Are We Over-Targeting Our Marketing?

Marketing pioneer John Wanamaker famously said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is I don’t know which half.”

In a recent interview with Advertising Age , advertising legend Sir John Hegarty rejected that notion in very blunt terms, saying, “It’s the most stupid thing ever said about advertising. A brand is made not just by the people who buy it but also by the people who know about it.”

That got my wheels turning.

Are we using technology and data to over-target our marketing?

Cable and satellite television are now capable of offering much of the same targeting criteria as online channels, and the targeting options on social channels like Facebook will blow your mind.

The Internet of Things continues to take shape and big data is exploding. More and more consumer products are internet-connected, from light bulbs to refrigerators to tires.

That doesn’t mean you can use your spare tire to check your email, but it does mean these products are capable of transmitting information in real-time about how they’re being used.

Most companies are still trying to figure out how to store this data, let alone analyze it to optimize targeting for their marketing strategy.

But how granular do we need to get? Are we taking it too far?

During my later years as a creative director in broadcast radio in the mid-2000s, more and more small-to-midsize business owners were incorporating various forms of online advertising into their marketing strategies.

They said it was easier to track performance and target prime prospects. Of course, the price tag of targeted online advertising was a lot smaller than mass advertising on broadcast radio.

When a potential advertiser said they were going to move more advertising dollars online, one radio sales rep attempted to overcome that obstacle with an argument that went something like this:

Sure, online advertising offers more granular targeting so you can zero in on people who already want your product or fit your specific audience profile.

But what about the majority of the population who never considered buying your product due to lack of awareness or an ineffective marketing message?

In addition to reaching prime prospects, radio gives you the opportunity to convert people who never considered buying your product into customers. At the very least, it makes them aware of your brand and a potential source of referrals.

Online advertising is cheaper, but you could be leaving a lot of money on the table.

I’m not writing this post to debate the merits of one form of advertising against another, but I do think this particular sales rep made a valid argument.

Are we leaving money on the table by focusing too much on only the hottest leads?

If you pass over a marketing platform because the data says only one quarter of the platform’s users want your product, are you dismissing the other three quarters too quickly?

Have you analyzed the data closely enough to verify its accuracy? And are you sure you know your audience as well as you think?

This applies to marketing in general, not just advertising.

For example, if you only share your blog posts on certain Linkedin group pages that cater to your core target audience, would you benefit by testing your content with different Linkedin audiences?

In this case, the testing won’t cost you anything, but it does take time to test effectively, and you don’t want to turn into a spam machine.

Same goes for email marketing. If you segment your email lists, you could be leaving out people who would be interested in your product or service even if the data says otherwise.

I always advise clients to identify their core target audience in very specific terms, focus their marketing on their core and expand from there.

Of course, how much you expand beyond your core depends on your budget, how much business you can handle and what your objectives are.

But just because you identify your core target audience in very specific terms, does that mean you should limit your targeting and messaging to that audience?

This is one of very few posts in which I’m not drawing a line in the sand. Quite frankly, I’m torn.

Are we over-targeting? Have we come too obsessed with or over-reliant on data and technology?

Is it a waste of time and money for companies without million-dollar budgets to try to convert anything but the hottest leads?

I want to know what you think. Please share your comments and make a believer out of me one way or another.