Advertising Methodology (6) - Purchase Funnel

Closely related to the Target Market is a need to understand how the consumer buys the product. How do they choose the product they are going to buy and where do they look for information? Looking at a simple sales funnel model, it is important to understand how a member of the target market moves from being a prospect to a customer.

• What is the purchase cycle for this product?
• Who is involved in the purchase cycle?
• How long is the purchase cycle?

You might even consider a trip to a point-of-purchase to observe the shopping behavior.

Advertising Methodology (5) - Target Market

It is now time to learn about the Target Market. Who uses the company’s product, how, and why? What is the benefit to the consumer? Who is the consumer? How do you find the buyer?

• Digest all the research that the client can provide you
• Look for additional research from 3rd parties
• Consider performing additional research

Can you ever really know too much about the Target Market? You don't want to spend your entire project learning about who buys the product and how they use it. But be sure you spend enough cycles on this so that you are communicating with the right crowd and doing it the right way.