Audience Analysis: the definition and steps

Article by: Ben Janse

Last update: August 26, 2024

Audience analysis: this article explains the audience analysis in a practical way. The article starts with a definition of this term, followed by information about its characteristics, its value for marketers and a step-by-step plan to conduct an audience analysis yourself. Enjoy reading!

What is an audience analysis? The definition and basics

An audience analysis, also known as a market segment analysis or customer segment analysis, is a process of identifying a specific group of consumers or organizations that a company wants to target with products, services or marketing efforts.

The purpose of an audience analysis is to gain insight into the characteristics, needs, preferences and behaviors of people in the target group in order to develop an effective marketing strategy and to offer products or services based on specific wishes and requirements.

The importance of performing an audience analysis lies in the many benefits it offers:

Market segmentation

By analyzing a target market, marketers are able to divide the larger market into smaller, manageable parts or segments. This is often done on the basis of common characteristics, such as demographics, psychographics, behavior or geographic locations.

This segmentation allows companies and marketers to focus their resources on the most relevant customer groups; the groups that are expected to purchase products and services the fastest.

Understanding the customer

An audience analysis also ensures that marketers gain a better understanding of the needs, wishes, preferences and motivations of the consumer.

By identifying and addressing these factors, companies can develop better products and services that meet specific customer expectations. This ultimately leads to higher customer satisfaction and increased loyalty.

Effective marketing communication

The improved understanding of consumer characteristics allows marketers to develop better marketing messages. This helps create compelling campaigns that are distributed through the right channels and resonate with audiences.

The result is higher conversion rates and better consumer engagement with the product or service.

Competitive advantage

A thorough audience analysis helps to gain insight into the competition and the market landscape.

By understanding how consumers perceive products and services, companies can develop ways to differentiate themselves from the competition. This knowledge can have an advantage for pricing, market positioning and the development of new products.

Resource optimization

By focusing marketing efforts on the most relevant customer groups, companies can use their resources efficiently. This leads to less waste (lean).

In summary, performing a good audience analysis offers numerous advantages:

Market Segmentation: identifying specific target groups within the market, enabling targeted marketing strategies;
Targeted marketing communications: ability to tailor marketing messages and channels to the specific audience, resulting in higher engagement and response;
Competitive advantage: identification of opportunities to differentiate from competitors and develop unique value propositions;
Resource optimization: effective resource allocation through targeted investment in the most relevant target groups;
Customer satisfaction and loyalty: being able to better meet the needs of the target group results in higher customer satisfaction and greater customer loyalty;
Improved Marketing ROI: targeted marketing efforts drive higher conversion rates and return on investment in marketing campaigns.

Step-by-step plan for conducting an audience analysis

Figure 1 – Step-by-step plan to conduct an Audience analysis

Step 1: Define your Business Objectives and Scope

Defining your business objectives and scope is the first and most important step in conducting an audience analysis. It helps you set clear goals and guidelines for the process and ensures that you can conduct your analysis effectively.

Determine what you want to achieve with the analysis, such as identifying new market opportunities, improving your marketing strategies, increasing customer satisfaction or increasing sales.

Make sure your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) so you can track your progress.

Clearly define the goals and objectives you want to achieve with the audience analysis;
Specify the scope of the analysis, including the product, service or marketing campaign you are targeting.

Step 2: Gather Relevant Data

Gathering relevant data is an essential step in the implementation of an audience analysis. It provides valuable insights into the behavior, preferences and needs of your target audience.

Use online surveys or feedback forms to get direct input from your target audience.

Analyze website data using tools such as Google Analytics to understand the behavior of your online visitors.

Gather data from a variety of sources, such as market research, customer surveys, website analytics, and social media insights;
Obtain demographic information, psychographic data, purchasing behavior and other relevant statistics.

Step 3: Segment the Market

Segmenting the market is another critical step in conducting audience analysis. It helps you divide your audience into specific segments with similar characteristics, needs and behaviors.

Use data visualization tools or spreadsheets to organize the data and visualize the patterns.

Identify the most relevant segments for your business based on their size, growth potential and feasibility.

Analyze the collected data to identify distinctive market segments within your target audience;
Group customers based on common characteristics such as age, gender, location, interests or behaviour.

Step 4: Define Target Audiences

Defining target groups is the fourth important step in conducting an audience analysis. It enables you to make your marketing efforts more targeted and effective.

Determine the specific target groups or segments that align with your business objectives and offer the greatest potential;
Develop clear profiles for each target group, including their characteristics, preferences and needs.

Use customer researches, surveys and interviews to gain a deeper understanding of the characteristics and needs of your target audience.

Create personas or customer profiles to create a visual representation of each target audience and better understand who they are.

Step 5: Perform Customer Profiling

Performing customer profiling is aimed at understanding your target audience on a deeper level. This allows you to develop better targeted marketing strategies and better respond to the needs of your customers.

Leverage data analytics tools to gain detailed insights and identify patterns.

Conduct customer interviews or focus groups to gain a deeper understanding of your customers’ needs and motives.

Dive deeper into the characteristics, preferences and behaviors of each target audience to create comprehensive customer profiles;
Include information such as demographics, lifestyle, values, aspirations, challenges and buying habits.

Step 6: Analyze Competitors

Analyzing competitors is an important step in the audience analysis, because it gives you insight into how other players in the market position themselves and approach their target groups.

Study competitors targeting the same or similar market segments;
Identify their strengths and weaknesses, strategies and positioning in relation to your target groups.

Take advantage of online tools to track competitors, such as monitoring their website, social media activity and online advertising.

Perform a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) to gain insight into your competitive position.

Step 7: Identify Needs and Pain Points

Identifying the specific needs, desires and pain points of your target audiences is crucial to developing effective marketing campaigns and solutions.

Determine the specific needs, desires and pain points of each target audience;
Understand their motivations for purchases and the challenges they face to address them effectively.

Leverage data analysis tools and customer feedback to identify patterns and trends.

Ask open-ended questions in surveys or interviews to gain a deeper understanding of the motivations and challenges of your target audiences.

Step 8: Determine Communication Channels

Determining the right communication channels is essential to effectively reach and engage your target groups.

Identify the preferred communication channels and platforms used by each target audience;
Determine where and how you can effectively reach and engage them.

Use data from market research, customer surveys and website analytics to understand the communication preferences of your target audiences.

Follow the competition to see which channels they use and which ones are effective in your industry.

Step 9: Develop Marketing Strategies

Developing tailored marketing strategies for each audience is essential to communicate effectively with your audiences and increase their engagement.

Create customized marketing strategies for each target group;
Develop messages, offers and campaigns that meet their specific needs, preferences and aspirations.

Use the customer profiles you’ve created to base your marketing strategies on.

Test and measure the results of different approaches to determine which strategies are most effective for each audience.

Step 10: Test and Refine

Testing and refining your marketing strategies and campaigns is a critical step in ensuring you communicate effectively with your audiences and get the results you want.

Implement your marketing strategies and campaigns and monitor their effectiveness;
Gather feedback, measure results, and make adjustments as needed to refine your targeting approach.

Run A/B tests to compare and evaluate different approaches and elements of your campaigns.

Collect quantitative data such as conversion rates, click-through rates, and sales figures, but also take qualitative customer feedback seriously.

Now it’s your turn

What do you think? Do you recognize the explanation about the audience analysis? Have you ever worked on an audience analysis yourself? Which benefits of performing this analysis appeal to you the most? How is the target group in your work environment determined and analysed? Or do you think that your organization can still gain a lot by performing such an analysis? Do you think the step-by-step plan in this article is complete? Do you have other tips or comments?

Share your experience and knowledge in the comments box below.

More information about an Audience analysis

Bian, Y., Song, K., & Bai, J. (2019). Market segmentation, resource misallocation and environmental pollution. Journal of Cleaner Production, 228, 376-387.
Kotler, P., & Levy, S. J. (1969). Broadening the concept of marketing. Journal of marketing, 33(1), 10-15.
Martin, G. (2011). The importance of marketing segmentation. American journal of business education (AJBE), 4(6), 15-18.
Wymer Jr, W. W. (2003). Differentiating literacy volunteers: A segmentation analysis for target marketing. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 8(3), 267-285.

How to cite this article:
Janse, B. (2024). Audience Analysis. Retrieved [insert date] from Toolshero: https://www.toolshero.com/marketing/audience-analysis/

Original publication date: 08/26/2024 | Last update: 08/26/2024

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<a href=”https://www.toolshero.com/marketing/audience-analysis/”>Toolshero: Audience Analysis</a>

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Article by:

Ben Janse

Ben Janse is a young professional working at ToolsHero as Content Manager. He is also an International Business student at Rotterdam Business School where he focusses on analyzing and developing management models. Thanks to his theoretical and practical knowledge, he knows how to distinguish main- and side issues and to make the essence of each article clearly visible.