Audience research
Part of Before you commission marketing agencies audience research
How marketing agencies research a client's target audience
How a marketing agency researches a client's target audience in England: methods, tools, outputs, costs and data protection rules, plus questions to ask before you commission the work.
When a marketing agency researches your target audience, it works out who you sell to, how many of them there are, what they need and where to reach them. This guide sets out the stages, the tools, what you receive, what it costs and what to ask before you commission it.
The stages an agency works through
- Set a boundary.The agency agrees with you a buyer group, a shared need and a plausible reason to buy. It should be narrow enough to count, not a loose mix of industries or traits that could describe almost anyone.
- Desk research.For audiences defined by place, the Office for National Statistics publishes population and migration statistics for local authority areas. For business audiences, Companies House records and sector directories help build a count, although not every listed prospect is reachable. Your own analytics add evidence of who already visits: Google Analytics 4 audiences group users by behaviour on your site.
- Interviews.A practical sequence is eight to twelve interviews with customers and lost prospects. Six open questions can prompt richer answers than twenty closed ones.
- Survey.A wider survey tests the themes from the interviews. Agencies often buy panel access or use subscription data such as YouGov, GWI or Kantar for consumer attitudes.
- Online behaviour.Tools such as SparkToro show which sites, podcasts and channels an audience uses, and listening tools such as Brandwatch or Meltwater track what it discusses.
- Synthesis.The agency turns the evidence into segments and buyer personas, with competitor research to place them in the market.
| Step | What the agency does | What you receive |
|---|---|---|
| Target boundary | Names the buyer, need and reason to buy | A written definition you can count |
| Prospect pool | Counts plausible buyers | A pool size with its sources |
| Commercial threshold | Compares the pool with your revenue aim | A view on whether to narrow or widen the boundary |
| Service fit | Checks reach and willingness to pay | A shortlist of segments worth pursuing |
Turning the definition into a count
The prospect pool matters when it is compared with your revenue goal. A market description may sound attractive but still contain too few plausible buyers for the retained clients you want.
Market sizing numbers
- 200minimum realistic prospects
- 10retained clients wanted
- £2,000monthly retainer per client
- several hundredreachable prospects needed
Take a hypothetical Manchester client that wants ten retained customers at a £2,000 monthly retainer. Under the example's assumptions, a list below 200 plausible prospects is too narrow. The client would need several hundred reachable prospects, allowing for conversion rates a small team can achieve. A good agency shows this arithmetic and its sources, not just a headline market size.
What you receive, how long it takes and what it costs
Expect a written audience report with the segment definitions, the pool size and its sources, the personas, a list of channels, and notes on method and sample size. Ask for interview summaries as well.
Timelines depend on recruitment. Interviews, a survey and analysis take several weeks, so ask for dates in the proposal. These are not published rates, and fees vary with sample size, incentives, tools and analyst time.
Ask for the cost in separate lines: recruitment, participant incentives, data or tool access, and agency time. As an illustration, ten interviews with a £60 incentive each cost £600 in incentives before any agency time. With less than £1,000 available, free official data and five interviews are a practical starting point rather than a paid panel with a small sample. Our cost guide and the explainer on hidden costs show what else to expect, and the survey tools comparison covers routing, quotas and small samples.
The rules research must follow
Interviews and surveys collect personal data, so UK GDPR applies. The agency needs a lawful basis, a clear privacy notice for participants and secure storage, and the Information Commissioner's Office publishes guidance on each. Our guide to checking agency data protection shows what to ask.
Many research providers also follow the Market Research Society's Code of Conduct, which binds MRS members and company partners. Ask whether your agency or its fieldwork partner is a member and how participant data is handled. Public bodies commissioning an agency may also buy through Crown Commercial Service frameworks, so check whether one applies.
Questions to ask before you commission it
- Which methods will be used, and how many interviews or survey responses?
- Which tools or panels does the agency already pay for, and which will you pay for?
- What does the final report contain, and by what date?
- How will participants' personal data be collected, stored and deleted?
- What would make the agency widen or narrow the boundary?
A written brief and a selection checklist keep the answers comparable across agencies. The audience research guide gives broader process context.
Keep the decision ready for review
Keep the boundary, the supporting material and the reasons for including or excluding a sector together. That record lets a colleague understand the choice without a meeting. A planning template can hold the definition and its support in one place.
An audience definition is a working decision, not a permanent label. Revisit it annually, or sooner if a major client leaves, and check whether the commercial case still holds.
