2. Target Audience

HOW TO DEFINE TARGET AUDIENCE?

• Avoid generic descriptions
• Customers are people
• More than just:
  • Gender
  • Age
  • Social status (married, )
  • Education (high school, bachelor's, Master's, etc.)
  • Jobs (professional, blue collar, business owner, etc.)
  • Lifestyle (city, suburbs, countryside, foreign country)
  • Geography
  • Income level
• Ask why. Why they act, think, and lead their lives the way they do?
• What are your customer's:
  • Hopes
  • Dreams
  • Values (honesty, hard work, community, family, etc.)
  • Emotions
  • Hobbies (arts, science, socializing)?
• Know your target audience as you know your best friend
• Distinguish yourself from competition
• Challenge the stereotypes you created about your consumers

Do:

• Define them narrowly
• Think like them (see the world through their eyes)
• Go deep (pay attention to context, emotions, motivations, and desires)
• Research, research, research

Don't:

• Be generic
• Rely on demographics
• Market to everyone
• Follow your competition

Ask:

• What does your customer do for a living?
• Why do they do this job?
• How do they feel on a normal workday?
• If they had more free time, what would they do?
• What would they say your product does for them?

GENERATIONS COMPARISON

Source: Barclays "Talking about my generation", William Strauss and Neil Howe "Generations"

FORMATIVE EXPERIENCE

1. Veteran (pre-1945): Second World War; Rationing; Fixed-Gender Roles; Rock'n Roll; Nuclear Families; Defined Gender Roles
2. Baby Boomer (1945-1960): Cold War; Posts-War Boom; "Swinging Sixties"; Apollo Moon Landing; Youth Culture; Woodstock; Family-Oriented; Rise of the Teenager
3. Gen X (1961-1980): End of Cold War; Fall of the Berlin Wall; Reagan/Gorbachev; Thatcherism; Live Aid; First PC; Early Mobile eTechnology; Latch-key Kids: rising levels of divorce
4. Gen Y (1981-1995): 9/11 Terrorist Attack; PlayStation; Social Media; Invasion of Iraq; Reality TV; Google Earth; Glastonbury
5. Gen Z (1995-after): Economic Downturn; "Global Warming"; Global Focus; Mobile Devices; Arab Spring; Produce Own Media; Cloud Computing; Wiki-Leaks

PERCENTAGE OF WORKFORCE

1. Veteran (pre-1945): 3%
2. Baby Boomer (1945-1960): 33%
3. Gen X (1961-1980): 35%
4. Gen Y (1981-1995): 29%
5. Gen Z (1995-after): Part-time Jobs and Internships

ASPIRATION

1. Veteran (pre-1945): 3%
2. Baby Boomer (1945-1960): 33%
3. Gen X (1961-1980): 35%
4. Gen Y (1981-1995): 29%
5. Gen Z (1995-after): Part-time Jobs and Internships

ATTITUDE TOWARDS TECHNOLOGY

1. Veteran (pre-1945): 3%
2. Baby Boomer (1945-1960): 33%
3. Gen X (1961-1980): 35%
4. Gen Y (1981-1995): 29%
5. Gen Z (1995-after): Part-time Jobs and Internships

ATTITUDE TOWARDS CAREER

1. Veteran (pre-1945): 3%
2. Baby Boomer (1945-1960): 33%
3. Gen X (1961-1980): 35%
4. Gen Y (1981-1995): 29%
5. Gen Z (1995-after): Part-time Jobs and Internships

SIGNATURE PRODUCT

1. Veteran (pre-1945): 3%
2. Baby Boomer (1945-1960): 33%
3. Gen X (1961-1980): 35%
4. Gen Y (1981-1995): 29%
5. Gen Z (1995-after): Part-time Jobs and Internships

COMMUNICATION MEDIA

1. Veteran (pre-1945): 3%
2. Baby Boomer (1945-1960): 33%
3. Gen X (1961-1980): 35%
4. Gen Y (1981-1995): 29%
5. Gen Z (1995-after): Part-time Jobs and Internships

COMMUNICATION PREFERENCE

1. Veteran (pre-1945): 3%
2. Baby Boomer (1945-1960): 33%
3. Gen X (1961-1980): 35%
4. Gen Y (1981-1995): 29%
5. Gen Z (1995-after): Part-time Jobs and Internships

WORK ETHIC

1. Veteran (pre-1945): 3%
2. Baby Boomer (1945-1960): 33%
3. Gen X (1961-1980): 35%
4. Gen Y (1981-1995): 29%
5. Gen Z (1995-after): Part-time Jobs and Internships