For many business leaders in the c-suite, targeted marketing services can be a confusing web of unfamiliar terminology and seemingly pointless expenses.
“We already have a marketing department and an ad agency,” you may say. “Why invest in yet another marketing tool?”
In this blog post, we’ll share the basics of what targeted marketing involves, how it interacts with existing marketing efforts, and why it may be worth your brand’s investment.
The Basics: What is the Definition of Targeted Marketing?
Targeted marketing is the process of identifying consumers who are most likely to respond to a marketing message and sending the message to only those consumers. It differs from mass marketing approaches that rely on volume to drive results.
So how do you identify which consumers are most likely to respond to the message? Marketers have used basic demographic information for many years to narrow the audience for marketing campaigns, but today’s targeted marketing services go further by modeling the lifestyle characteristics of your brand’s best customers. The marketing model provides a profile of your most valuable customers and can be used to identify other “lookalike” households that are good candidates for your marketing messages. You can even conduct a segmentation exercise to develop distinct profiles of the different types of consumers that drive results for your brand.
Once you know who you should target, you can use the model to generate mailing lists of high value households or even conduct digital marketing campaigns directly to those consumers.
Targeted Marketing’s Role in the Marketing Toolkit
A common misconception is that targeted marketing models and services are replacements for the work that marketing departments and agencies do. That’s simply not the case. Targeted marketing solutions empower marketing teams and agencies to work smarter by deploying campaigns to the right consumers. It can be a powerful supplement to an existing marketing program.
Why Invest in Targeted Marketing
The decision to invest in a targeted marketing approach ultimately boils down to one factor: return on investment.
Traditional marketing techniques rely on volume. They reach the right households…but they reach a lot of other households too. The result is a lot of wasted ad dollars and low response rates. Taking a targeted approach allows you to see higher returns on your direct marketing investment and shift cost savings into other marketing channels to further drive sales.
Targeted marketing techniques play an important role in customer acquisition by helping you go beyond your existing customer list to reach “lookalike” households with revenue potential. They also play an important role in helping you to get more dollars out of existing customers by identifying which of your current customers are the best candidates for special offers.
Whether you use targeted marketing services for customer acquisition, customer growth and retention, or both, you can make your marketing programs more efficient and effective.
Does It Work?
Targeted marketing is a proven technique for improving ROI, but you don’t have to take our word for it. As case studies show, one fitness brand used targeted marketing to generate $19.84 in gross revenue for every dollar invested in targeted marketing services, while a fast-casual restaurant used a unique new targeted marketing technology to generate a return on ad spend of 390%. Simply put, targeted marketing produces results.
Ready to Learn More?
Buxton is a leader in consumer analytics and offers an extensive suite of targeted marketing services. Explore our solution and contact us to schedule a consultation for your brand.
