Love that Game!

Much is made of targeting customers, of zeroing in on the places they go, their methods of gaining information, who their friends are, and the best methods to reach them. Once I find my target (that can be a single customer), I research how they were found, then I want to find more of them (friends), and I want to get their friends. It is a lot like hunting really. Am I more likely to find a duck in the city or at a pond? If I find one, will that one lead me to more? What time of year is it? Why are they in that area? Should you use a rifle or a shotgun? These few questions have helped me to create ‘killer’ ad campaigns.

Am I more likely to find a duck in the city or at a pond?

Well, what about a pond in a city? Yeah, I could find ducks there as well, but I might get arrested trying to shoot one. Seriously though, I pay attention to places that aren’t so obvious when hunting for customers. This is an area that is often missed when businesses are too tightly defining their “target”. I often need to use a different message or campaign in order to find them though. The great thing about internet marketing is that more needles can be found much more efficiently. The internet does a phenomenal job of aggregating customers in niche locations.

Will one duck lead me to more?

Absolutely, but I must try to find out why the duck was there and if that location is likely to have more. Otherwise I may have just gotten lucky in finding the duck, and am not likely to find others there. Regardless, I still follow that duck, until he leads me to his friends—happy hunting.

What time of year is it? Why are they there?

This is important, because in a month they may not be there. I pay attention to trends and the environment so that tactics can be adjusted to the season. For example, a customer base is exclusively male, and it is November, why would you want to put together a campaign for females? Well, because they are buying presents for a lot of the males you target.

Rifle or shotgun?

For a duck? A shotgun, of course. But in reality it depends upon your business. Some people tend to use a rifle when they might want to consider a shotgun, and vice versa. Don’t get too caught up with one method, experiment a little. Don’t get too focused, yet try not to lose your focus.

There is not perfect, sure-fire method when it comes to advertising, but these are questions that should be evaluated frequently. Especially in online advertising—it is a different beast.

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