What Does Target Audience Mean?
We can define the target audience as the individuals, groups, or masses to whom the message is intended to reach. In advertising, the target audience includes not only the end consumers but also businesses and individuals in the distribution channel, suppliers, and all segments targeted for corporate advertisements.
Advantages of Determining the Target Audience
Consequences of Not Defining the Target Audience
Who Does the Target Audience Consist of?
Customers
Customers consist of individuals or organizations that purchase products or services offered in the market, closely related to their features and quantities. Therefore, establishing relationships with customers is a significant part of any program, particularly for promotional and informational activities both before and after sales.
Providers of Raw Materials and Services
Businesses are interconnected with institutions providing raw materials, semi-processed or processed products, and various tools, equipment, and materials in their respective sectors. Maintaining good relationships with suppliers of raw materials is important for the continuity, quality, and reliability of the products acquired.
Competitors
All organizations operating within the environment of an entity are competitors to one another. During campaigns, it is essential to monitor what competitor businesses are doing and what strategies they are pursuing. Additionally, the fundamental characteristics of competitors should also be taken into account.
Sources of Funding and Credit Providers
Organizations may not be able to secure sufficient capital through their own resources alone. Therefore, local banks, insurance companies, credit institutions, commercial banks, investment analysts, and commercial associations constitute the financial target audience.
Regulators and Supervisors
Potential Workforce
Specialist personnel employed in other institutions, new graduates, and students represent potential for the future. Therefore, it is important for organizations to prioritize promotion efforts to secure their present and future by enhancing relationships and collaborating with institutions such as universities and vocational schools.
Stakeholders
Individual Factors Influencing Target Audience Behavior
Example Applications
1. Age Factor
2. Gender Factor
3. Income Level
Psychological Factors Influencing Target Audience Behavior
Individuals' psychology significantly influences how they perceive advertisements. Some psychological factors that affect purchasing decisions include:
We can define learning as the process of acquiring new knowledge and perspectives that can change a person's behavior or gaining information and skills. Learning should result in permanent behavior change, which should ideally last for a long time.
Learning is influenced by these factors:
Behaviorist Theory:
The behavioral approach concerns environmental experiences that cause relatively continuous or potential differences in behaviors. Behavioral theory starts from the idea that learning develops by establishing a connection between stimulus and behavior, and behavior change is reinforced.
Cognitive Theory: What behaviorists define as change in behavior is actually the outward reflection of learning that occurs in a person's mind. Cognitive learning theory evaluates learning as an attempt to understand and perceive the world.
Motivation
Motivation determines an individual's behaviors, actions, strengths, and priority order by influencing internal and external stimuli. Internal and external factors affect motivation. There are three theories of motivation:
Perception
We can explain perception as how we see the world around us. Perception varies depending on the characteristics of the perceiver and the perceived stimulus. The intensity, speed, intensity, size of physical stimuli, and their relationship with other stimuli affect perception. Personal characteristics also influence the perception process.
Perception has three dimensions:
Environmental sensations also affect individuals during the perception process (sound, taste - smell, touch, colors).
Properties of Colors
Personality is the characteristics that affect how one reacts to the environment they are in. Personality as a consumer includes the characteristics that determine how one will act and carry out actions. To speak of personality, a person's behaviors must be consistent. Behaviors should distinguish individuals from others; a personality trait cannot be present in all consumers. Personality traits interact with the situation.
Based on Freud's work, it claims that personality consists of three stages: Id, Ego, Superego. It can influence consumers' purchase decisions in marketing activities.
Analyzes personality in terms of specific psychological characteristics called traits. Traits are distinguishing features that separate one individual from others. They can be used in marketing to understand consumers' product choices and purchase locations.
Begins with social factors that determine human behaviors. In marketing, it can be effective in advertisements where messages are tailored according to the personality of the target audience.
Examines how individuals process information and respond. It can be used in informative strategies for introducing new products.
Attitude determines a person's inclinations toward psychological objects. Attitude consists of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components.
We can discuss four concepts about attitude: