Be Where Your Customers Are

By Michael Ellis, mellis@lessitermedia.com
Director of Sales, Lessiter Media

In many aspects of life, getting out of our own way can be a formidable task. Making our marketing decisions is certainly not immune to that dynamic. It’s human nature to think, “well if I like it, then everyone else must like it too.” But that can be dangerous if we plan our marketing based on our own preferences rather than on those of the audience we’re trying to reach.

To execute a successful campaign, it’s essential that we be seen where our intended target is consuming their information. So, it’s critical that we put our own preconceptions about the best places to consume media aside to make sure we hit the mark with our valuable marketing dollars.

It’s certainly challenging, but we have to remind ourselves that as much as we try to relate to them, we are not necessarily our customers. We see things through a much different lens and likely consume information in different ways. The chances are quite good that there are strong differences between our preferences and those of our audience.

I may be a huge consumer of print information, but if my audience is heavy into digital, I’ll miss the mark making placements based on my likes, and the converse is of course also true.

The most likely scenario is that the target isn’t all just in one convenient-to-reach spot and reaching them isn’t quite as clean as hitting the bullseye with the fine tip of a single arrow. We’ll need multiple arrows to land since they’re reading print, attending events, on social media and surfing the web. It’s important to consider all options when making our allocations.

Below — and also linked to here — is a snapshot of an audience breakdown from one of our own Lessiter Media publications. As you can see, there is little cross-over and the majority of our readers consume our content in a single format — this is the reality of what we see for all our publications. Meaning if you target only one area that is your preference, you are likely missing a big chunk of your target market.

Don’t fall victim to what I recently heard referred to as the “survey of one.” Put your own preferences aside, learn how and where your customers and prospects are getting their information and go where they’ll see you — even if that means stepping outside your comfort zone to reach audiences you might be missing.

Not sure where your customers are consuming information? Feel free to send me a note or give me a call and I would be happy to discuss who your audience is and where you should be trying to reach them to help make the most of your marketing budgets.