4 Things to know about your target market

Everyone who is trying to sell a product or provide a service needs to be able to identify their target. Without knowing who your target market is you will have great difficulties finding people to pay for your product. Everything you need to know about your target market can be summed up into 4 categories. These categories are Geographics, demographics, psychographics and behaviouristics. Now you might be thinking “are those words supposed to mean something to me?” and if you want to market a product or service then they should mean something to you. Here’s a more in depth look at each of these categories.

1. Geographics: This is the simplest thing to find out about your demographic. It involves finding exactly where your target market is location wise. Will you be selling your product locally, domestically or internationally? What country, state, province or city are they in? Do they live in an urban, suburban or rural area? Knowing the answers to these questions are crucial to finding success in the business world.

2. Demographics:This is where you try to find what kind of people will be most interested in your product. Ask yourself what age group your product is meant for. Targeting younger children is very difficult many countries have laws about what age you can gear a marketing campaign towards. Also, when it comes to things like toys you have to get kids interested while also making sure parents (the people who will buy these toys) are aware of your product.

Ask yourself what gender your product is best suited for. You need to know whether to target women, men or both genders. Is your target market married, single or involved of some other form of relationship? It’s going to be impossible to sell engagement rings if you target single and married people. You’ll want to know what income level your target market is in. You don’t want to be trying to sell things like luxury cars to people who only make $20,000 a year. 

Ask yourself what your product market does for a living. People in certain occupations need certain things. Construction workers need hard hats and steel toed boots. Teachers sadly buy school supplies out of their own pocket. Cooks need non-slip shoes, lawyers need pens and so on. You need to find out if your target market will have a specific occupation. 

Does your target market own a home, or do they rent a home? It’ll be difficult to sell things like water heaters and furnaces to people who don’t own a home. Is your target market still in school? If not, what education level is most inclined to buy your product? Yes, demographics can be difficult to navigate but the more you know about your target market the easier it will be to sell your product.

3. Psychographics:What kind of personality traits are your target market likely to have? Are they social, extroverted, introverted, compulsive, intuitive, analytical, judgemental or do they possess some other traits not listed here? Find what kind of lifestyle your target market lives and what kind of approach they tend to take to life. People who like things like gaming tend not to like things like fitness. So, don’t try selling that new barbell to a person who’s just put 100 hours into fortnite. 

Most importantly in my opinion you will need to know where your target markets attention is. You want your product to be advertised in a place that your target markets eyes constantly look at. Are they more likely to see things like billboards, newspapers and TV commercials? Or is your target market buried into their phone on social media sites like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter? As you now may see some of these things synch up with each other and the more you know the easier it is to reach who you need to reach. 20-year olds don’t watch cable TV, Senior citizens aren’t on Snapchat, and People in Denver are most likely not going to see a billboard in Colorado Springs. Knowledge is power especially in the world of marketing.

4. Behaviouristics: This is where you ask yourself how your target market uses and interacts with your product. Do they need it for work? Is it something used during leisure time? Is it medically necessary for them to have? Understanding the way people use your product will help you make your product better and help you reach the people you need to reach.

Is your product able to be used frequently? Will people need to periodically purchase a new one? Are there extensional upgrades that can be bought? What are the main benefits of your product? Does your product entertain or educate or both? 

In conclusion this is a mega load of data to take in all at once. It’s even harder to figure out what kind of target market is best suited for you. There truly are no wrong or right answers. Never stop experimenting and doing research to try and find what target market will work best for your business. Target markets are something that should constantly be experimented with, tweaked and evaluated. The best way to find what target market is best suited for your business is to see how much profit you generate while marketing. So, start brainstorming and find what target market will your product effect the most.