March 10, 2021 3 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Connecting to your target audience, and beyond, is THE key component to growing a start-up.

Building an understanding of the customers, along with their needs, creates a profile that will provide reliable revenue streams.

Know your demo

Business coach, Lewis Howes, is noted for stating among other insights: “The most important thing to remember is you must know your audience”.

This is key to developing your business profile and overall approach to marketing.

Before placing a product on the market it is necessary to undertake in-depth research into the demographics of your target consumers. Who are you marketing to based on age, gender, sex and geographical location?

It is said that the ratio of ears-to-mouths is an indication of the ratio that they should be used. Listen carefully to identify all your target audience is interested in and what is currently trending. 

Unless you are truly breaking new ground, there are already competitors with skin in the game. Learn from their successes, mistakes and gaps in approach. Then exploit all of it. 

Related: 10 Free Tools to Help You Understand Your Social Media Audience

Be aware of how customers consume the product

Brad Ahn, CEO of digital sports publication Ahn Fire Digital, claims it’s essential to understand how an audience engages with your product and then pivot to changes in their consumption habits.

When Facebook‘s algorithm changed due to the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2016, many of the social media network’s marketing strategies were likewise devastated. Successful companies mitigated the risk by steering away from Zuckerberg Inc or adapted to the new climate.

Many fell back on the tried-and-tested Search Engine Optimization techniques with the low cost and high impact advantages it affords. Others managed their risks by increasing their profile on sites such as Instagram (with in excess of 1 billion active users, creating a colossal marketplace) and LinkedIn. 

Related: The Core Elements Needed to Pivot Your Business During the Pandemic

Engage, engage, engage

Once an audience has been identified, and its consumption habits have been analyzed, you must then deliver a product that engages them.

Canadian motivational speaker Brian Tracy has said: “Approach each customer with the idea of helping him or her solve a problem or achieve a goal, not of selling a product or service”.

We are all saturated by sales and, as a consequence, mostly just ignore them. To sell a service one has to delve deeper into the human condition. If you connect YOUR product with THEIR story, you are more likely to breed loyalty that lasts.

Related: How to Sell Anything to Anyone by Telling Great Stories