How to Do a Target Audience Analysis When You Have No Idea Where to Start

This is one of the most common questions I get — let’s break it down.

How do I define my target audience? How do I find them? How do I communicate with them? Whether you call it your target audience, ideal client, or ideal customer, understanding who you're speaking to is one of the most important questions entrepreneurs ask. While knowing your target audience isn’t the entire branding process, it’s a huge first step. Let’s break down how to find, understand, and analyze your audience effectively.

Define Your Target Audience

Before crafting messaging for your audience, you need to take a deep dive into understanding who they are — and how many different audiences you may have. Often, businesses assume they have one target audience but discover they cater to multiple.

In my brand strategy workshops, I ask clients to identify every potential audience, then we filter out the primary from the secondary ones.

Once you’ve determined your audiences, it’s time to explore what makes them tick. This means understanding their demographics (the data points that define who they are) and psychographics (the interests and behaviors that drive them). Here are some questions to help guide this process: