In midst of all the excitement and urgency during the production of a website, advisors often focus too heavily on the blowing their competitors away and lose sight of who their target audience is.
Although appealing to a mass audience is a common agenda and even a natural tendency, it isn't entirely the best objective. We try to impress everyone, while ignoring one of the most crucial elements of digital marketing - impressing who matters most, aka our target audience.
What I will discuss may seem obvious and redundant, but by revisiting the basics of digital marketing, advisors can learn to better communicate with website visitors and pave a clearer path for online success.
Why a Target Audience?
So why is a target audience so incredibly "crucial"? Why should we impress just a small niche of prospects when we can cast a wider net?
It may sound counter intuitive at first, but narrowing who your potential clients are is key to creating effective communication that converts. After all, websites are all about communication. How well we communicate to website visitors depends primarily on whether what we sell is appealing to them - whether they take the bite or not.
Let's revisit the basic concept of websites as communication tool for a bit. Despite websites being great portals for promoting products and services, it is often forgotten that websites are not simply one-way channels to mega-blast advertising at entranced visitors. Just because we can reach millions does not mean that everyone can be sold in a one-size fits all manner.
And that's where the idea of a target audience comes into play. Not everyone likes the same things, not everyone seeks the same kinds of products and services. You have to know your specific target market and cater to them.
There is nothing about the web that makes prospects abandon their hesitations prior to closing a sale. If anything, prospects are more wary online because every corner of the web provides nearly the same offer /deal at an even more accessible form.
There's more to it than just having a website to attract customers and make prospects subscribe/buy. Without zeroing in on a target audience, you can be costing yourself more than you think.
Who is Your Target Audience?
A target audience is a representation of your ideal clients. They are a specific demographic who you want to provide solutions for.
By zeroing in on who your target audience is and their potential pain points, you can delve into the nitty-gritties of what actually makes website visitors tick.
It's all about that whole notion of "website as a communication medium" that works between both the advisor and visitor. With the following steps below, you can get the right message across to the right audience at the right time:
Step #1: Identify who your website visitors are and narrow them down.
Step #2: Understand the pain points, challenges and needs of your ideal clients.
Step #3: Present your products/services on your website as a way to solve client problems and to meet their needs.
Of course, discovering who your target audience is and, especially, implementing changes that tailor to this group can be a daunting task. That's why Advisor Websites has created a client persona worksheet to make things a lot easier than they really are!
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