Decide on Your Marketing Target Market
One of the first and biggest lessons people learn in marketing is how important it is to have a target market. Having a target market will allow you to target your marketing much better. It’ll allow you to save money on marketing by not selling to people who won’t buy. To find your perfect target market, the first step is to identify a need in a pre-existing market. Then you check it against certain criteria to make sure you’ll be profitable. Read on to learn more.
Find a Need
Which market do you think will be more likely to buy a product: How to Prevent Divorce or How to Improve Your Cooking?
Obviously, the former is much more likely to purchase a solution. The reason is because they have a strong need for a solution.
In general, the stronger the need for a solution the more people are willing to spend money. When you’re choosing a marketing target market, try and find people who have the most need.
Find a Pre-Existing Market
A lot of people make the mistake of trying to create a market. For example, an inventor might try and create a market for people who want to train their cats to bark like dogs.
Although the idea is original, the reality is that there is nobody who’s already seeking out that product or solution.
It’s much, much more expensive to try and create a market than it is to find an existing one. It’s also far more risky because you don’t know if your product has a chance of “taking off.”
Criteria for a Good Target Market
First, you want to look for people you can sell to repeatedly. If the product you’re selling is a “one shot” deal, you’ll make far less money than if you had a product that could be sold repeatedly.
You should also look for a target market that’s ready to buy. For example, if your target market is people who cook, chances are they’re not very likely to buy. On the other hand, if you’re targeting people who desperately want to cure Acne, then you have a much higher chance of getting them to buy.
Finally, believe it or not you want competitors in your market. Although it’s possible to find profitable markets with no competitors, it’s generally very unlikely. More often than not, other people have already tried whatever it is you’re doing and failed.
Therefore, when you’re considering a target market you want to actually look for competitors and make sure other people are already making money doing what you’re doing.
If you follow these criteria, you’ll have a very good chance of identifying a marketing target market that will be profitable for your business. Do your research carefully. Remember, time spent in this area could make a big impact on your business over the long run. That’s why big companies are willing to spend so much money on market research. Find a good target market and watch your efforts pay off.
