I got a great question from a prospective client today: “Our brand has a voice and a message we’re very passionate about. After doing this research into our audience segments, are you going to tell us we have to change that?”

My answer? Nope. We don’t tell you go do ANYTHING.

What we WILL tell you is what the audiences identified are seeking, and why, and how you need to respond to them IF you want to be their first choice.

That’s a BIG “if”.

Just because an audience segment is out there, with particular motivation and need, doesn’t mean you’re the right answer for them.

You might (for example) decide that their needs don’t match your brand strategy. Or that you can’t successfully compete with other options for their business (or don’t want to). Or that gaining that audience segment does little to support your goals — maybe they’re too expensive to convert, or they aren’t particularly loyal, or don’t spend much or buy often. Or maybe you just don’t want to serve them, because you don’t like them very much.

These are all completely valid reasons for you to pass them by, and focus on other audience segments that make more sense for you, and for your brand.

But without insight into who your audiences are, what they want and why, you don’t have the data you need to make an educated decision here. Without understanding these segments you can’t intelligently choose between them, and adapt your marketing program accordingly.

That’s all we do — give you data to work with. You decide what to do with it.