Target Marketing for CBD Brands

Target Marketing is crucial for CBD brands, especially in an industry so laden with competition. To be clear, target marketing acknowledges the demographic differences between consumers to employ various marketing strategies more effectively. Today, we’ll discuss Target Marketing for CBD Brands, outline the steps you can take to define your target market, and discuss how to use that information for a more effective CBD marketing strategy.

What is Target Marketing?

Target marketing is a process by which companies break their market into segments then target each segment with specific marketing strategies. Importantly, “target marketing” is not the same as “target market,” or “target audience,” though many use the terms interchangeably. To clarify, please refer to the following definitions:

Market: The end consumer
Audience: The person who makes purchase decisions for the end consumer
Target Marketing: The marketing strategy aimed at the target audience

For example, let’s discuss a company that sells CBD dog treats. Using the above definitions, dogs represent the brand’s target market, whereas the people who purchase the dog treats represent its target audience. Finally, target marketing represents the strategy the brand uses to address the target audience directly.

Why Target Marketing for CBD Brands is Important

A carefully planned target marketing strategy can net amazing results. Notably, target marking for CBD brands can help establish credibility and build a reputation without as much noise from fellow competitors. Basically, target marketers avoid casting a wide net among all CBD consumers. Instead, they use their brand – guided by their mission statement – to sell solutions to the pain points of specific consumer groups.

Target marketing strategies allow companies to develop product lines that address the specific needs of their demographic. Buyer personas help companies create products that cater to specific pain points, and private-label CBD suppliers can help develop them according to Good Manufacturing Practices.

Target marketing also helps CBD brands reach their audience in the places they spend the most time. Let’s look at our previous dog treat example. A targeted marketing strategy might involve the company hosting a booth at a dog show instead of a music festival.

What’s more, targeted marketing strategies allow companies to understand and highlight the specific product features most important to the buyer, and better understand their target market’s behaviors. Companies can use this information to provide timely content that caters to their target audience’s product-specific pinpoints. SEO-focused keywords and buying trends are just a few examples of target audience behaviors that marketers find valuable.

Who is the Target Market for CBD?

There are four important aspects of any target market. To determine who the target market is for your CBD products, consider the following.

Demographics (Who)

Your target’s demographics represent the “who” in your equation. In our dog treats example, your target market’s who probably includes health-conscious dog owners. However, you could further define your audience as empty-nesters, childless millennial couples, or service dog owners.

Notably, all these demographic segments are “dog owners.” However, they do not all exhibit the same buying habits. When you define your target market’s “who” specifically, you can target your marketing strategies easier and develop products more aptly suited to their specific needs.

Geographics (Where)

Determine your target market’s geographics by outlining exactly where they are, including things like zip code, population density, and climate. For example, as a CBD business, your customers likely reside in the USA, though you may also consider selling CBD in Canada in the future, as well.

Importantly, geographic considerations are especially crucial for CBD businesses due to varying hemp laws across the globe. Geographic segmentation also helps brands geo-target their marketing efforts for better conversions at a lower cost.

Psychographics (Why)

Psychographics are the “why” for your target market. Why do they make the purchases they do? What benefits do they seek? What price points work for them? Why might they choose your product over your competitors? Why might they remain loyal to your brand?

Understanding your target market’s “why” allows you to build more effective marketing strategies, create better products, and connect with consumers in ways that are more likely to garner continued support.

Behavior (How)

Finally, ask yourself how your target market makes purchasing decisions. Consider things like

How much information do they need?
Where do they find their information?
What are their preferred communication channels and frequencies?
What features are most important when making purchasing decisions?
How often do they purchase products like yours?
How swayed are they by sales and discounts?

Answering these questions will help you select the best marketing channels and strategies, but often requires continuous testing and modification. Buying trends often change and evolve over time, and so, too, must your brand’s target marketing strategies. Use analytics tools liberally and reassess buyer behavior quarterly to stay on track.