Discovering the correct target market for your product is necessary for developing a marketing strategy, especially when it comes to small businesses. If you want to avoid wasting your efforts and making poor decisions about pricing, identifying what specific audiences you should be focusing your attention on can be the key. The time spent figuring out your target market will be well worth it because it will help your business remain cost-effective and your marketing efforts will become more relevant to your audience. Ultimately, knowing who you want to target will allow you to focus on how you want to develop your marketing strategy.
Finding your target market helps because you’ll be able to design a marketing strategy around those potential buyers. You’ll be able to discover who those people are, where they’re located, what they need from you, and how you can reach them. Trying to develop a marketing plan that appeals to everyone, without pinpointing a specific audience, will most likely not yield the results you’re expecting— because you’ll be spending too much time and energy on people who simply aren’t interested. It will help your marketing efforts greatly if you avoid overwhelming people with advertising for products they don’t need or want.
When trying to focus in on your target market, it helps to ask yourself these questions:
What is my product or service?
What is the purpose of my product?
Who would pay for my services/product?
Who am I trying to appeal to?
Who has already purchased from me?
Thinking about why you offer your product or services will greatly help you find your target market. For example— if your product is baby diapers, you’re going to want to focus on who is most likely to buy your diapers (new parents, for example). Attempting to sell diapers to everyone will be waste of your time and money because not everyone needs diapers! Once you hone in on who has a need for your product, you’ll be able to pinpoint your target market. This all has to do with relevancy, which is not only about engaging potential customers who are most likely to care about and respond to what you’re offering, but designing your marketing material so it speaks to your intended audience.
If your target buyers aren’t as obvious, you’ll need to spend some time doing research. The question mentioned above, who has already purchased from me?, will help you figure out your best marketing options. Researching and monitoring who has been most interested in your products in the past will reveal your target market over time and then you can adjust your marketing plan accordingly.
Building genuine relationships becomes easier if you have established a target market. You’ll be able to find people who are truly interested in your brand and those customers will be more likely to know other people who need what you provide. By focusing your marketing efforts on your target market, you may reach fewer people overall; however, the people who are already most likely to purchase from you have a much greater chance of interacting meaningfully with your marketing materials, because you made it relevant to them and their needs.
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