Marketing Analysis Essay: The Importance of Targeting

Every business owner knows that marketing is important. However, many business owners believe that the wider the audience they reach, the bigger the impact it is going to have on a business. As a result, they completely misunderstand what targeting is and what impact it has on a marketing campaign.

Segmentation of the Prospective Customers

The truth is that a marketing campaign cannot be made for each and every potential customer in the world. Some people will simply not be interested in the marketed product or service, while others will not be able to afford it. There can be many reasons why some segments of the population might never buy a product or use a service. This is where targeting comes into play, which is “a process to provide information about products or ideas to the target audience” (Burnett and Moriarty 3). If a business owner wants his or her marketing campaign to be efficient, he or she should determine which population group and which audience the product or service will be introduced to.

For example, if a business is connected with website development, most likely, the service may not benefit from being advertised to elderly people who most likely are not accustomed to the internet or may not use a computer. The target audience in such a case can be people or companies offering their services online and who might be interested in widening the database of their clients.

Using the Database of Existing Clients

When a business owner starts researching the market, he or she might start thinking that all customers are already taken by competitors. That’s why it is recommended to start with a database of existing clients. They can be acquaintances, friends, relatives, and people who might already be helpful. Once a business builds a base of loyal clients, it can move further.

As a business owner or a professional marketer, it is important to remember that people love attention. According to Davidow, “responding quickly, apologizing, or offering compensation are all beneficial” (225). Each client should believe that he or she is of special importance for a business.

Conclusion

Targeting is an important part of any marketing campaign. All potential customers can not be reached, but if a business owner can reach the needed audience, the marketing campaign has a higher chance of being successful.

Works Cited

Burnett, John, and Sandra Moriarty. Advertising: Principles and Practice. 7th ed., Prentice Hall, 2005, p.3.
Davidow, Moshe. “Organizational Responses to Customer Complaints: What Works and What Doesn’t.” Journal of Service Research, University of Haifa, 2003, p.225.