From assumptions to insights: How to identify and reach your target audience

Understanding your customer is one of the most critical parts of building a successful business. You can have a great product, polished brand, and active marketing, but if you don’t know who you're speaking to, none of it will land. It’s like shouting into a crowd with your eyes closed and hoping the right person hears you. You might get lucky, but more often, you’re wasting time, money, and energy. 

A common mistake? Jumping into marketing without a clear strategy. And at the heart of any good strategy is a deep understanding of your customer. 

When you skip that step and target the wrong audience, it's like selling vegan burgers at a BBQ festival. A few people might be interested, but most aren’t there for what you’re offering. You burn through budget and miss the people who actually need you. 

Defining your ideal customer isn’t just part of the process, it’s the foundation of your marketing strategy. When you know who you’re speaking to, your messaging gets sharper, your campaigns perform better, and your offer lands where it matters. 

In this blog, we’ll show you how to identify, understand, and validate your ideal audience, so your marketing doesn’t just look good, it works.  

Why audience insights matter? 

Too many businesses make this mistake: they create amazing products or services, build beautiful websites, run ads, post content on social media...and then? Nothing happens.  

Not because their products aren't good. But because they’re trying to sell it to everyone and in doing so, end up connecting with absolutely no one.  

Knowing your audience changes that. It helps you focus your energy and budget on what actually works, from the platforms you choose to the words you use. When you understand who you’re speaking to, everything aligns: your messaging, your channels, even your product fit. 

Defining the ideal customer: the foundation of effective marketing  

A well-defined customer profile shapes every core element of your marketing strategy. It gives you the clarity to make better decisions, sharper messaging, and more effective campaigns. 

Here’s how it improves each part of your strategy: 

• Value proposition – When you know your customer’s needs, you can clearly articulate why your offer matters to them. 

• Messaging framework – You speak directly to their pain points, goals, and language, making your content feel personalised and relevant. 

• Channel selection – You choose the right platforms based on where your audience actually spends time. 

• Budget allocation – You focus your spend on tactics that connect, rather than wasting money on broad targeting. 

• Customer journey mapping – You tailor each stage of your funnel to match how your customer thinks, researches, and buys. 

• Loyalty-building – When people feel understood, they’re more likely to return and refer. 

Too many businesses build their customer profiles on assumptions. They guess what people care about, what makes them buy, or why they didn’t convert, without ever asking. 

But real insight comes from real conversations. Talk to your customers. Ask what drew them in, what nearly stopped them, what problem they were trying to solve, and what they wish existed.  

This is where real marketing starts. Not with guesswork, but with grounded insight. 

Now that you’ve spoken to your customers (or know you need to), the next step is turning those insights into something actionable. You need to shape your assumptions into a working customer profile,  and then validate it. In the next section, we’ll show you how to break that down using two key areas: demographics and psychographic. 

Demographics and psychographics: the dream duo 

Now let’s talk about two major categories of audience insight you need to pay attention to: 

• Demographics = age, gender, location, income, education, etc. 

• Psychographics = interests, beliefs, values, lifestyles, behaviours. 

Most businesses stop at demographics. But demographics alone don’t tell you what motivates someone to engage, buy, or stay loyal. That’s where psychographics come in,  they make your brand connect on a deeper level.    

Let’s take some real examples so you can see the impacts: 

Octō (London-based handmade candle brand) Octō doesn’t just market to women aged 25-40 who live in the city - they've nailed the mood. Their branding appeals to eco-conscious millennials who love minimal aesthetics and self-care rituals. The candles are soy-based, plastic-free and often associated with mindfulness which aligns with their audience’s values, not just their age or location. 

Bold Street Coffee (Liverpool) Their demographic might be young professionals and students but their psychographic insight is what sets them apart. They attract creative, community-focused people who care about good coffee, casual vibes, and local identity. They regularly showcase exhibitions from local talents across their venues in Liverpool and Manchester, creating a vibrant and inclusive atmosphere for their patrons. 

When you combine both perspectives,  who your customer is and what they care about , your marketing becomes far more precise, resonant, and effective. 

If you're marketing kombucha, you might target health-conscious millennials in yoga pants. But your most loyal customer could be a 60-year-old man who’s swapped beer for gut-friendly brews on his doctor’s advice. 

They don’t look alike on paper,  but both care about wellness, gut health, and better daily habits. Psychographics connect what demographics miss.  

Validate, don’t assume

Assuming what your customers want is one of the biggest mistakes businesses make. You might think they care most about price,  when really, they’re choosing you because they trust your values. Or you assume faster delivery matters most, when it's actually the eco-friendly packaging that won them over. 

So how do you make sure your audience insights are grounded in reality? 

Here’s a simple process to validate your assumptions: 

How to validate your customer insights 

1. Write down your assumptions. 
   List what you think you know about your ideal customer. What do they care about? What motivates them to buy? Why might they choose you, or not? 

2. Talk to real customers. 
   Reach out to 5–10 recent buyers (or people who nearly bought). Ask open-ended questions: 

   1. What problem were you trying to solve? Why did you choose us? 

   2. What almost stopped you? 

   3. What would have made your decision easier? 

3. Look for patterns. 
   Are people mentioning the same pain points, goals, or values? These themes will help confirm or challenge your assumptions. 

4. Check the data. 
   Review customer reviews, survey results, and even competitors’ feedback. Sometimes your customers won’t tell you directly, but they’ll leave clues everywhere.

5. Update your profile. 
   Refine your customer personas based on what you’ve learned. Drop the guesses, keep the facts, and let those insights shape your messaging, targeting, and offer. 

Real validation = real clarity 

Validating isn’t a one-time task, it’s something you return to regularly as your audience grows and shifts. The better your understanding, the better your decisions. And when your marketing is based on what your customers actually think and feel, it performs better,  every time. 

Ready to turn those insights into action? 

Marketing isn’t about guessing, it’s about truly knowing who your customer is, what they care about, and how to reach them in a way that connects. When you have that clarity, you stop throwing spaghetti at the wall and start building real momentum. 

And remember: you don’t have to reach everyone. Just the right ones. 

In our next blog, we’ll show you exactly how to take everything you’ve learned and turn it into a clear, actionable customer persona you can build your marketing around. 

Read the next article: How to create customer personas that actually work 

Got questions in the meantime? Drop us a message at info@bagnamarketing.co.uk or come say hi at the Rose Bowl, we’d love to help you shape your ideal customer.