6 Steps For Defining Your Ideal Target Audience

B2B events have been noticeably impactful in 2019. Recent research done by Bizzabo shows that 84% of leadership (VP+) think that in-person events are an essential piece of their company’s success. Additionally, 68% of B2B marketers use in-person events for lead generation.

Defining your target audience is essential to creating an event format for your audience that will break through the noise and keep their attention. Proving (and improving) your event’s ROI begins with a thorough understanding of your target audience.

Run an event that isn't terrible with the event planning workbook.

Target Audience Webinar Takeaways

Step 1: Understand the basics

Understanding your target audience begins with the basic questions. Get into your data to answer the 5Ws:

• Who was your product made for?
• What problem does your product solve?
• Where is your product being used?
• When are your customers looking for your product?
• Why should someone buy your product / Why would they buy a competitor’s product?

This information is likely already available in your company mission statement and/or business plan.

And don’t forget to talk to your sales team. They must answer the same type of questions and both groups will benefit from a shared understanding.

Remember none of this info needs to be set in stone and it’s important to update as needed.

Step 2: Current customer analysis

The best way to begin current customer analysis is with information you already have: Demographics, Psychographics, Behavioral Data. What motivated the customers you have already?

When collecting demographics, investigate the data specific to the individual: name, job title, age, income level, etc. But if you’re dealing with a larger entity like an entire company, gather data on their revenue size, employee count and sales cycles to best understand where they are in the sales process.

Regarding psychographics, your goal is to better understand what your audience cares about to better maintain their attention. Consider building a psychographic profile of your audience from a handful of customer success stories.

It’s imperative to understand why and how your customers came to you and what made them convert. Was it content? Specific media? Find out what drove your customers to you, so you can develop it further.

Events require time and effort. This basic information can help you attract the right people and generate sales.

Step 3: Past attendee analysis

Like current attendee analysis, past attendee analysis is all about working with the info you have, mainly demographics and behavioral data. However, past attendee analysis focuses more on what brought attendees to your previous events.

Consider things like your conversion rate of attendees and which cities produced the most registrations. Look into your digital files to see what channels registrants came from and analyze your previous events to see which topics captured attention.

Additionally, remember to consider your competitor’s events and what has brought them success. See what’s been done and what people are looking for, so you can avoid mistakes and bring something new to the table.

Step 4: Digital and website analysis

Analyzing your digital footprint is the best way to get an idea of how your organization is presenting itself online, as well as how people are finding it and how it’s being received.

Looking into data like conversion points, most-downloaded content, and bounce rates can help you pinpoint your customer’s pain points and build a better understanding of what they need from you.

Consider keywords and first touch points to see where your audience found you and what about that spot drove them to you.

Today’s internet user is bombarded with tons of information every day. Knowing where and how your audience prefers to receive info from you will not only give you a better idea of their professional needs but will help you cut through the noise and be noticed.

Step 5: Competitor analysis

Competitor analysis is an imperative aspect of all marketing. It’s essential to understanding what’s out there, what’s working, and where the untapped spaces are.

Pick a handful of competitors and check out what they’re doing regarding their website, social channels, content, and events. You can also access this information by talking with potential clients, seeing what their pain points are, and what they’ve found (or haven’t found) to help them.

Take advantage of social monitoring sites where you can track competitors, keywords, topics and more. Don’t forget to use the basics like company websites and event pages to see what companies are doing and what tools and techniques your competitors are utilizing.

Step 6: Negative analysis

Negative analysis may not be on your radar currently, but it’s well worth attending to. You’ve done your analysis and you’ve seen what works—now you need to fix what isn’t working. Ask yourself, what converted your leads into customers?

Look into what content isn’t performing, which email chains have low open and click-through rates, and which events have low registration and attendance rates. This enables you to make a list of ‘What Not to Do’ for your future events to better attract attendees and convert them into customers.

Events make an impact and for yours to stand out, it needs to cut through the noise. Crafting an event that captures attention and further conversations begins with a firm understanding of your target audience and their attendee profile.

Engage the audience you want by analyzing the audience you have. Learn the insights you need to create tailored, memorable events.