marketing strategies targeted to that audience. Analysis of the audience and its demographics and preferences, any competitors with similar products, financial analysis detailing the costs of the targeted marketing effort, and the costs of distribution to the target audience should all be covered in this plan.
Knowing the targeted customer is crucial to developing a strategic marketing plan. For example, a company marketing a large-screen plasma TV set needs to know whether men or women are more likely to make the decision to buy, and who will be more likely to purchase the set. Since the advertising campaign needs to appeal to the decision-maker above all, ads for male decision-makers vary dramatically from ads for female decision-makers. To sell the TV to men, the ads are more likely to depict male pursuits such as sports, emphasize the technical features of the set, and incorporate humor; to sell to women, the ads are more likely to show the set as a catalyst for husband-wife communication or bonding, satisfying family recreation, or a way to relax after a hard day. Hf the woman will make the decision to buy but the man will make the purchase, the marketing strategy will incorporate components to appeal to female consumers while adding components that make it easier for men to buy(giving away a free sports video with purchase, for example, or demonstrating how purchasing the unit indicates the competence of the purchaser.
Identifying the target audience, its demographics and purchasing habits, and the triggers that spur buying, all require intensive market research. The larger and more profitable the company, the more money it is likely to spend on research; this is because target audience research money is virtually always money well spent. To demonstrate why this is so, the marketing campaign can be compared to the battle strategy in a war. Regardless of how much money is spent on tanks, guns, uniforms, rations, an...