The Cat Loving, Coffee-Sipping Millennial

Banter

Friday, December 16, 2022

What takes you longer… tidying your desktop or tidying your house?

In this newsletter, you’ll find: 👇

📦 The importance of knowing your target customer

📦 Why ​​mobile apps are the competitive edge you need in 2023

📦 Researching your ideal customer, creating personas, and marketing to them

📦 Everything you need to keep your customers happy (all in one platform)

📦 Diapers, the party of a lifetime, and sunscreen for harsh rays

Read till the end to access exclusive DTC swag. 😎

👉 If a pal forwarded this to you, subscribe, so you never miss out.

Strategy

All good marketing comes down to one golden rule…

🟨 Thou shall know thy target customer 🟨

Understanding your target customer is critical to good copywriting, product development, advertising, branding… pretty much everything that comes with running a successful business.

Everything you do as a marketer should be with your target customer in mind.

In fact, it’s so important that there are hundreds of guides, books, courses, consultants, and services dedicated to helping you nail your ideal customer.

In other words… this sh*t can get real complicated, real fast. 😵

However, “complicated” is not in our vocabulary here at DTC (we want to make your life easier, not harder).

Identifying your target customer doesn’t need to be rocket science — but it DOES take some effort and critical thinking.

So today, we’re giving you a 3-step, brass-tacks guide on how to find your perfect match! 👇

🔎 Step 1: Research your target customer

Diving deep into market research (or, as we like to call it, reconnaissance 🕵️) is the first step in narrowing down your target customer.

During your research, you’ll want to gather basic demographic and psychographic information on your target customer, including:

• Age range
• Gender
• Location
• Income
• Marital status
• Occupation
• Hobbies and interests
• Goals, needs, and desires
• Pain points/problems they’re trying to solve
• Buying motivators
• Anything else that seems interesting or important

Keep scrolling for a few places to start your research! 👇

Sponsor

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If you're an avid DTC Reader (first off, thank you!), you know that last month we talked A LOT about how mobile apps are the competitive edge marketers and DTC brands need in 2023.

Why? Because...

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How? 🤔

They are investing in mobile apps. 📱

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Strategy

1️⃣ Your existing customers

No brainer, right? The best place to start your research is with the people that already shop with you!

Interview your existing customers (in person, via email, survey, on the phone, etc.) and ask them questions like:

• How did they find out about you?
• What drove them to make their first purchase?
• Why do they keep buying from you?
• Why do they choose you over your competitors?
• Where do they go to research new products?
• What sources/influencers/media do they trust for recommendations?

‍

2️⃣ CS and sales reps

Your Customer Service and Sales teams speak to your customers the most, which means they’re probably sitting on a treasure trove of information: who’s buying from you, why they’re buying, what they like about your products, and perhaps most importantly, what they don’t like.

So, talk to your CS and sales reps. Ask them about the customers they interact with, like:

• What are their common questions?
• What products do people seem to love? Why?
• What products do people complain about the most? Why?
• How would they describe the people that shop from you the most?

The responses you get from customers and CS/sales alone will surely be a goldmine of information for understanding your ideal target!

3️⃣ Online sleuthing

Next, poke around places on the internet related to your product/service/industry and see what information you can find about the people hanging out there.

In this Twitter thread, Chase Dimond drops some great examples, like:

• Search Google for related keywords. Allow yourself to go down rabbit holes (studies, forums, blog posts) and write down relevant information.
• Join Meta/Facebook Groups. Engage in discussions, ask questions, offer help.
• Browse related topics in Answer the Public. Write down what questions people are asking.

‍

4️⃣ Your competitors

Competing brands may have a very similar target audience, although it’s essential to make sure you’re differentiating yourself!

That’s why studying your competitors is so valuable: it provides insight into what types of shoppers might also resonate with your brand and where your competitors might be lacking.

• Read competitor’s marketing copy to see what’s working for them
• Check out their product reviews on their shop and Amazon to see what customers like/dislike (you can also Google “X Brand Review” to see if you can find detailed insights from bloggers/YouTubers)
• Browse their social media accounts to get a sense of who’s engaging and what they’re saying
• Look them up in Meta Ads Library, peruse their ads, and read the comments

Alright, now that you have tons of detailed notes, on to the next step…

Sponsor

Gladly Connect is to CX = Swifties is to Taylor Swift

💃 Swifties are obsessed with T. Swift. Bookworms are obsessed with #BookTok. And Gladly is obsessed with…

Customers.

Gladly is an all-in-one customer service platform with everything you need to keep your customers happy. And we mean EVERYTHING.

Not only does Gladly offer the solutions to help you delight customers, but they also have an awesome community that gives you expert insight into all things customer service. 💯

When you join Gladly Connect Community, you can:

• Receive industry-leading guidance from customer-obsessed brands
• Expect strategy without the sales pitch
• Learn from top CX leaders
• Be the first to hear about upcoming community events and meet-ups

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Strategy

👥 Step 2: Create your customer persona

At this point, you should have a basic understanding of your ideal customer demographics. So, what do you DO with all that information?

Time to create your customer persona(s)!

🧑 A customer persona brings your target audience to life

Your persona is a fictional character that represents your customer base but ideally, you want to think about them as if they were a real person and not just a list of demographics.

This will allow you to “get into your customer’s head” and create messaging specifically for them. You can even name your personas and give them a face!

For example, a company that sells Cat Grass (yes, it’s a thing!) may have the following customer persona:

Lucy: Cat Loving, Coffee-Sipping Millenial

Lucy is a 29-year-old barista with a household income of $45,000. She’s single and lives with a roommate in Austin, TX, and her two cats. She refers to her cats as her “fur babies,” and while she doesn’t have a ton of disposable income, she always makes sure her cats have what they need to keep them happy and healthy. In her free time, she loves to sip on vanilla lattes and read historical fiction novels.

And don’t stop at just one persona! Most brands will want to create 2-4 customer personas to represent the variety of customers that shop with them.

⭐️ Step 3: Put it into practice

Now that you have an idea of your ideal customer demographics, plus a few buyer personas to really bring them to life, it’s time to put it all to good use.

📢 Create products that your customer personas would love

📢 Write to them when crafting copy

📢 Use the same words they use

📢 Advertise where they hang out

📢 Design your branding to appeal to their tastes

In other words…

Always market to your ideal customer.

Need some practical examples?

• Keep a running list of language/words your ideal customers [would] use to include in your copy.
• Craft your marketing messaging to address their pain points, frustrations, desires, and needs.
• Use people in your creative that look like your ideal customer.
• Think about your personas when developing new products – what would they want? What price point could they afford?
• Devote most of your advertising budget to places they spend the most time (specific social channels, podcasts, blogs, TV, etc.).
• Refer back to your customer personas when running prospecting campaigns.

🙏 We hope this gives you a strong foundation for nailing your ideal customer!

If you can take the time to understand your perfect shopper better, it will transform your marketing efforts. You’ll be able to acquire *qualified* new leads, improve conversion rates, keep existing customers longer, create products that sell, and run campaigns that crush. 🔥

Brands

👶 Cleannest: 87% of people chose Cleannest as the best diaper for their baby. Turns out, they’re great diapers for the planet, too, with plant-based materials and free of any irritants for the most sensitive skin.

🎉 Partytrick: Have the party of a lifetime specially curated for you and your guests! Partytrick lets you choose your food, fun, and decor to plan your next party like a pro.

☀️ Standard Procedure: Sure, it’s the middle of winter, but you can never plan too far ahead for summer. Next time the sun becomes a little too spicy, follow Standard Procedure. This TGA-certified sunscreen helps protect against the harshest rays.