Defining communities of interest for your brand

A new political redistricting effort underway in our home state of California defines community of interest as a “contiguous population that shares common social and economic interests…”

For many brands—political or otherwise—such a definition might be useful when considering the audience for brand communications.

Shared social and economic interests are qualities that can make a brand audience distinctive. Research by the European Journal of Marketing on grocery store purchases offers a finding that will come as no surprise to consumer packaged good marketers: a positive correlation between socioeconomic status and brand choice. While this result may not be unexpected, an interesting highlight of the study was the importance of time in making purchase decisions.

Buyers with higher levels of wealth were found to be more time constrained than people ranking lower in socioeconomic status. Instead of leisurely label reading, the higher-wealth group tended to leverage brand knowledge to speed buying decisions.

This observation should not be lost on business-to-business marketers whose mission is to reach business purchasers every bit as time-constrained as the wealthiest consumers. Enterprise buyers are likely to be more senior than those without purchase budgets. Guarded by receptionists, administrative assistants, and the daunting scope of a large company org chart, they are exceptionally hard to reach.

But when those prospects do step outside the conference room (either literally or figuratively by going online), savvy marketers are ready with brand communications that are accessible, interesting, and quick to process. The goal is to speed purchase decisions toward your company’s offering, and to do that, brand stories and expressions have to resonate.

Classifying a wider enterprise audience by communities of interest can help.

Look for common job responsibilities and professional classifications across industries and companies. Follow the lead of political strategists and seek shared social and economic interests, similar living standards, transportation choices, and media preferences. Even if some of these factors seem more personal than professional, remember that you are trying to picture the audience in your mind. The image of your unseen audience comprised of real people makes it easier to anticipate their interests and choose the right words, images and tools to make a compelling case.