What Role Should Your Target Market Play In Branding and Graphic Design?

Above all else, professional branding and graphic design are user friendly. The success of corporate graphic design is centered on knowing who the user is. Hint: it’s not the company commissioning the branding and design. Instead, the user is your target market. That leads to the question of the role your target market should play in branding your business and selecting graphic designs.

To answer that question fully, you must first identify your target market. These criteria will help ease that identification and paint a clear picture of who your ideal client is.

• Determine the people for whom you solve a problem
• Research their preferred methods of receiving your solution (physical, digital etc.)
• Determine their income, disposable income, and spending habits
• Once you define your primary target market, define any subsegments
  • A restaurant’s target market might be discerning diners
  • A subsegment of that market share might be vegetarians
  • Another subsegment might be vegans
  • Yet another subsegment might be food critics
• Determine how you want your target market to view you – as an expert or as a peer

Once you determine who your target market is and their product and service delivery preferences, you should share this with your graphic design team. These important demographics play into your graphic design in ways you might not consider.

Ask yourself the following questions. What does your target market want? How do they want to buy it? What colors do they favorably respond to? What do they like or dislike about the visual identity of your competitors? Consumers take notice of innovative graphic design techniques and clear, compelling messaging. Graphic designers will guide you toward creating graphics that speak to the heart of your target market. That strategic messaging pays off big. It draws consumers to your company, prompts them to engage with you, and fosters purchases and word of mouth advertising.

Make two “wish lists” as part of your graphic design process. The first list should be of your target market using the information discussed above. The second list should be all the graphics you need. Include everything from logos to product packaging to vehicle wraps to decals – and everything in between. Think about using focus groups and A/B testing to allow your target market to speak directly to your branding and graphic design choices.

Defining the type of market share you want to go after for your products and services is critical to building your brand. It can also make a word of difference in your graphic design process as well. Once you’ve clearly identified your target audience, you have the ability to put yourself in their shoes and view your company through their eyes.

Regardless of what products and services your company offers, you won’t experience successful growth until you identify your target market. Graphic designers will use market research, color psychology, and industry metrics right from the onset of your project. It’s critical that you uncover what your ideal client likes, dislikes, responds to, and what compels them to do two things: make purchases themselves and use word of mouth advertising to share their positive purchase experiences with others.