Target audience
One of the target audience in marketing is influencers. These alongside customers and consumers are the principal members of the ‘decision making unit’, any one or combination of whom be selected as targets.
Such a group might come together formally, as in industrial markets, or informally, as in many consumer purchases decisions.
Influencers for a child’s toy, for example, might include the child friends, teachers, relatives, parents and the media.
If marketing communications are used to ‘influence the influencers’ more favorable outcomes may occur.
For this reason, opinion leaders and the media may specifically targeted when new products are being launched.
It is wise to consider a range of target audiences (both push and pull) when planning marketing communications and their specification should be as precise as possible.
The most widely quoted approach is use to the social grading system. It uses ‘occupation of the head of household’ as the basis of the A B C1 C2 D E classification system familiar to so many people.
The groupings toughly equate to social classes. Although the social grading approach remains popular, it is best to used in conjunction with other approaches.
Today, there are many other and more powerful measures that can be used, including those using other demographic, geodemographic, psychographic, mediagraphic, buyer behavior and life stage variables.
For example, research into people’s lifestyles reveal telling differences between audience groups.
Target audience
