Remember that game? Blindfolded kids are twirled round and round and pointed toward a giant picture of a donkey to try to stick their scotch-tape-loaded donkey tail where it belongs. Tails end up on the donkey’s head, belly, hooves, and some unlucky kid’s forehead, but rarely are they stuck precisely where they belong—on the donkey’s…well, uh….hind quarters.

You may think your days of playing “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” are over, but if you haven’t taken time to clearly define your target audience as part of your businesses’ communications strategy, you are in essence still playing the game and probably missing the, uh…hind quarters.

As a communications strategist at WestmorelandFlint, I see this happen far too often. Business leaders get uncomfortable with clearly defining their target audience because they’re afraid of leaving someone out. They think, “Well, that person might use our product, so they’re part of our audience. I don’t want to discriminate.”

Unfortunately, unless you’re Bill Gates, you have to narrow your focus. Your marketing dollars undoubtedly won’t stretch far enough to reach everyone everywhere, and even if you could afford it, it certainly wouldn’t be an effective use of resources.

The more you know about your target audience, the more you can tailor your messages to reach them. Your goal is for your target audience to realize you’re talking specifically to them. How many times have you watched a TV ad with someone of the opposite sex and watched them nod and laugh hysterically while you sit there thinking, “I don’t get it!” Guess what? The advertiser isn’t talking to you!

The following questions will help you define your target market:

1. Who do you believe is most likely to use your product or service?
2. Where is your target audience located?
3. What are their demographic characteristics? (age, income, gender, etc.)
4. What do they think of when they hear your company/organization’s name?
5. What do you want them to think?
6. Why should they care about your brand?
7. What are their desires, values, needs?
8. If you had $10,000 to spend to market your product/services to your target audience, what would you do with it and why?

Take time to answer these questions and be as specific as possible. The more specific, the better. You’ll know when you’ve adequately defined your audience when you can close your eyes and picture your ‘ideal’ customer and pin the tail squarely on their….well, um, you get the idea.