Question

What is the biggest mistake that people make when selecting a target market?

Explain why it’s important to collect competitive intelligence, and describe some of the techniques that are used to collect it.

Answer 1

1. Neglecting the psychographic profile of your target market Psychographics refers to the opinions, lifestyles, attitudes, values and world views of your market. These are less quantifiable than demographics, but they are always expressed by your market particularly in terms of their behaviours. For instance, if you sell grass-fed, antibiotics, and growth hormone-free beef, then your target market is likely to be those who are aware of the dangers of "regular" meat consumption and prefer a safe, organic lifestyle.

Target audience which is too narrow / small Another mistake of an audience can be too narrow. Although it is advisable to be specific when selecting your audience, it can also be problematic to set your target audience too narrow. If you have an audience too limited (< 1000 people), you can lose out on potential customers / audience that could benefit from your product / service. It can be tricky but to find your ideal target audience size, it is important to test different audiences. Brainstorm diverse ways of using your product / service. Think outside of the box, and find ways to expand your audience creatively.

Not A / B testing the target audience segments Savvy marketers know their ad content, title, photos and landing pages are checked by A / B marketers, but it is crucial for marketers to check their target audience too. A / B testing your audience by creating variations in the campaign will allow you to test your advertising content between different combinations of audiences and learn what audiences are more involved with your content.

2. Competitive intelligence is the compilation and review of information that is available to the public about the market. Competitive intelligence encompasses information beyond trade journals or industry gossip, as well as general information. It involves collecting all the information available from local sources or from insider sources, so that you know what your competitor is up to. The fact that they keep a watchful and observant eye on their competition is a hallmark of companies which become from small businesses to big business.

Passive Intelligence–Passive competitive intelligence is when you gather information about competition from the market, regardless of whether or not it will come into use. It's a better form of intelligence as this passive intelligence could later come into use. So if you're going to launch your own pricing or reward program, you've learned what the system your rivals are implementing. This was because you already had it information collected and stored beforehand.

Offensive information-offensive. When you want to be competitive, you are actively collecting the information on your rival to foil his plans and execute some of your own. Offensive intelligence is a drain on your own resources and should only be used when quick action is required. But once a company grows big, your best bet is on offensive marketing. Because you always have to take action against the competition before there is competition against you.