Identifying Your Target Market
Understanding your target market is crucial to any successful business strategy. A target market is a group of customers a company is trying to market its products or services to. A good marketer knows that their customers may differ from each other in many ways and, as such, a target market is necessary to focus on a particular group with similar characteristics.
To begin your target market analysis, first identify and list out the characteristics of your target market. These can include demographics (age, gender, race, occupation, education level, marital status, religion, income, etc.), behavior (interests, hobbies, activities, likes, dislikes, shopping habits, etc.), or any other market segmentation model you can think of. Once you have this list, you can start looking for the potential customer groups with similar characteristics.
Curating and interpreting this data is key — look for trends and similarities among customers to craft a specific target market. Analyze the behavior of your existing customers to see if they match the characteristics of your target market, then identify where to find prospects with the same attributes. By properly aligning your message to your target market, you can increase conversion rates, find more cost-effective channels, and maximize profits.
The Role of Target Markets in Marketing Strategy
Having a properly identified target market is essential for most successful marketing strategies. Knowing the needs, wants, beliefs, and characteristics of your target market can guide the development of strategies in order to reach the right consumers, maximize conversions, and bring profits. Having a clear understanding of the target market can help you to create effective messaging adapted for each potential customer.
By marketing towards a particular segment, you can make decisions about the product itself — what features should it have, what should the packaging look like — and also about all other aspects of the marketing mix — where to advertise, what price to use, what kind of channel to use, and what kind of promotion to do. Crafting the offering for the target market — based on the information gathered and the market analysis — can help you to maximize your ROI results.
Case Studies of Successful Target Market Strategies
Companies may use different marketing strategies to target different target markets. Here are three well-known examples of successful target market strategies:
- Apple: Apple uses segmentation targeting to target educated, affluent, and tech-savvy customers who value quality, design, and creativity. Their products are priced on the higher end and the company invests heavily in marketing to reach these customers.
- Nike: Nike uses positioning targeting to target a wide range of consumers who want to look athletic, fit, and stylish. It is a great example of how to use the benefits of the product to appeal to potential customers.
- McDonald’s: McDonald’s uses a combination of segmentation and positioning to target families with young children looking for affordable, fast, and convenient meals. This appeals to cost-conscious parents, and the company has made an effort to create an engaging customer experience for young children.
These are just a few examples of how some of the world’s leading brands have used target market analysis to inform their marketing strategies. By studying these examples, you can apply similar tactics to the products and services you’re selling.
