{"id":2374,"date":"2019-07-26T14:57:36","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T12:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dazzlepop.net\/site\/?p=2374"},"modified":"2019-07-26T14:57:38","modified_gmt":"2019-07-26T12:57:38","slug":"how-to-define-and-analyze-your-target-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dazzlepop.net\/site\/how-to-define-and-analyze-your-target-market\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Define and Analyze Your Target Market"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What is a target market<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Another way to describe your core customer base is your target market. These are the people you think are the most suited to your products and services, so it\u2019s essential that you understand them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding your target market is different from just making assumptions about it. Instead, it\u2019s about really trying to figure out its needs and motivations. Demographics such as age, gender, education level, occupation, and family situation can help you determine what your customers need and what they\u2019re willing to spend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond this, you should also consider who your customers are as people. What do they value? What is their lifestyle? What do they enjoy doing with their spare time? The answers to these questions can help you understand your target market on a deeper level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to identify your target market<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Determining your target market isn\u2019t as simple as guessing who your customers are, or hoping for a certain demographic. Instead, it requires an in-depth review of your products and services, the marketplace, your potential (or current) customers, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some tactics to help you identify your target market:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analyze your offerings<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Ask yourself what problems your products and services solve, and, in turn, to whom they appeal. For example, if you operate a landscaping business, your services would be attractive to homeowners with lawns and, more specifically, people who are too busy to care for their yard and can afford to pay someone to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, your target market would include higher-income adults with demanding jobs and\/or children, who don\u2019t have time for or interest in lawn care but still want it to look good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conduct market research<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Analyzing your target market goes beyond understanding your customers \u2014 you also have to understand the marketplace. Analytics tools like Quantcast<\/a>, Alexa<\/a>, and Google Trends<\/a> give you a comprehensive view of the landscape by identifying and assessing competitors, helping you find new customers, and enabling you to determine ways to improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And check out the U.S. Small Business Association\u2019s SizeUp tool<\/a>, which (as the name implies) helps you size up the competition in your market by providing data like other nearby businesses that offer similar services and local consumer spending in that category. The U.S. Census Bureau\u2019s site<\/a>, though a bit unwieldy, can serve as another helpful resource for finding local demographic information like education level, income, and household size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And don\u2019t forget that some of the most helpful data can come from both existing and prospective customers. Tools like surveys, focus groups, and in-person discussions can help you understand what your target market needs, why it is (or isn\u2019t) shopping with you, and what you can do to make your offerings more appealing. You can also look at data from your POS or CRM to glean insights about your customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create customer profiles and market segments<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Market segmentation is the process of organizing a group based on various categories, like demographics and psychographics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As discussed earlier, demographics describe the more surface-level, baseline characteristics, like age, gender, education level, ethnic background, and marital and family status. Psychographics<\/a>, on the other hand, offer a deeper look into who people really are, like behaviors, values, personality, and lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to consider both demographics and psychographics when trying to conduct a full analysis of your target market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assess the competition<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Conduct a competitive analysis<\/a> or use the online tools discussed above to get a comprehensive view of the competitive landscape. What are the businesses that offer comparable products and services? How much do they charge? What are they doing differently?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unless you believe you have a significant advantage, avoid going after the same customer, especially in a small market where your competitors\u2019 businesses are well established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using your target market analysis<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve completed your analysis, put that data to work. Here are some ways to use the information to grow and improve your business. 
Product development: If your analysis helped you identify some holes in the market, you can use this information to create products and services that your target market needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n