Targeting Your Customers

Have you noticed that most advertising is targeting people that are in the market to buy products or services, RIGHT NOW? We constantly hear ads that shout, “Sale ends TODAY! SALE – SALE – SALE! Offer Ends Soon! Limited Supply, For a limited time only, Hurry in today!”, etc.

Here’s the bad news… Usually, less than 2% of the population is actually in the market to buy any product or service, regardless of the business category, in any given month. This means that 98% are not in the market!

There are basically only two things that consumers purchase nearly every week or month. It’s groceries and gas. For nearly everything else, there is a buying cycle, and nearly every customer, patient, or client, in every business category has a unique buying cycle.

In the purchasing or buying cycle, there are four types of buyers:

• Now Buyers – They will make a purchase usually within a week or up to two or three months.
• Upcoming Buyers – They will purchase anywhere from every three to six months or a year.
• Future and Potential Buyers – Future/Potential Buyers will be in the market to make a purchase anywhere from one year up to four or even six years.
• Never – Finally, there are those that will never be in the market for your product or service.

For example, the average American buys a different vehicle every 3.5 to 4 years.  Just 12% of the US population requires plumbing repairs in any given year (1% month), or about once every 8 years. People paint their homes, inside or out, approximately every 7 to 10 years and only need a new roof every 20+ years.  Need an attorney? Very few people have an attorney and many will never need an attorney. Have you been to a chiropractor lately? If not, you’re like the other 86% of the population. Only 14% of adults have seen a chiropractor in the last 12 months.

Let’s look at this from another perspective. If the average American buy’s a different vehicle every 4 years, that equates to 25% of the population per year. If you divide that by 12 months, only 2% of the population is in the market to purchase in any given month. Need a roof? Less than .2% of homes need a new roof in any given month. In the chiropractic industry, only 1.16% of the population needs care during any given month.

Here is the big question… Knowing this, should your ads target the small percentage of people that are in the market to buy your product or service today or this month, or, should you target the much larger percentage that will be in the market to buy your product or that will need your service in the months or years down the road?  The answer is… it depends, and possibly both.

It depends upon what you are trying to accomplish with a specific marketing campaign and within what time frame you are trying to accomplish it. We will visit this topic more specifically in the coming weeks.

Here’s another question to ask yourself… Do you believe that people who are familiar with you or know you are more likely to purchase from you rather than someone that doesn’t know you?  Here’s a startling fact. When searching for a business or product on Google, which most people do in today’s digital world, 71% will click on a name they are familiar with compared to only 7% that will click on a name they are unfamiliar with.  22% will click on both.  You absolutely want people to know you before they need you!

Today’s topic is to understand HOW often people are in the market for your product and service. Once we understand this, we can more effectively decide HOW and to WHOM we want to target our ads.

One of America’s most respected advertising experts, Roy H. Williams, AKA, “The Wizard of Ads” puts it this way (summarized), “The goal of effective advertising is getting people to know you and have a good feeling about you, so when they are in the market to buy your product or service, they think of you first”.

To see the Advertising/Targeting Pyramid, click here. If you would like help in determining your business category’s purchase cycle, reach out to your local media rep or station that provides this content, or contact ENS Media USA at rick@ensmediausa.com.

In the coming weeks, we will dive deeper into the WHY, HOW, and WHERE to focus your advertising dollars.