The way certain actions are carried out evolve as time progresses and the objective is always to find a better way to do things than the previous method. In the case of marketing there are a number of ways to achieve what you are setting out to accomplish and the exact plan of action that you decide to go with is extremely important. It could certainly be suggested that the more traditional way of thinking when it came to marketing was to look upon your target audience as generally sharing the same characteristics.

This approach had its own benefits of course but it was also an ideology that failed to take into account the very definite range of differences that the individuals within your audience possess. As a result, targeted marketing became more and more frequently utilised and like all methods it has its good and bad qualities.

The more considered approach
Those who believe in the success that targeted marketing can often bring will of course tend to acknowledge its slight drawbacks, the most prominent of which is perhaps the added time it takes.

However, as you implement a method that has a high level of appreciation for specific individual needs and distinguishing characteristics your results will reflect this to a large degree. As you are disregarding the blanket approach with your audience you cut down the amount of people you target but the crucial advantage of this is that you achieve a higher rate of success with your campaign.

A resourceful attitude
Time and resources are among the most precious commodities in life and certainly in marketing too. When it comes to targeted marketing campaigns it may take a greater amount of time to put the wheels into motion but once you have that aspect taken care of time and resources are most definitely saved. This is because you adopt the way of thinking that it means more to use your resources in a focused and precise way rather than expending them on a wider and less accurately driven sense.

The results you desire
Targeted marketing means that you are not aiming your campaign at the kind of people who are likely to have no interest in it. The object of your efforts is solely the audience you want and when you are only targeting these people the results will reflect this. As a result of being able to give the time exclusively to the audience you desire the company will reap the benefits of this.

Article written by Louise McGoldrick on behalf of Exact Target who specialise in marketing software amongst their services – http://www.exacttarget.com/UK.