Target Marketing Agency Serving the Pittsburgh Area
The Right Place at The Right Time
In marketing, you may think “It would be good to be everywhere,” but why? And even if it’s in the budget, is that the best use of your marketing dollars? If your goal is branding that approach may be appropriate, but if you’re trying to bring in new customers, it’s not the most efficient way to do so. By identifying a target market, you can craft a message and use multiple channels to deliver it to an audience most likely to use your product or service.
Get Your Message to The Right Target Market
When you write an ad message for a specific audience and the channel used (Facebook or Google Ads for example), your probability for success becomes much higher. We’ve all heard the expression ” they could sell ice cubes to Eskimos,” but even if I could, that’s going to be a battle. I would much rather sell my ice cubes in Miami than in Alaska. In Miami, they have a need. On unusually hot days, we will sell even more. That is target marketing. Get your message in front of your best potential customers, while using the method, or channel they prefer. Let’s talk about what would work best for you.
So, Am I Looking For You, Or Are You Looking For Me?
The answer is; yes! In the world of target marketing, you want the customer that is looking for what you do or have. That is considered directional marketing and those searchers, are usually further along in the buying cycle. Besides them, you want to look for the target market or customer, you’ve identified that may not take the directional approach. They are however in the market for what you offer. Both are great customers to have; but they have different shopping habits, either way, you and your new customer win.
Directional Marketing, It’s Not Just Yellow Anymore
The oldest example of directional marketing was the “Yellow Page” directories. In their day they were the easiest way for a consumer to find an attorney, landscaper, dentist, or even a restaurant. You opened the book, turned to the heading, and then decided who you wanted to call. At one time businesses were afraid not to be in the yellow pages. Now they see their advertising dollars laying on a bag on the side of the road when the snow melts. Either the homeowner didn’t see the bag or didn’t think it was worth bending over to retrieve. Why is that the case?
It’s not because directional marketing doesn’t work. No, the smartphone’s killed the yellow pages. Now you type in the keyword instead of turning to the heading and Google serves up the ads. The principle, however, is still the same, I ask Google, then look at the search results, and decide who I’m going to call. It’s a beautiful thing, especially if you have Good positioning, a compelling ad, and send them to a landing page that has information directly related to the ad with a clear call to action. When all of those elements work together, you get much better results.
Getting In Touch With Your Creative Side
Different from directional marketing is creative marketing. Although many would consider creative marketing to be purely impression-based, it can also be targeted or even retargeted. The ability to target a consumer acts like a reverse-engineered directional campaign. Creative marketing in conventional media has been targeted somewhat by choosing a particular station or program to run ads. In the digital world, it has become more versatile through social media, display ads, and geo-fencing.
With social media, a company can use its current customer base to create a look-a-like audience and market to them. Geo-fencing can be used around competitor locations to then serve ads to those that visit their store. And retargeting can be used to display advertisements to people who have been on your website or have performed searches for specified keywords. By employing one or a combination of these strategies a company can create more opportunities to make an impression on a potential buyer. Call us or fill out the contact form, and we can discuss your goals and build a plan to reach your target market.
Our Services
Local Search; Pay-Per Click
Need to appear in search results for a wide area? PPC is a cost-effective way to go about it.
I’ve had many conversations where people have asked me, how much does a click cost for a particular keyword. My answer to that is, who cares? I don’t mean to be sarcastic, but it’s the wrong question. If you are buying a car and want to know how fuel-efficient it is, you don’t ask; what is the price of gas? You can’t control the price of gas, but which vehicle you buy is your decision. With pay-per-click, you have limited control of your click costs (max bid), it’s a free market. And even if you think they are high, if that action turns into a customer, it may be at an inexpensive CPA (cost per acquisition).
With options like Google Ads, you can choose which keywords within your geography you would like to target and have a good ad position very quickly. Not only that, you only pay when someone takes action on your ad. When the ad leads to an effective landing page your results can be impressive. PPC allows you to control budget, bid, keywords, geography, and message along with the ability to adjust on the fly. Pay-per-click may not be the best solution for everyone, but if it’s the right solution for you, Google Ads can be a huge driver of new business.
Mobile Geofencing
Serve ads designed to engage smartphone users after entering a predefined location.
When you combine interests with location, you have two essential identifiers to reach local customers. Mobile geofencing gives you that ability, a powerful way to engage consumers based on site. By fencing competitor locations you can establish interest as well.
Imagine an auto dealer setting up a geofence around competing dealerships. When someone crosses the geofence to leave a competing dealer, the first auto dealer can send a message with an offer directly to them. Also, a conversion zone can be set up around the advertising dealer to help track results. Mobile geofencing when managed effectively, is a proven way to engage consumers in near real-time.
Search Retargeting
Target consumers based on recent keyword searches on sites like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
Most people will look at multiple sites or shop at various locations before making a decision. In the case of an actual place, if you followed the person around for a few days, you could be arrested for stalking. However, with search retargeting you can put offers in front of those that visited your website, search for specific keywords, or even searched for your competitor.
Search retargeting can be a method used to prompt a potential customer to engage with you now, rather than waiting. But remember, if you serve them too many ads, they still may get the feeling of being stalked. Having a company manage this properly along with creating the right landing page for the offer will boost your success rate. Let’s get the conversation started. Fill out our free consultation request, and we will take it from there.
Social Media Targeting
Reach local consumers on leading social media sites, based on their interests.
The word targeting can be a bit overused but not in this case. Social media sites have a wealth of information on their users. Not only their shopping habits but what’s happening in their lives, both good and bad. With that amount of data, you have more than just demographics at your fingertips.
Targeted social media ads include an image and more text than a typical ad on a search site. By combining visuals with content, you appeal not only to interest but ad emotional appeal as well. For me, there’s a big difference between having a car described to me and one I can see. Add in a message that evokes emotion, and I want one! Can you benefit from reaching consumers the same way? Let’s talk.