We’ve heard this saying so often that it’s almost become cliché: know your audience. But instead of letting the words bounce off our eardrums and evaporate into the ether, let’s stop and consider what they mean.

I bet if I asked, you could describe your ideal customer. You’d probably rattle off the person’s sex, age, income, etc. But does that mean you really know your customer? No.

Yes, you know certain characteristics about this customer, this audience member. And don’t get me wrong—these characteristics are important. But you need to dig deeper. What does it mean if more of your customers are women than men? What does it mean if most of your customers fall into the 18- to 34-year-old bracket? What does it mean if the average income is 48K a year? These things don’t mean anything unless you dig deeper into an audience member’s psyche. You need to get inside their heads if you’re going to fulfill their needs. Read the rest of Know Thy Audience Members

Fifteen years ago, I was one of a gaggle of teenagers whose pastime of choice was wandering up and down the corridors of the local shopping mall. The managers of the shops eyed us suspiciously, silently accusing us of loitering, shoplifting, or driving away the “real” patrons. They certainly didn’t try to sell us anything — it never occurred to them that we might actually become paying customers if we were made to feel welcome.

In today’s Internet age, the teenage shopper is no longer treated like a pariah, but rather embraced as a potential source of revenue. Gone are the days of begging for rides to the mall — today’s tech-savvy teens are booting up and browsing websites for the stuff they want and need, from clothing to Wiis to MP3s. And they’ve got money to spend, even if it’s not their own: most high-schoolers may not have credit cards in their name, but a surprisingly large number have access to their parents’ cards. Read the rest of Catering to the Teenage Market

As you know, staying in front of your customers is a key component to business success. It costs more marketing dollars to get new customers than it does to keep ones you already have, so you do the math. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go after new customers. What it does mean is that you need to put some thought into how you’re going to take care of the ones you already have. One way many e-commerce sites does this is through email marketing.

At first blush, email marketing sounds simple. I mean, what’s so hard about sending an email, right? But like everything else, just because it’s easy to do, that doesn’t mean it’s easy to do right. Effective email marketing takes thought. Read the rest of Getting the “Right” Word Out: Email Marketing Know-How

In today’s “me-centric” marketplace, consumers are demanding customization on virtually everything, from bath towels to welcome mats to barware. Today, hundreds of thousands of U.S. businesses are offering some level of personalization on the products they’re selling, with annual sales well into the billions. And it looks like the trend isn’t fading anytime soon — each year, demand swells even higher for all things monogrammed, with a sharp peak during the holiday season.

So, what’s the appeal? In a word, ego. By adding their name, monogram, or personal message to an item, the buyer ensures that the end product will be truly unique, something the Joneses next door will never have. Personalized items are also popular choices for gifts, demonstrating the extra touch of thought and foresight to make them memorable. In the face of a hot trend, more parents are demanding customization for children’s décor items and toys to add a personal touch to nurseries and playrooms.

The industry has come a long way since the days of the pre-made, inexpensive personalized gifts that became popular in the 1950s. Back then, the options were limited to a few common names, and if you had an unusual moniker, you were out of luck. Today, the cutting-edge technology provided by online customization tools has revolutionized the art of personalization and extended it into the luxury marketplace. Read the rest of Make it Personal: Tips for Effective Customization