Every marketing guide tells you to “define your target audience” like it’s the easiest thing in the world. Just build a buyer persona! Give them a name! What kind of coffee do they drink?
In reality, most small businesses either skip this step entirely or overthink it into uselessness. Here’s a more practical approach.
Look at who’s already buying from you
If you’ve been in business for more than a year, you already have data. Look at your best customers — not just anyone who’s bought from you, but the ones who come back, refer others, and don’t haggle on price. What do they have in common? That’s your target audience, and you don’t need a spreadsheet to figure it out.
Pay attention to who’s NOT a good fit
This is just as important. Think about the clients or customers who were difficult, unprofitable, or just not the right match. What did they have in common? Knowing who you don’t want to attract helps you write better marketing copy, because you stop trying to please everyone.
Talk to your sales team (or yourself)
If you have a sales team, they know your audience better than any analytics tool. They talk to prospects every day. They know what questions come up, what objections people have, and what finally convinces someone to buy. If you’re the sales team (hi, fellow small business owners), think about your last ten sales conversations.
Skip the fictional personas
“Meet Sarah, 34, marketing manager, drinks oat milk lattes and listens to NPR.” Nobody on your team is going to reference this when they’re writing an email campaign. Instead, focus on practical stuff:
What problem are they trying to solve? This is the big one. Everything in your marketing should connect back to this.
Where do they look for solutions? Google? Instagram? Industry events? Ask-a-friend? This tells you where to show up.
What would make them pick you over someone else? Price? Quality? Convenience? Reputation? This tells you what to emphasize.
Test and adjust
Your target audience might shift over time, and that’s fine. The businesses that do well aren’t the ones who nailed their audience definition on day one — they’re the ones who pay attention and adjust. Run a campaign aimed at one audience, measure the results, and refine.
The whole point isn’t to create a perfect document. It’s to make sure your marketing is talking to specific people about specific problems, instead of shouting into the void and hoping someone cares.