In no particular order, I'm a wife, mother, sister, daughter, dachshund owner, freelancer, marketer, VW driver and vegetarian. I could go on, but you get the idea. Your customers are just like me or perhaps totally unlike me, the point being that the generic average customer doesn't exist.
How we respond to marketing, depends on the role that we're playing at the time and how that affects our attitude to your messaging. The key for communications then, is knowing as much about me, (your customer) as possible, so that your content meets my values, interests, attitudes and personality.
Small businesses often worry that selecting an audience leaves money on the table, but appealing to the masses, vastly reduces the effectiveness of your communications and we all know the aim of the game is to get as much return for every pound spent as possible.
Who is buying now?
Look at your existing customer base. Who are they (male/female/student etc)? What age are they? Where do they typically live? Do they have particular interests and behaviours? If in doubt, ask them why they bought your product. People love to share their opinions and the insights gained from such an exercise shouldn't be underestimated.
What's your competition doing?
Who are your competitors aiming at and why? You can often get an initial feel by looking at their websites, social media interaction and content produced. Rather than going head to head, look for that niche that isn't currently being served, or consider a subset of an audience that you could appeal to more successfully than your competitors.
Who do you want your customer to be?
Often companies start out marketing at a local level, with one kind of audience in mind. Social media is a great window into whether this audience exists and its also excellent for finding out whether your assumed target, matches the reality of your paying customers. Ask yourself who needs your business today and will continue to need you in the future and make sure you're marketing appeals to this group.
Homework (see badly drawn illustration above)
Take a blank piece of paper for each audience you can think of in relation to your business. Write that audience name in the middle of the paper, along with as many known facts about them as possible, (the smallest circle). The devil is in the detail. Now think about who might influence their decision to buy (the second circle). Remember, you're not just trying to convince your audience directly, but through the whole raft of avenues which play their part in forming that audiences opinion of you.
Define your audience clearly and your content strategy (what you want to tell them) will follow. Aim at nothing and you're bound to hit it.
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