Some small business owners define their target market as “everyone”. However, here’s a question… is that a good idea? I’m afraid not. Reaching “everyone” would most likely be a waste of marketing effort. And that’s because doing so would use a lot of your resources. Only to get very low results. Why? Simply because there’s no product that fits all customers’ needs. Instead, what you should do is to identify your right target market. It will guarantee a much better result. To understand How to Find Your Target Market, take the time to read this post.
Understanding the term “Target Market”
A target market pertains to a group of consumers identified as potential customers of a company’s products and services. These consumers share similar characteristics such as buying power, buying geography, demographics, and income.
Why Putting Marketing Effort on Target Market is Fruitful?
Identifying your target market allows you to place your marketing efforts (ads, messages, etc.) to where your potential customers are. For instance, if you’re product is for moms, then it will be a bad idea reaching out to gamers. Simply because they’re less likely to be interested. Now, imagine if you put your marketing efforts from reaching other niches to only one niche– like in the example, moms– you’ll have more convincing powers for your target market to buy your products.
Identifying Target Market (Market Segmentation)
Now that you have a better understanding of why you should identify your target market, you’re probably asking, “So how would I identify my target market?” Don’t worry. I got you! The best way to do so– that I know of– is market segmentation.
It basically means breaking down and dividing your target market into small groups. In segments to be exact. Usually, these segments are:
- Demographic (gender, race, and age)
- Geographic
- Buying and usage behavior
- Psychographic (lifestyle, personality, values, attitudes, interests)
To narrow down your potential customers to an ideal target market, you need to identify some information from them such as:
- Age (children, teens, young, middle, elderly)
- Income (low, medium, high)
- Gender
- Product or Service Suitability (Identify if your product/services are for men, women, kids, etc.)
- Shopping Location (Where do they shop?)
- Location
- Education
- Homeownership or Social Class
- Problems, Needs, and Wants
- Ethnic or Religious background
- Lifestyle, and Interest
- Attitudes and Beliefs
As I’ve said all you have to do is group them according to the results. How you will get the information is up to you. It can be through surveys, sales reports, census, competition analysis, etc.
Narrowing down your potential customers to these segments gives you your target market. And it allows you to see– through research– that they tend to value the same products and services. Thus, it gave you the ability to decide what products to sell to whom, foresee how much you can potentially earn in a specific segment, and create strategies to attract them on buying your products or services.
Tip: To succeed in targeting your potential customers, always remember the three reasons why they purchase a product or a service. These are: To solve problems, to satisfy basic needs, and to make themselves feel good.
