Who is Your Target Audience? The Hidden Power of Getting Specific

Mar 2

Defining Your Ideal Client

It’s difficult to conceptualize who your target customer is… Are you with me? For my copywriting company, KPCopy, I like to help people strategize in the fledgling stages of their company and help bring their idea to fruition. But, I also like to get to know an existing brand and help to give it the refresh or reboot it needs.

A typewriter with the words "Be Amazing" written on a piece of white paper sticking out of it. — Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

When I sit down with a small business to work on its messaging, I first work on clarifying who its ideal customer might be. Most businesses think they are quite clear on this.

Yet, after a few minutes of asking a lot of questions (you have been warned!) we find they’re usually just a few degrees off or not as specific as they would like to be.

The consequences of this slight misalignment are far greater than most realize. It’s like aiming for the moon but being off by just a few degrees at launch — by the time you reach space, you’re missing by thousands of miles.

In marketing, those few degrees might mean the difference between creating content that compels your ideal customer to action versus content that makes them scroll right past.

That “slight miss” compounds over time, leading to wasted budgets, the proverbial hitting your head against the wall, and the perpetual question: “Why isn’t our marketing working?”

The Surprising Truth About “Knowing” Your Customer

Take a recent client of mine, for example…

Near the end of 2023, I helped a health and wellness company in the Bay Area with their messaging. When I asked them who their target customer was, they responded with “women.” Often mid-thirties through fifties.

Of course, weight loss is on the mind of any woman of any age (sigh) but, after the conversational questioning (thank you years of hospitality! And penchant towards natural curiosity) we found that the actual target customer is women in various stages of menopause.

Gorgeous purple orchids in full bloom- a zoomed in shot of all of their glory. — Photo by Rita Ox on Unsplash

Why women going through menopause? Because women who have raised children (or not) and finally have time to themselves…and have not been feeling like themselves…are hyper-sensitive to their health. They are the ones calling my client.

How Specificity Transformed Their Strategy

This revelation greatly impacted our messaging strategy and how I put together their copy.

We focused on the holistic dynamic of diet and exercise, and what was achievable realistically. How supplements and minerals are crucial for this very transformative and interesting time of their lives.

When it came time to add in photos, we chose a wide variety of women from different backgrounds, shapes and sizes. We wanted to have full inclusion of all women and wanted their clients to know they understood what all women go through and they are there to lend a helping hand.

7 women of various backgrounds, shapes and sizes sitting on a staircase wearing various forms of denim. ha! — Photo by Rita Ox on Unsplash

The Difference Between Surface-Level and Deep Understanding

The moral of the story is this…

Understanding the client is paramount to success. Taking a deep-dive into the psyche of who and what is needed to solve (or at least assist) this very real problem is not only mutually beneficial but integral to reaching your target market.

The niche market of menopausal women (ALL women go through it) made all the difference in their brand messaging, website copy, and imagery.

Your Turn: Defining Your True Target Audience

Who is your target customer? Are you stopping at broad demographics, or are you digging deeper to understand:

Their specific life stage or situation
The emotional triggers that prompt them to seek solutions
The realistic challenges they face day-to-day or “pain points.”
How they want to feel when interacting with businesses like yours (Relieved! Finally someone understands…)

Remember, being “a few degrees off” in your targeting doesn’t mean you miss by just a little…it could mean missing the mark entirely.

The most powerful messaging speaks directly to a specific person with a specific problem. When you nail that specificity, your marketing stops being a blanketed bit of generic noise and starts being a conversation that resonates deeply with the exact people you want to reach.