Today’s groovy installment is about getting chummy with your audience. I’ve mentioned this before, I prefer the term “audience” to “market.” It just sounds all warm and fuzzy. “Market,” at least to me, has a wee bit of a distant, coldness to it. “Audience” also conveys the sense of presenting to people. When I think of “market,” I tend to picture fish. Must be a leftover from growing up on Long Island Sound.

Lots of folks - especially creative types - tend to let business happen to them. They take whatever come in the door, or jingles the phone or inbox. Operating this way tends to be reactive and not proactive. A better idea is to have a specific client type to focus in on. Doing so brings you one step closer to being the big fish in a small pond. (D’oh! There I go with the fish thing again.) Focusing, for instance, on particular industry allows you to develop a deeper understanding of the marketing environment, who the players are and what kinds of solutions work. It also helps to raise you up above the crowd and get your name known.

But, before all this wonderful stuff happens, it’s important to get to know your audience. Who are they? Where are they? What’s important to them? To find out, you’ll need to do some [gasp!] marketing research. With some relevant research in hand, you’ll be able to adjust your services and your promotional messages for a just right fit.

If you’re like most independent designers out there, the thought of marketing research is probably about as exciting as watching paint dry. Concepts like stratified samples, nonresponse bias and quantitative measurements aren’t likely to be tops on your list of coffee talk, either. Fear not! It’s not that bad. To follow are some ideas to get the nitty gritty on your target.

Hit the Library
The Research Librarian can be your best friend. They can point to to right resources where you can gather info about the size of your audience, who the major players are and even how much dough they drop each year. For instance, one hefty tome is the Index Guide To Advertisers (aka “The Red Book”). There’s also a companion volume - The Index Guide To Advertising Agencies, if you plan to work for the Darien Stevens’ out there. A decent size Library will have a variety of reference books and directories that list trade associations, companies, etc. Spend a day at your neighborhood Library and you’ll likely come away with a boat of prospects along with some juicy information about them.

Fire up your browser du jour
Poking around the web can yield a plethora (I just love that word) of information for you. Check company and trade association sites. Often, trade association sites will post survey results, industry trend and other useful information.

Speaking of surveys, how about conducting one of your own and offering the results to your clients and prospects? sites like SurveyMonkey.com and Zoomerang.com offer up both free and paid options.

Read the industry press. Research companies on sites like The Motley Fool and other investment related sites. You’ll get an idea if the industry is on the grow, taking some hits and such.

Google up some discussion groups and forums where your audience hangs out. But, don’t just lurk, get active. Scope out some questions people are asked where you can let your expertise shine, while being seen as such a helpful soul.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt