THE IMPORTANCE OF IDENTIFYING A TARGET MARKET

Welcome to Part 1 of our two part series: Knowing Your Audience. 

In the ideal world, target markets wouldn’t exist. Everyone would want to buy what we’re selling, in fact they couldn’t live without it. 

It’s a nice fantasy isn’t it? Unfortunately, for almost all of us selling a product or a service, this just isn’t the reality. That’s why it’s so important to KNOW who you’re selling to.  

 

But why can’t I just market to everyone?

Now you may be asking “But why can’t I try to get as many people by marketing to every woman, man and nonbinary person, whether they be Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X and Boomer?” Well, I mean you can give it a red hot go, but unfortunately VERY FEW products appeal to that vast a group of people. 

In fact, by overstating your market you’re actually preventing yourself from developing a viable targeted strategy for attracting clients. 

 

Fine. You’ve convinced me. I can’t target everyone. What should I be doing instead?

You need to figure out who wants what you’re selling. Think long and hard about why they want your product and how it will improve their lives. Get a crystal clear image of who they are. Are they male, female, other or all? Millennial? Boomer? Working? White Collar? Blue Collar? Parent? Child free? Ask yourself these questions and more.

If you’re not sure, perhaps you need to ask around, or get some expert advice from a brand design agency (oh hey there). 

 

I’ve figured out who I should be targeting. What do I do now?

You find out all you can about them. It’s always handy to know who they are, what they buy and why they buy it. It’s always worth also having a good think about their income, what their expectations are of your product, how to best reach and communicate with them, what inspires and motivates them, what their values are and how they view your competitors. On that last point, if you know how they view your competition you’re able to get a good gauge on how you can offer your service or product, better. The more you’re able to learn about your potential customer, the more you’re able to directly market to their needs. 

 

 

Essentially, knowing and targeting a specific market is as, if not more integral to your business’ success as you having a solid product or service. You need to have a clear picture of who you think will want your product and then find out everything you can about them to give yourself the commercial edge. Because the hard truth is, if you’re trying to target everyone to buy your product, you’re actually marketing to no one. 

 

Need more help?

Don’t fret. By Ninja can help you. Our brand design experts are able to help you pinpoint your target market, allowing you to get on with what you do best - your business.