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I once bought a tool that claimed to replace 7 other commonly used tools in my shop. It was a bold and audacious statement but it must have been true because they printed it right there on the box. What could be a better value? With this one reasonable purchase I could replace several other tools, saving time and money every time I used it. Unfortunately, the tool didn’t deliver. In retrospect, I probably knew that when I bought it. A tool designed to do many different things typically doesn’t do any of them extremely well.
One of the biggest mistakes I see organizations make with communications is to create one message and use it in exactly the same way for everything. The attempt to make a one-size-fits-all message usually produces a message that says little or nothing. Diverse audiences have different communication needs. Similarly, different segments of audiences usually have different communication needs. As messaging has progressed from the days of mass communication, we have increasingly been able to target our messages to address the needs of different audience segments.
WHAT IS AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION
Audience segmentation is the process of dividing a broad target audience into more homogeneous subgroups, called audience segments. The reason for dividing an audience into segments is to make your communication efforts more effective and to use your resources wisely.
A program developed for the “general public” will likely not be really effective for any one person or group. But, by customizing efforts to a particular segment, you can greatly improve your effectiveness because you can use the programming, communication channels, and messages that are most relevant to your audience segment. This way, they are more likely to be reached in a way that is best suited to them and more likely to pay attention, creating a more effective program.
BUT THERE ARE SOME RISKS
But there is some risks to avoid in audience segmentation. We can create a virtually unlimited number of audience segments, but we would likely not be able to reach all of them due to limited resources. The reality is that tailoring our communication to the needs of each individual is the ideal. However, it is not practical to do this – too costly and time-consuming. So, we must find the balance between audience segmentation and effective use of resources.
Good communication requires a balance between reach and resources.
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The segmentation of an audience can be quite demanding. The challenge is to find a balance between the smallest number of channels and messages required to distribute information, while at the same time building audience segments that are as similar as possible. This is, in essence, a balance between reach and specificity. The greater the reach of a campaign, the greater the number of individuals who can be influenced, but increased reach results in consolidating some audiences. Messages designed to reach a broad cross-section of the audience will be much less effective in bringing about higher-order (behavioral) changes than lower-order (attitudinal) changes because they are less tailored to the needs of individuals in the audience.
AUDIENCE TARGETING AND TAILORING
Communications departments have to determine which channels are likely to be the most effective in reaching the intended audience. This process (called targeting) is the strategic use of communication channels to reach the different audience segments, and is based on the principle that certain groups or segments of audience utilize certain types of channels. Cost-effectiveness can be maximized if the placement of campaign messages in particular channels corresponds with the use of the channels by the intended audience.
After exposing audiences to the appropriate targeted campaign they have to be persuaded to make the needed choices to bring about behavioral change. Thus, along with campaign messaging and targeting, communicators should create messages that cater to the individuals’ interests, abilities, needs, and motivations. This part of the process is known as tailoring. Message recipients must believe that the issue in your message has relevance to them. This relevance will be effective to the extent to which satisfies the motivations and desires of the individuals.
So there is no one-size-fits-all. Nor is communicating the message once all that is needed. Higher-order behavioral change requires messages that are interesting to the intended audience as well as relevant to their culture, lifestyle and demographic.
To learn more about Targeting and Tailoring as strategies (particularly in health behavioral change settings) check out this report. It’s a challenging read but full of great information on the concept of tailoring and targeting messages to specific audiences.
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