That’s why it’s so important to know your target audience and understand what they want. In addition to knowing who would actually buy from your pool and leisure industry, you can adapt your products and gain insights into what to offer.
In this article, you will learn how to use marketing to speak to customers in the pool and leisure industry. Check it out!
How can the pool and leisure industry market to its customers?
Know your different types of customers
Before you know how to market to your customers, you need to know them. You’ve probably heard enough about how important this is.
Today, marketing seeks to work not with target audiences, but with buyer personas. What is easier: talking to people aged 25 to 45 who own their own home or talking to Marcelo, aged 30, who is renovating his property and wants to install a pool to cool off in the summer?
A business usually has at least one of these two types of relationships: with an individual customer or purchasing influencer (B2C or business to client) or with a company (B2B or business to business). However, when we talk about the pool and leisure industry, we are dealing with both. Therefore, you can talk to:
stores that sell swimming pools, equipment, products and accessories (B2B);
the consumer who is thinking about buying a pool or needs to take care of the one they have (B2C).
Research your audience
Finding out who your customer is isn’t something you can do based on guesswork. You need to research different aspects of each type of consumer:
B2C
name, gender and age;
profession (are you currently working?);
level of education (does he work in the field of training?);
region where you live;
main challenges (career or personal);
main “pains” and how your company can help solve them.
B2B
name, size (micro, small, medium or large) and type of company;
type of influencer;
type of client;
type of decision maker;
billing range.
Let's use the example of Montreal Piscinas , a success belgium business fax list story from Great by Choice. The company chose to talk to three types of customers and, therefore, represent them in three personas:
Marcos, who is 40 years old and likes to take care of his pool;
Maria, who is 45 years old and influences house purchasing decisions;
Carlos, who is 45 years old and owns a pool products store.
Understand the differences between audiences
The problem with many companies is that they don’t adapt their speech from one audience to another.
For example: companies that sell directly to other organizations often use the same language they would use with the end consumer. Even if an individual is very careful about what they buy, they will not have the same level of demand as a manager. After all, a business's decisions affect a much larger number of people.
But when we talk about industries, the discourse is reversed: the company ends up talking only to other companies, forgetting that the end customer is also interested in knowing about the quality of its product.
Find out what he wants to know
Each type of client needs a different approach, as the topics they want to learn about are quite different:
a shop owner may be interested in the technical aspects of the pool;
an end consumer wants to know how to install a swimming pool (even if, in the end, he decides to seek specialized help);
the partner of this end consumer wants to understand which models are safest for children;
The owner of a condominium wants to know which models are most appropriate for a larger number of people.
Invest in communication channels
You can communicate with different personas through the same communication channels: website , blog , social media , and Google ads. However, the language and topics will be very different.
In B2C marketing, it is essential to invest in relationships. Consumers should see your pool and leisure industry as a reference in the segment. In addition, they need to know that, if there is a problem, they can count on an effective structure to solve it.
In B2B marketing, the sales cycle is longer. That's why numbers, cost charts, and product information are essential. It's crucial that the customer sees the cost-benefit. They can buy many models in your pool and leisure industry, but if the products aren't good or don't sell, they'll lose money — even if the final purchase price was low.
Know how to use reason and emotion to your advantage
Another important factor is that the end consumer is greatly influenced by emotions. Often, they do not analyze the cost-benefit of the product, but rather the sensations it will provide. Therefore, customer relationships and brand positioning are very important.
Let's look at an example: Julia is 30 years old, a veterinarian and a mother. For her, who doesn't spend much time with her son, the moments with him should be lived with quality. So, the pool and leisure industry X decides not to just sell a fiberglass pool, but memories of family vacations, summer days that will be remembered for a lifetime and safety for the children.
B2B marketing prioritizes reason at all times. That's why customers tend to be on Facebook and LinkedIn.
For example: a store owner needs to know about the technical aspects of the product, such as composition, safety, installation, number of people it supports, practical differences compared to other models, etc. Even the unit value of a large purchase must be considered.
