Why it’s important to identify your target market in business

You need to know your product or service well and why people might want to buy it. 

 

Take time to ask yourself a few questions after defining what you are selling. Who are you selling to? What problems do they have that your goods or services would solve? How can you help them to realise they need what you are buying? 

 

It is advisable to spend time preparing an avatar of the individual/s whom your perfect prospect could be, before devising your marketing strategy, as it will save you both time and money. Make a list of the various people you can think of who would benefit from what you have to offer. 

 

Are they a business or a member of the general public? Where do they live? How old are they? What sex? How much do they earn? Do they have children? 

 

If you are selling to other businesses, what industry are they in? What is their market sector? The number of questions you can ask yourself and answer, the better. They will help you devise your best marketing plan. 

 

Now is the time to start crafting your marketing content. What message do you want to convey to your prospective clients? Each individual person or company may have a different need, so you will want to craft your marketing message to reflect that. 

 

You can make your products and services appealing to your target market by helping your prospects to realise that they will be better off if they make a purchase from you. If you can help them to recognise that the cost of not buying from you to solve their problem will cost them more in the long run, you are onto a winner. 

 

In order to devise your unique selling proposition (USP) and differentiate your product and services from the rest of the market, you will need to check out and identify your competitors. 

 

Nowadays consumers have millions of items online to choose from, so it may be worth refining which segment of the market you wish to sell to. For example, if you sell to a purchaser who earns more, he or she will have more money to spend on your goods, so you will not need to sell as many items if you increase your price to gain the same turnover in a shorter period. 

 

Choose the best demographic to aim your message at. For example, if you are selling fishing rods, you will need to target people who may want to fish and who live by lakes, rivers, reservoirs or the sea or have access to them. 

 

How you write your compelling copy will be determined by the attitudes, aspirations, interests, psychological criteria personality, tastes, lifestyle and values of your ideal audience. These are called psychographics. You may need to carry our some market research in this area. 

 

Once you have done all of the above you will have a fair idea of how and where to market your product. Now is the time to refine your strategy by deciding how much you want to spend on marketing and where, by creating a target market plan. This will help you to get the most cost-effective return on your investment (ROI) in your marketing. 

 

The bigger your brand the more funds you are likely to have for advertising. You need to think about whether to grow your business on social media.  

 

We hope this blog has helped you. If you need any extra help, get in touch! Whether you are starting a new business or rebranding your current company, it’s important to identify your target market. Your ideal audience are the individual people who you recognise have the needs that your particular product or service can meet.