What is a target audience?

A target audience is a specific group of consumers who share certain characteristics you’re trying to engage with through your marketing efforts. This group is most likely to be interested in your brand or ecommerce business and has the highest chance of buying your product.

How to define and find your target audience for effective marketing

Having a clear understanding of your ideal customer is the foundation of any successful marketing strategy. By creating a customer persona—a detailed profile of your target audience—you identify their needs, interests, and pain points.

Use the following methods to define and find your target audience:

1. Research your current customer base

Take a close look at your existing subscriber profiles and identify all the features they have in common. This will reveal your target audience’s intentions and how they’re most likely to interact with your brand in the future.

You can also:

  • Adapt website forms for progressive profiling to collect more information from current subscribers
  • Run surveys to find out more about your customers
  • Conduct conversational SMS campaigns to collect product feedback

2. Find out what your competitors are doing

You share your goals and target audience with many of your competitors. By analyzing how they meet their customers’ needs, you can learn what they’re doing to attract and keep their target audience engaged.

Pay special attention to your competitors’:

  • Email and SMS campaigns
  • Website content
  • Social media presence
  • Industry reports

3. Consider who else can benefit from your offer

Come up with an exhaustive list of benefits your product or service has to offer. This will help you identify other target markets of potential customers who can benefit from your core offer.

4. Take advantage of customer data

Whether you manage an ecommerce site, send emails to a growing subscriber list, or run paid ads, behavioral and demographic data about your customers can provide valuable insights about your target audience. Make the most of this data by:

  • Analyzing past purchase behavior to run loyalty campaigns
  • Using predictive analytics to determine who might buy again and when
  • A/B testing emails and SMS campaigns to see what your audience responds to

Klaviyo helps you precisely identify and target your ideal customers. Use Klaviyo AI to segment your target audience, get predictive analytics, and create highly personalized marketing messages across channels to drive engagement and conversions. 

Sign up for Klaviyo today and start sending personalized, relevant content that will keep your audience coming back for more.

Additional resources