Targeted marketing is a marketing strategy that focuses on promoting a product or service to a specific group of people. This can be done based on gender, race, age, geography, and many other factors.
As global markets become more prevalent, targeted marketing becomes more necessary. With the ability to reach billions of people through the internet, it is easy to market to everyone.
But what if your product or service is only needed or wanted by one specific group of people? How would you market to only them without spending a lot of money on advertising that would not be appreciated?
Digital advertising and social media platforms have made it much easier to target specific groups of people. By using algorithms that track what groups of people click on and engage with an ad or post, advertisers can target just those people.
Targeted marketing can be used to raise awareness about a new product or service, promote an existing one, or keep current customers interested.
There are three main markets that most companies aim to reach when marketing their products and services. These three markets are the domestic market, the emerging market, and the developed market.
The domestic market is the market in which a company conducts business. A company that operates only in the United States would have a domestic market of only Americans.
The emerging market is a rapidly growing economy. Companies that sell their products and services in countries like India, Brazil, and China would be targeting an emerging market. These countries are experiencing growth in GDP, income, and consumption which is pulling more people into the marketplace.
The developed markets are economies that have been established and grown for some time. Countries such as Japan, Germany, and Britain are examples of developed markets.
Targeting only one of these markets can prove to be ineffective as growth is happening everywhere at different paces. Knowing this information can help companies target both domestic and emerging or domestic and developed to reach more markets.
A clothing company can use targeted marketing to reach consumers in other countries. They can do this by using social media sites that are popular in other countries, like WeChat in China and Kakao in South Korea.
They can also create advertising campaigns targeting people in other countries. For example, they could advertise their products during the Olympics when people from other countries are watching the games or are looking for clothing options.
By reaching out to people outside of their country, they are also creating opportunities to sell their products to people outside of their home country. People may visit your country to buy your products or purchase them online instead of buying local products.
The first step in developing a global marketing strategy is to understand who your customer is. What are the needs and wants of your typical customer?
What is their income level, cultural background, and educational level? What do they value most in a product or service?
As companies grow and expand their reach to new markets, it’s easy to forget the basics. It’s important to remember that everyone has different needs and values.
Whether you’re selling a product or service at the global market, or within your own country, people want quality, value, and reliability. By remembering this, you can prevent loss of customers due to misinterpretation.
Marketers need to understand the different cultural norms of peoples across the world in order to market to them effectively. Doing so will help connect more people to your company and your products.
As the world becomes more connected through the internet, marketing through the internet becomes more important.
Many people have access to the internet, making it a universal platform. Everyone who has access to the internet can potentially see your ads or market your business, making it a very targeted platform.
Ads can be targeted by country, which greatly reduces the chance of targeting untargeted audiences. By using geo-targeting in advertising, your ad will only be shown to people in your target area.
Companies can also use the Internet to create their own website to market their product or service. This allows them to put all of their marketing material on one page for easy access by potential consumers.
Using social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter is also a great way to spread the word about your product or service.
As the world gets smaller and more connected, it becomes increasingly important for companies to reach out to new markets.
Companies must be aware of the fact that people from different countries have different perceptions and understandings of brands. This is mainly because of the marketing strategies companies use to promote their products.
For example, if a company markets their product as “the best”, then people who are not familiar with the product or brand might think that it is arrogant or overpriced.
This is because in some cultures, being told that something is the best is an insult- they consider it to be average or below average instead of being superior.
Having a website that is available in different languages can help with targeting new markets. However, it is important to check for accuracy and completeness when having translations done.
As technology has advanced, so has the way companies can market to a global audience. One of the most effective ways is by using translation software.
Many popular apps have built-up translation features that allow users to translate words, sentences, and even conversations into different languages. Some even have feature that tracks your location and translates what people around you are saying.
Companies can use these features to advertise their products. By putting advertising slogans or short product descriptions in other languages, they can reach a wider audience.
This is very effective because it does not cost very much to use the software and it is fairly easy to do. Since anyone can do it, there is no risk of having insufficient staff members to help promote your company.
As mentioned before, marketing can be directed toward certain ethnic groups. Companies can create campaigns that emphasize the cultural significance of their product, or highlight the values that their product represents that are relevant to certain cultures.
For example, beauty products companies can emphasize the importance of beauty in certain cultures, and sell their products as means to achieve beauty. In addition, they can offer samples to people who cannot afford them, promoting the value of affordability.
Marketing vegan products in countries where there is a large vegan population would be effective. Giving out free samples would attract people who are interested in veganism and want to try the product. Advertising on social media and online platforms also works to reach this market.
Campaigns that target immigrants and welcome them into the country by highlighting safety, stability, and opportunities for success are also effective marketing strategies.
As mentioned before, knowing your customers is crucial to marketing effectively. With a global audience, this becomes even more important.
People around the world have different spending habits and preferences. For example, people in Australia spend more money on vacations than Americans, who prefer to save money and spend it on goods instead.
By profiling your customers based on their geographic location, you can create targeted marketing campaigns that appeal to their spending habits. Companies do this very well and effectively- you just have to pay attention to it.
For example, if a company sells luggage sets, they will likely find more success advertising on ads on websites that cater to Australian users who like to travel than American users who like to stay home.
Watch out for targeting cultures that have different values than your company, however. This may backfire and hurt your brand image.