If you want to maximise your product/service potential, you need to first have an in depth understanding of your target market. Who you are selling to? Understanding why your target market would buy your product/service and what your product/service means to them is critical in growing sales.
Here are some steps in helping you to identify your Target Market.
What are your selling and is your unique selling point (USP)?
What makes your product/service different from what other companies are offering? Once you have a good idea of what this is, you can then start to work out who is most likely to need what you are offering.
Paint a picture of the person you want to sell to?
Start with a list of all the different people who would purchase what you are offering. Ask yourself questions like:
- Sex
- Age
- Education
- Employment Status
- Marital Status
- Income
- Where do they live
- Personality
- Attitudes/Values
- Interests/Hobbies
- Lifestyle
- Behaviours
Define the individual in as many relevant ways as possible
Why would these people buy what you are offering?
Answer the following:
- Who will be most likely to purchase your product/service?
- Who will have the most to lose if they don’t have what you’re offering?
If you can identify why it is more important for people to purchase what you’re offering than not at all, then your offering is compelling.
Evaluate your Decision
Once you’ve decided on a target market, be sure to consider the following:
- Are there enough people that fit this criteria?
- Will these people really gain benefit from your product/service?
- Will these people see a need for your product/service?
- Can they afford your product/service?
- Can I reach them in my messaging?
- Are they able to be accessed?
At times, it can be difficult to find out this information however try searching online for research that other companies have done. Search for magazine articles, forums, survey results or blogs that talk about you target market. If you have current customers who are a perfect fit, ask them for feedback.
Segment
From the list you identified in question two, group individuals into same types of people. From this grouped list, identify which one is MOST likely to purchase your brand/service. This group of people are called your Primary Target Market. It is this Primary Target Market you should focus all your efforts on attracting to purchase your product/service.
Know your Target Market Segment intimately
Society has change dramatically over a relatively short period of time. People can consume information from many, many sources at any time of the day they choose. The internet has allowed every person to enjoy a unique viewing experience.
It is more critical than ever to know your segment intimately in order to target them. It’s more important to be a big fish in a small pond than being everything to everybody, which leaves you vulnerable to becoming nothing to anybody.
Research your Primary Target Market Segment
Once you have segmented your Target Market into similar types and identified which one is your primary Target Segment, try to understand their consumer behaviours intimately.
Defining your Target Market is the hard part. Once you know who you are targeting, it is much easier to identify the media you can use to reach them and what marketing messages will be best suited to them. This will in turn help you to save money and get a better return on investment.
