by While identifying your target groups, you must, first and foremost have a clear definition of what your product/service is and how you are planning to advertise it in the market. If its a product, understand its core value and why it makes a differentiation when compared to its competitors. If you are offering a service, identify how to touch-base with your audience groups and solve their pain points.
The people who you think is the most beneficial for your product/service Who are the decision makers for your product/service? Are you targeting VP’s, CMO’s, managers or individuals? Have a clear picture of who you want to reach out for your service.
How can you solve their pain-points Your product/service has to have an impact on these audience groups. Identify with a competitive analysis what issues these audiences might be facing and how you can provide a value proposition.
Geographical locations Segment your audience groups based on their geographical locations. This helps you identify independent pain points and target a cost-effective solution to these groups.
Size of organization and industry and seniority levels of your ideal profile By identifying the ideal size of your target organization, you can make an informed decision that helps you reach out to the right person at the right time with a right value proposition.
What’s your differentiator All organizations, big or small look for something worthwhile partnering with you? This means, your differentiator should be strong, but not too overwhelming. By segmenting your audience groups according to their location, size and seniority levels of targets, you actually provide a stronger value proposition to these groups.
Factors To Help You Define Your Target Market
Determine what problem your company solves
People don’t buy products. They buy solutions to their problems. That’s why so many marketing professionals recommend highlighting the benefits of your product, not its features. Instead of emphasizing how good your product or service is, you should show your potential customers how you will make their lives (or their business profits) better.
Develop a profile of your most profitable current customers
Who are your current customers? Why do they buy from you?
Think about the characteristics and interests they have in common; which ones bring in the most business? Once you have a good idea of who buys your products now, you can expand upon it and figure out who else could benefit from what you’re offering.
Monitor and continuously learn from the competition
Check out who your competitors are targeting, and see if you can glean some insights from that.
Don’t go after the exact same market (the goal is to stand out, after all!), but see if what they are doing can give you some additional ideas about niche markets to target.
Analyze your product or service
We recommend making a list of features your product or service has and reframing them as benefits.
Who would be after these benefits? Whose problems are you really solving? Who really needs the solution or solutions your business offers?
Choose specific demographics to target
Demographics are used to identify population segments by specific characteristics, like:
- Age
- Location
- Gender
- Income level
- Education level
- Marital status
- Occupation
- Ethnic background, etc.
Using demographics can be a great starting point for small and large business alike. They can help you figure out who is likely to actually buy your product or service and can aid in putting together the building blocks of a great marketing plan.
Consider the Psycho-Graphics of your target market
Psychographics are some of the more personal characteristics of your target, including:
- Personality
- Attitudes
- Values
- Interests/hobbies
- Lifestyles
- Behavior
They will help you determine how your product fits into your target market’s lifestyle:
- How (and when) do they use your product?
- What features are the most appealing to them? Why?
- What types of media does your target turn for information and entertainment? Do they read newspapers, search for information online, attend particular events?
Considering these factors will allow you to build a more focused marketing plan that works with the specific behaviors, interests and lifestyle choices of your target market.
Evaluate your marketing investment over time
Sometimes we all need to take a step back and see if the market we have zeroed in on is actually the one that will bring us the ROI we are looking for.
Before you jump into creating Facebook ads and calling up trade shows, consider these questions:
- Are there enough people who fit my chosen criteria?
- Will my target audience see the need for my product or service?
- Can my target audience actually afford what I’m offering? How can I do anything to help them afford it (like offering payment plans)?
- Will I actually reach my target audience with my message? If it’s not as easy as launching a Facebook ad campaign, am I prepared to deal with the difficulties that arise?
- Do I really understand what drives my target audience to make decisions? What actually makes them press the “Buy” button?
