Hello again Friends!
For this weeks’ discussion we are addressing target markets,
which is just like gold when running or managing an online business. Believe it
or not, some businesses have a particular target audience, yet have to tailor
that information based on the analytics received from following data patterns
regarding those audiences.
For example: my father’s business was designed to reach
audiences with pets who were in a need of a method to keep them warm in the
cold months of the year. What we discovered from the analytics was: we were receiving
audiences of pet advocates, audiences of people who travel frequently with
pets, audiences of people who care for pets they do not own (such as strays),
and finally, middle-aged women who enjoy looking at pictures of pets.
For the two sites I have selected for the purpose of this
discussion are:
Cheap Diapers | Baby Diapers | Wholesale Diapers – Just Cheap
Diapers: http://www.justcheapdiapers.com/
Chili’s Grill & Bar Restaurant – Chili’s: http://www.chilis.com/EN/pages/home.aspx
(*Chili’s web address, despite being updated, was still
incorrect. The address I have posted above is the address which will take you
to the Chili’s page being identified in this post.)
First off, let me say that both of these sites, although
simple, were fantastic, in my opinion, and touched my heart-strings one way or
the other. The images selected and the simplicity of design were excellent choices
by the developers and were very directive towards the advertised products.
The target market for the “Just Diapers” site was obviously
that of parents, or those who wish to offer gifts to parents of small children.
So, when making the audience as broad as possible, you would need to address
someone with children of “diaper age” or, someone who knows someone with children of “diaper age”. Funny how that works.
The target market for the “Chili’s” site would imaginably be
anyone that would eat food. Despite whether or not the audience member visits restaurants
frequently (or ever), the goal of the site was to peak an interest in anyone
who likes food, and their vivid images and mouth-watering descriptions could
get hermits to leave their shell and eat there.
Ironically, these two sites would likely conflict one
another, as the primary audience for “Just Diapers” (with small children at
home) probably don’t often eat out.
The obvious differences between the two websites that stand
out right away, of course, were one was of food and beverage, and the other for
infants, babies and children. The navigation was generally the same for both
these sites, with a top navigation bar, clear to see when arriving to the page.
The images featured on the homepage of both of these sites were meant to grab
attention and obviously took some skill to achieve – both sites provided
excellent, vivid imagery that would appeal to the desired audiences.
I don’t know if there are any subtle differences between
these two sites, as they are both pretty clear about purpose and intent. I
certainly think there is crossover, as people with children still eat food and
people who eat food potentially could have children, however, the biggest audience crossover would
be offering “Kids’ Meals” and “Party Platters” on the Chili’s menu, encouraging
those patrons with children to attend one of their many locations. To be
honest, I think they could have done better with the encouragement, however,
but I assume that people going to Chili’s aren’t just looking to see what they
can feed their kids, and that is likely the cheapest (most inexpensive) item
collection on the menu, which any restaurant would want to steer clear from.
As I mentioned earlier, I believe both of these sites were
designed very well, and I was pleased with the results, as I fall into both
categories of intended audience regarding these products.
Thank you for reading!
Cheers!
JennL.
