USDA develops a customer data
Major corporations use audience analysis to organize their plans and develop better approach to deliver a certain message. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) analyzes each customer group including audience size and demographics to develop focus traits. First of all, USDA started analyzing the percentages of internet access amount the audiences. With less than half of US farmers able to access the internet, any online services for this audience will need to remain accessible through other traditional ways.
Another way to approach audience analysis is developing customer characteristics and leading it into a conclusion. USDA identified one of their publics to be “recently gained internet access”, then they made the conclusion that it requires a simple interface and intuitive navigation. Another characteristics that they came up with is “does not currently leverage the Web for research”. Then the conclusion was developed as that it could benefit from additional education on USDA’s online offering and capabilities.
USDA uses customer data to organize it as a useful reference, develop a whole picture of key customers, and provide some conclusions on how this information might be leveraged to transform USDA web presentations around customer preferences. Randall P. Whatley, the President of Cypress Media Group mentions the importance of audience analysis and how to begin the process. In the article Presentation Development, Whatley writes some of the key questions that corporations should consider in determining audience targets.
- What is their background (e.g., educational level, experience, gender, cultural influences, and age)?
- Why is your audience present?
- What knowledge does your audience have of your subject?
- What is the audience’s consensus attitude toward your subject?
- What is your audience’s attitude toward you personally?
- Is there a particular group of audience members that your presentation needs to be geared toward?
- What are the group dynamics of your audience?
- Who are the leaders in your audience?
- What will be the size of your audience?
Ashley,
Great post. All of the facts were very interesting, and I especially enjoyed our example of the USDA. It is a very niche audience, which has limited Internet access, an uncommon characteristic. Today, most online designers must make a site informational, creative, and interactive. For the USDA audience, simplicity is key. Designers must return to the basics.
The bulleted points you list are very informative. Many of them I never considered as relevant factors in audience analysis, such as attitude and knowledge of the subject area.
Your post illustrates the unique characteristics of a niche audience, and demonstrates the analysis process is very important to the success of the site.
Ashley,
I think this gave a perspective that we haven’t heard much about in class. I feel like we have all been so focused on jumping on the social media bandwagon that we haven’t stopped to think that not all companies have the kind of audience that is experienced with the internet. Its really important to remember that whatever web communication is used, it should be appropriate and user-friendly! Thanks for capturing that important point.
I agree with Ashley, I think in our class, and with our generation in general, we automatically assume that everyone has the same Internet capabilities we take for granted so often in our every day life. The fact of the matter is that a large proportion of Americans do not have Internet access, at least at speeds that are reasonably fast in this day in age to keep up with technology. The truth is that many farmers do not even consider the Internet to be a necessity so this only further increases the difficulties with analyzing the audience. The article was interesting and made me reflect on how much our country’s Internet access and speeds are relatively unsatisfactory, especially when compared to many other civilized countries.
To go along with David and Annie, this was an interesting post because in the face of the new social media bombardment, we can’t leave behind those who don’t have the same access to the internet as we do. It’s a reminder that the bottom line is just that: the bottom line. No one wants to lose money focusing on just one group, no matter how big it is. To agree with Kim, designers must return to the basics. Getting more complex is great for that audience who is on always on the verge of the next new media, but again, there are other audiences out there who don’t need/want all that complexity.