No matter their industry or size, targeting the right audience has always been a concern for entrepreneurs and business owners. It makes sense, after all no one wants to waste money, time and resources on the wrong audience. But the question is: how can we facilitate the whole finding your target audience process?

In this article, we will show you some insights that we took from the InKnowvation panel discussion that took place last year with professionals such as Flow Business Senior Go-to-Market Lead Lisa Esty, Finance Journalist and Educator Kalilah Reynolds, Marketing and Social Impact Strategist Joel Nomdarham, and Digital Marketing Expert Craig Powe.

During the event, the panelists addressed the numerous challenges that small business owners face, from lack of information on how to start and grow their ventures to knowledge limitations on finding the right target audience.

The first insight that we want to mention is to never underestimate simplicity. Many times, small and medium business owners overthink and assume that you must spend a lot of money or rely on a sophisticated strategy in order to target the right people. The truth is that nowadays you can get a lot of online reach without spending too much. Maybe by using LinkedIn, Facebook or Google filters in the right way or by partnering with a TikTok influencer you can end up having way more reach and a more relevant audience than by advertising on TV.

This takes us to the next point, to start shifting from traditional to digital spending. In this digital age it is crucial to rely on the necessary tools and knowledge to grow your business, so a good piece of advice is to invest in these kinds of technologies. Spending resources on Smart Solutions, for instance, can allow your company to have its own website, a team of experts ready to assist you, automated emails, and much more. So, the key here is to spend wisely on the digital tools that can help your venture thrive.

Another thing to take into consideration is, as a small business owner, to take advantage of the many free resources available. From automation and AI to design and metrics, you should experiment with all kinds of platforms. Be curious about the new technologies, get your hands dirty, and find out how you can leverage them and use them in your own company. We know that small and medium businesses don’t usually have large teams, so relying on automation and AI can help a lot to solve tedious tasks.

Last but not least, it is worth mentioning the importance that customers give to companies looking to generate positive social impact. This, of course, can cover diverse areas, such as environment, people, culture, youth, sports, and many more. You must remember that nowadays Gen Z customers care about the social impact of a company almost as much (if not even more) as the product or service that they want to purchase.