{"id":2003,"date":"2024-08-19T00:00:14","date_gmt":"2024-08-19T04:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/?p=2003"},"modified":"2024-08-20T18:08:32","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T22:08:32","slug":"dude-wheres-my-target-audience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/dude-wheres-my-target-audience\/","title":{"rendered":"Dude, Where’s My Target Audience?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Performance marketing
Brand marketing
Product marketing
Word-of-mouth marketing
Direct marketing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And\u2026 the word salad list goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feels like marketer gymnastics in my mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I might be basic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hang in there I might have a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Read this<\/a> LinkedIn post first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Customers don’t give two fucks about marketing categories or whether a message is “performance” or “brand” marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They’re not dissecting ads or thinking, “Wow, that’s some great full-funnel approach right there!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s the reality:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Customers care about solving their problems or fulfilling their desires. Period.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Every interaction with a brand – whether it’s an ad, a friend’s recommendation, or using the product – contributes to their overall perception and memory of that brand.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. People are bombarded with messages all day. They remember what’s relevant, useful, or emotionally resonant to them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Trust and authenticity matter. People are more likely to listen to friends or authentic experiences than polished marketing messages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. The product or service experience itself is the most powerful brand builder.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    No amount of clever marketing can overcome a poor product or customer experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In Airbnb’s case, what matters to customers is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Can they find unique, interesting places to stay?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Is the booking process easy and trustworthy?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Do they have good experiences during their stays?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Does Airbnb solve problems quickly if issues arise?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • How much is the cleaning fee they are going to pay?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      The success of Airbnb isn’t about marketing gymnastics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      It’s about creating a product people want, ensuring good experiences, and then reminding people they exist in authentic, useful ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The real lesson here isn’t about marketing categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      It’s about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. Building something people want and need<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Ensuring every touchpoint with the customer is positive and memorable<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. Being authentic in how you communicate with potential customers<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Ultimately, customers give a damn about brands that consistently deliver value and positive experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Everything else is just industry navel-gazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Like I said, I’m just basic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Performance marketingBrand marketingProduct marketingWord-of-mouth marketingDirect marketing And\u2026 the word salad list goes on. Feels like marketer gymnastics in my mind. I might be basic. Hang in there I might have a point. Read this LinkedIn post first. Customers don’t give two fucks about marketing categories or whether a message is “performance” or “brand” marketing. They’re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-syng"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2003"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2005,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2003\/revisions\/2005"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}