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When Advertising, Keep These 6 Buyer Groups In Mind

All advertisements should not be the same, just as all customers are not the same.


Photo: Entrepreneur Jake Baadsgaard, CEO of Disruptive Advertising
Photo: Entrepreneur Jacob Baadsgaard, CEO of Disruptive Advertising

All advertisements should not be the same, just as all customers are not the same. Creating an ad or designing your company website to maximize the impact on a certain group of customers will decrease campaign costs because you will be targeting customers who specifically want your product.

This will eliminate many people bouncing in and out of your website. Meanwhile, pertaining specifically to PPC advertising, your target customers will increase the value of each click and conversion.

 

 

Picking a Target Group

Knowing the different traits of your target audiences can help you reach them with your marketing message. Each target group may:

 

  • Need different products or services, the same service delivered or packaged in a different way, or view different aspects of the offer as more important to their PPC and conversion decisions.
  • Be willing (or unwilling) to spend time, money, or effort to obtain your information. This “extra work” can affect the likelihood of a PPC and a subsequent conversion.
  • Congregate in different places, causing optimal contact to be made through different media outlets, through personal contacts, or only through third parties.
  • Respond to different types of promotions.

 

Types of Customers to Keep In Mind

As you decipher which target groups you want to reach, here are a few types of consumers to keep in mind:

 

  1. The Price-Conscious Buyer

    Some customers are drawn in by the promise of a good deal. According to Retail Touchpoints, “Consumers are focusing more on price while making buying decisions in stores and online. In fact, approximately eight out of every 10 consumers are consistently looking for deals while they shop, whether they are staying up to date on sales or using coupons…”

    To meet their needs, include a sale price or special offer in your ad and then expand on the offer when they land on your website. Sales or special “limited time offers” will encourage buyers to make a purchase quickly. However, beware of false advertising or bait-and-switch tactics: word gets around the Internet quickly in the form of bad customer reviews.

  2. The Cautious Buyer

    Some buyers – especially the baby boomer generation – are cautious about purchasing items on the Internet. Meanwhile, “news of Internet security breaches at eBay, Target and other large companies appears to be having an effect on online habits. A USA TODAY survey finds that almost a quarter of Americans have at least temporarily stopped buying online because of security concerns.” (Source: USA Today)

    If this group is a target group for your PPC campaign, reassure them with ads that mention customer support highlights or guarantees. Free shipping offers and a solid return program will also increase your chances of conversion once a customer reaches your website. But keep in mind: don’t scare customers into a conversion. There is a difference between a cautionary advertisement and a scare tactic. Using fear as a tool is not always appropriate nor is it particularly effective. This group also likes to see a product or service in action to prove that it works as promised.

  3. The Young Professional

    “Many marketers use humorous appeals in the belief that humor will increase the acceptance and persuasiveness of their advertising. Some marketers believe that younger, better-educated, upscale, and professional people tend to be receptive audiences for humorous messages. Research has demonstrated that surprise is almost always needed to generate humor and that the effectiveness of humorous ads is influenced by message elements such as warmth and playfulness.” (Source: Lecture Notes, Professsor David Gerth Ed.D.)

    Using humor in your ad to target this group attracts their attention, does not detract from their comprehension of the items, causes them to like your product or service and may increase your PPCs among this group. Jingles and music also appeal to this group – even if performed by cartoon characters. This group is also more in tune with environmental and lifestyle issues.

  4. The Locals

    While most entrepreneurs would love to own a global business, the reality is most customers prefer to shop locally. This preference even continues when shopping online. Target these online shoppers by adding a reference to your location – such as “Made with pride in Goshen, Indiana”. There will still be local customers who have little interest in your product, therefore word-of-mouth (WOM) is a wonderful tool. A local shopper may share your website or product. In some instances, “local” can expand to a national preference such as “Made in the U.S.A.” Using ads and websites that show the product or services being used by people “just like you” are quite effective, as are testimonials from other locals.

  5. The Business Professional

    Direct, straight to the point, but not boring are the keys to creating PPC ad messages that resonate with business professionals. You have a small amount of time and limited space, so try to catch their attention and keep it by adding facts and statistics to your online ad. This group responds well to logical, rational, and reason-why ads. Also, a single and clear reason why one product or service is the best answer to their problem works well. Scientific evidence or internal research supporting your claims will also increase conversions for this group.

  6. Teens and Young Adults

    If your focus is this group, you need to catch their attention fast. Music (not jingles), well-known teen celebrities, and creating a fantasy surrounding the use of your product or service may best appeal to this group. Using an ad or a website that builds a mood or correlates your product or service with beauty or love also is effective.

 

Creating a variety of ads that are tailored to specific groups of customers is time-consuming and difficult, but can be very profitable as a result. Knowing who your target audiences are will allow you to identify where you want your ads to run and what you want your ads to say to get the most PPCs that result in conversions.

 

This article has been edited and condensed.

Jacob Baadsgaard is the CEO of Disruptive Advertising. He is a passionate digital marketer and entrepreneur with 7 years of enterprise digital marketing experience. He personally managed over 40 million dollars in annual marketing budget and consulted many of the Inc. 100 companies while at Adobe, including groups like: GE, John Deere, Citibank and Home Depot. Connect with @DisruptiveAds on Twitter.

 

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