Benefits of Data-Driven Audience Targeting

my competitor and i launched identical linkedin campaigns. same budget, same audience, same product category. i crushed him 8:1 on deal conversion. he was confident going into the test. better product. stronger brand recognition. more funding. bigger team. we both targeted VPs of sales at 500+ person companies. same demographic criteria. same ad creative quality. $10K budget each. month one results: me: 47 deals closed. him: 6 deals closed. he was convinced i got lucky with better prospects. "let me see your targeting strategy," he asked. i pulled up my dashboard. "i don't target demographics at all." "what do you mean? you're running linkedin ads." "i target behaviors." i showed him my approach: instead of job titles, i track content consumption. instead of company size, i monitor website journeys. instead of industry filters, i watch engagement patterns. "i built an audience of people who've consumed competitor content in the last 30 days. downloaded sales automation guides. attended webinars about pipeline management. visited pricing pages of tools like ours." my "audience" wasn't demographic. it was behavioral. "linkedin lets you upload custom audiences," i explained. "i upload lists of people who've shown buying behavior. then i target those lists with ads." he was targeting people who might need our product. i was targeting people actively shopping for our product. "how do you identify buying behavior?" he asked. "third-party intent data. website pixel tracking. content engagement scoring. competitor analysis tools." i showed him my process: week 1: identify companies researching sales tools. week 2: find individuals at those companies consuming content. week 3: build custom audiences from behavioral data. week 4: launch ads to pre-qualified prospects. "demographics tell you who someone is," i said. "behavior tells you what they're doing." he was advertising to VPs of sales. i was advertising to VPs of sales currently shopping for solutions. same title, completely different mindset. my prospects were already in buying mode. his were just scrolling linkedin. the conversion difference made perfect sense. he rebuilt his entire approach: behavioral targeting instead of demographic filtering. intent data instead of job title assumptions. shopping behavior instead of profile characteristics. next month's results for him: 52 deals closed. 9x improvement over his original campaign. the lesson was clear: demographics describe who people are. behavior reveals what people need. target the behavior.

Targeting the right audience is key. Don't waste your ad spend on the wrong people. Smart targeting boosts engagement and conversions. Here are key strategies to help you hit your audience like a sniper: ↳ Define your ideal customer. Build detailed buyer personas. Think about age, gender, location, interests, and pain points. Use surveys and social media insights to gather data. ↳ Leverage advanced targeting options. Platforms like Google Ads and social media have powerful tools. Target by demographics, interests, and geography. Use layered criteria for niche segments. ↳ Utilize lookalike audiences. Target users similar to your existing customers. Platforms can find these people based on shared traits. This increases your chances of engagement. ↳ Retarget for higher conversions. Focus on users who interacted with your brand but didn’t buy. Retargeting keeps your brand fresh in their minds. Encourage them to complete their purchase. ↳ Test and optimize continuously. Try different ad formats, visuals, and copy. A/B testing helps you find what works best. Use observation settings to gather data before full commitment. Optimization tips to enhance your strategy: ↳ Use intent-based targeting. Focus on users actively searching for products like yours. These users are more likely to convert. ↳ Exclude negative keywords. In PPC campaigns, remove irrelevant keywords. For example, if you sell luxury products, exclude "cheap." ↳ Analyze campaign data regularly. Review metrics like click-through rates and conversion rates. Adjust strategies based on performance trends. ↳ Personalize ad creative. Tailor visuals and copy to fit specific audience segments. Younger audiences may prefer vibrant designs, while older ones favor professionalism. ↳ Choose the right platform. Different platforms attract different demographics. Facebook reaches a broad audience. LinkedIn targets professionals. Instagram appeals to younger users. Pinterest is great for creative niches. Benefits of precise audience targeting: - Higher ROI: Your ads reach users likely to convert. - Improved engagement: Personalized messages resonate better. - Cost efficiency: Avoid wasting budget on the wrong audience. - Increased brand loyalty: Connect with the right people for stronger relationships. When you refine your approach and using these strategies, you can create effective paid advertising campaigns. Focus on targeting the right people at the right time for the best results. Remember: Precise audience targeting boosts your ROI. It improves engagement and cuts costs. And connecting with the right people builds loyalty. What are you thoughts about this?

During Halloween, “Make Good Choices” was the advice a good friend shared with the trick or treaters.  That same advice is important for us to consider this week and in the weeks ahead as we work through the annual planning process.  While there are many choices to confront, two important ones to consider if your objective is EFFICIENT GROWTH are your planning approach (a Joint GTM Plan vs Siloed Approach) and how you define your target audience (Data-driven vs reusing last year’s).  Lets dig in: 1: GTM Planning vs Siloed Approach Significant change has occurred within Sales and Marketing over the last year as companies have shifted toward a joint GTM focus where planning occurs collaboratively versus in siloed spreadsheets. With greater collaboration during planning, these companies are achieving alignment sooner resulting in more effective execution. Improved alignment helps teams stay focused on the same objectives (and audiences) which is proven to increase efficiency as they are spending less time chasing the wrong prospects/customers. For those already choosing joint GTM planning, expanding that collaboration deeper into the organizations or further into the multiple revenue streams - net new, upsells, and renewals – will accelerate your results. Organizations that make their first attempt at a joint GTM plan will experience challenges around timing and coordination of inputs.  That may yield a longer planning cycle, but the end result is preferred over siloed plans that guarantee misalignment at some point during the year.  2: Your Target Audience: Using a Data Driven Approach vs Reusing last year’s A key factor in Joint GMT planning is ensuring all teams focus on the same audience segments within the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Many companies will simply use last year’s ICP and confirm their programs and campaigns are targeting those audiences.  Any performance improvements will rely on HOPING that audience responds better. A more strategic approach is to review your recent (18-24 months) GTM performance and identify best performing segments across a variety of metrics and attributes. This yields a richer understanding of your true ideal customer (using win rates, long term profitability, etc) and where it is wise to invest your resources. When done well, this approach greatly improves the efficiency gains as you engage more of the audience that buys (and expands) more easily. This reduces time wasted chasing prospects/deals outside of the best performing segments, and improves the quality of programming through increased concentration on the top segments.  See more on “Focus and Prioritization” here.  https://lnkd.in/gbHbUwYU The joint GTM planning paired with detailed ICP analysis will take additional time up front, and that is a worthy investment that will enable you to achieve your efficient growth objective! So what choices will you make?