14 Innovative Ways For Agencies To Learn About A New Client’s Audience

Forbes Leadership 14 Innovative Ways For Agencies To Learn About A New Client’s Audience Expert Panel® Forbes Councils Member Forbes Agency Council COUNCIL POST Expertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based) Sep 8, 2023, 01:15pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Hinterhaus Productions 2016 To create effective marketing strategies, agencies must first diligently learn about their clients’ audiences to gain deep understanding of the target demographic.

Because each client’s audience is unique, tailoring campaigns to resonate with their distinct preferences, behaviors and pain points is essential for success. Of course, considering that clients do not always provide their agency partners with sufficient data or insights, and given the complex and ever-evolving nature of consumer behavior and preferences, learning enough about a client’s audience to build effective campaigns can be a real challenge for agencies. Here, 14 members of Forbes Agency Council share innovative ways to approach this problem.

Check out their tips below to learn about unique strategies for understanding a client’s audience. 1. Leverage Artificial Intelligence In this new era of artificial intelligence, we are witnessing a quantum leap that eclipses run-of-the-mill audience research tactics.

Empowered by neural networks and vast digital insights, we can now probe the intricate layers of user behavior. AI’s unparalleled precision allows us to forge deeper audience insights, elevating campaigns in ways not possible through traditional methods. – Dennis Kirwan , Dymic Digital 2.

Become A ‘Secret Shopper’ For brick-and-mortar stores or in-person services, being a “secret shopper” and going through the customer journey yourself helps you learn about the audience through firsthand observations. You can also dive deeper into this by trying it at different times of the week and day. – Spencer Hadelman , Advantage Marketing 3.

Use Surveys, Interviews And Social Media Polls Understanding a client’s target audience is crucial for success in any partnership. Conducting thorough market research is the best first step. Use surveys, interviews and social media polls to gather data directly from prospects and customers.

Then, you can leverage online analytics tools to track behavior and interests and build personas, ensuring your marketing strategy aligns with the audience. – Elyse Flynn Meyer , Prism Global Marketing Solutions MORE FOR YOU ‘One Piece’ Already Dethroned In Netflix’s Top 10 List By A New Show Indian Billionaire Ranjan Pai Is Looking To Cement His Legacy With A Billion-Dollar Windfall. Is A Calculated Bet To Fund Troubled Startups The First Step? Gamers Are Noticing How Similar ‘Armored Core VI’ Plays To ‘SD Gundam Battle Alliance’ 4.

Host An Interactive Virtual Focus Group One innovative strategy is to host an interactive virtual focus group and have the client’s audience participate anonymously (without the brand knowing). Engage the focus group in real-time discussions, polls and Q&A sessions to gain valuable insights into their preferences, needs and feedback, creating a deeper understanding of the audience. – Geoff Crain , Kingstar Media Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies.

Do I qualify? 5. Immerse The Team In The Customer Journey One of the best ways to learn about an audience is to immerse the agency team in the customer journey. Sign up as a lead to follow the prospect path and hear how internal subject matter experts communicate.

Go on-site with customers to learn why they selected the company and how they use the tool or service. We also scour event agendas to understand customer priorities—and what they’re putting resources toward. – Kathleen Lucente , Red Fan Communications 6.

Analyze The Client’s Social Media Analytics One innovative and highly effective way for an agency to learn more about a client’s audience is by utilizing software tools to analyze a client’s social media analytics. Data such as consumer engagement metric, can be broken down and displayed to help agencies better understand how their clients are perceived by their audience. – Jordan Edelson , Appetizer Mobile LLC 7.

Create Industry-Relevant Online Quizzes Create interactive online quizzes or surveys related to the client’s industry. Incentivize participation with prizes or discounts. The gathered data provides valuable insights into customer preferences, pain points and demographics, helping agencies tailor campaigns for better results.

– Blake George , BMG Media Co. 8. Use Social Media Monitoring And Listening Using social media monitoring and listening is a highly effective way to learn about your client’s audience and gather insights about how the client’s brand is perceived.

It goes beyond measuring engagement by crawling the platforms for all mentions of the brand, so it provides a glimpse into untapped lead pools as well as underlying problems that may be hindering growth. – Marc Hardgrove , The HOTH 9. Speak With Real Customers The best way to learn about a client’s audience is to speak with real customers.

Short of getting to know the real customers, though, another good way is to sift through the website data and user metrics. Agencies can tell a lot about the audience from Google Analytics, Facebook and other platforms that have their clients’ aggregate data. – Peter Boyd , PaperStreet Web Design 10.

Conduct A Cross-Platform Digital Audit We conduct a cross-platform digital audit before we engage with a new client. Our methods reveal measurable opportunities and identify unmet needs in their current strategy. The audit focuses on digital marketing performance, user experience and usability—the combination of which is table stakes for digital success of any kind.

– Shanon Marks , Agency 39A 11. Host Community Storytelling Sessions A unique and highly effective way to learn about a client’s audience is through community storytelling sessions. Connect with the audience on a personal level.

Hearing their experiences and challenges creates a deep emotional connection and empathy between the agency and the audience. This allows for authentic insights into the data to create impactful campaigns. – Ajay Prasad , GMR Web Team 12.

Research Influencers In The Client’s Niche Research the biggest influencers in the client’s specific niche. These influencers would not be cranking out content if it was not reaching their audience. Then, find the influencer on Twitter or Instagram and start following whoever is following them so that you can see what this audience is talking and posting about.

It takes a little legwork, but it gets your ear to the ground fast. – Bernard May , National Positions 13. Listen To The Client’s Audience Listen to them.

It may not seem that innovative or unique, but it’s a highly effective technique. Listen to your client’s customer service calls. Want to get fancy? Use software that analyzes sentiment.

Listen to their audience on social networks. It’s not just about listening to them, in general; it’s about listening to them in the context of the problems that the client’s product or service solves for them. – Gyi Tsakalakis , AttorneySync & EPL Digital 14.

Have The Team Do In-Person Immersion There’s no better substitute for firsthand experience than in-person immersion. Team members could spend a day, or a week, living as the target consumer lives. If the client is a company making products for outdoor enthusiasts, for example, the team could go on a camping trip using the client’s products.

This can provide a deeper understanding of the audience’s motivations and behavior. – George Arabian , NVISION Check out my website . Expert Panel® Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.