buy 25 percent of all toys sold in America.
Understanding audience segmentation in marketing analytics is one of the most useful ways for businesses and organizations to effectively reach those individuals most likely to respond to whatever information or product is being promoted.
Related Resources:
- 5 Courses in a Marketing Analytics Degree Program
- Top 15 Online Master’s in Marketing Analytics
- What are Integrated Marketing Communications?