Types of Target Markets and Audiences

A famous saying in marketing goes, if you are selling it to everyone then you will end up reaching nobody.

This is so true!

You do not sell to everyone. There is always a target audience whom you wish your product to be directed at. Even if we come to think of it economically, it is not sustainable. You cannot cater to all. Especially in times when the competition is so hard, most businesses and startups, in particular, have to struggle to carve out a place for themselves. Breaking-even takes time. In such pressing circumstances, every little bit matters.

Identifying your Target Audience forms the basis of your entire marketing strategy. If you go wrong on this part, then it is sure the rest of the things will fall apart.

Remember, “Everyone is not your Target Audience” and they can never be. If you think they are, then it is time you reflect. If you cannot demarcate the niche in which you want to operate then it will not be possible to move ahead with it, leave alone any kind of dominance. Everyone who is a winner in their field is a winner because they operate in a specific field. Such leverage becomes nullifies if you are operating in more than one verticals.

Hence, the better you know your target audience, the better will be your advertisement strategy.

But, what is a target market?

A target market refers to a well-defined segment of customers that lie within the serviceable market of the business. This refers to a core group of people who you directly target in all your marketing communications. Obviously, these will be most interested to buy your products and services.

Many businesses have a tough time deciding on whom to target as they feel their products can satisfy a wide range of customers. This approach not only mars your marketing effort but is also detrimental to growth. Imagine you will never know who your real competitors are.

Small business startups who have been able to define their target markets well, have not only been able to tame the competition but have truly disrupted the markets and emerged as the clear winners. They have known no U-turns.

Here are some proven target marketing strategies that hold the potential to take your business to a new high.

Sure-Shot Target Marketing Strategies

Your growth is in your hands. What we want to state is whichever way you take, get your basics right. The more you know your target market, the better will be your conversion rates and Return on Investment. Let us see what works best in doing so.

• Market Research: Nothing goes well in marketing if you have not done your basic research. So, you need to understand who all will want to buy your products from the ones who all are already using similar products. Once you have been able to sense the nerve of the existing users of similar products, you will be able to design an accurate solution for them, one that addresses their main pain-point. Once you are able to get to the primary customer base, next you can get to the ones who fit the same frame. Some of the considerations can be on the basis of age, location in terms of time-zone, language, interests, etc. These may sound simple and basic but are most important when defining your target market.

• Competitor Analysis: This comes next. You now know your audience and after studying their preferences and pain-points, you have come up with the best possible product or service. Now what? Start selling? Not so soon. How about the ones who are already there? Who are the other players in the field? How well are they operating? What is the scope of any new entrants? Everything fine and perfect but how about if the entry for new players is hard. There is always a right time to enter the market. Make sure you get it right. The clues to this are often hidden in your competitor strategy. Study it well.

• Clarity of Product Value or Service: There is a difference in features and USP- the X-factor or the main pain-point that it will address. If you go on telling the features, you might not be able to cut it different from the rest. Marketing is not telling the features but highlighting the benefits. Getting difficult to comprehend? Take it this way. What do you think are the features of your product? And, if you got that right that what could be the benefits? Are these not the same? Let us take it this way. Features are about what your product does but the benefits are the real results. These are the ones that will make the life of your audience easier and of course also interesting. Now think. If you do not have a clear picture of the real benefits of your products then it is time that you give it a serious thought.

• Create a Statement of your Audience: Another vital aspect is that you should be able to clearly define your target audience. It forms the first step in the positioning of your brand. Haven’t we done that already? No. This is one step ahead.You know your target audience and have done the right market research regarding the same. Now, it is time you should be able to define the same in terms of characteristics in a line or so. Once you also name the same your marketing team will find it easy to stick to the basics.

The idea is to boil down your entire research in a line so you and your team know exactly what you are targeting.

Target marketing is the basic step that will help to take your business to level up your game. This is not something that you can put off or address later, it is where the whole thing starts. Now, it is up to you how far you want to push your starting to.

Have additional thoughts you’d like to contribute? Submit a guest post on the RedAlkemi blog!