A well-defined target market is more important than ever given the current state of the economy. No one can afford to target everyone, therefore targeting a niche market is an effective way to effectively compete with large companies by targeting a niche market. Simply targeting "small-business owners", "homeowners" or "stay-at-home moms" is way too general when you are trying to compete.
TIPS TO DEFINE YOUR IDEAL CLIENT AND HOW TO TARGET THEM
- Analyze your product/service
- Choose specific demographics to target
- Evaluate your decision
ANALYZE YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE
For each product or service you offer, write out a list of each feature of you product or service and the benefits it provides (and then the benefit of those benefits). For example,
"A graphic designer offers high-quality design services. The benefit is a professional company image. A professional image will attract more customers because they see the company as professional and trustworthy. So ultimately, the benefit of high-quality design is gaining more customers and making more money."
Makes sense?
CHOOSE SPECIFIC DEMOGRAPHICS TO TARGET
Now, you need to figure out who has a need for your product/service and who is most likely to buy it.
Always take the following factors into consideration
- Age
- Location
- Gender
- Income level
- Education level
- Marital or family status
- Occupation
- Ethnic background
EVALUATE YOUR DECISION
Once you've decided on a target market, consider then following questions:
- Are there enough people who fit my criteria?
- Will my target really benefit from my product/service? Will they see a need for it?
- Do I understand what drives my target to make decisions?
- Can they afford my product/service?
- Can I reach them with my message? Are they easily accessible?
Remember, you can have more than one niche market, but you will need to consider if your marketing message should be different for each niche. If you are fortunate to reach both niches effectively with the same message then you have probably broken your market down too far.
For example, if you there seems to be only around 50 people that fit all of your criteria, you should reevaluate your target. The goal is to find that perfect balance.
HOW DO I FIND ALL THIS INFORMATION
- Search Online fro Research Others Have Done on Your Target
- Sera ch Blogs and Forums where people in your target market communicate their opinions
- Look for survey results or host your own survey
It does take a bit of time and trial/error to define your target market but once you know who you are targeting, it is much easier to figure out which media you can use to reach them and what marketing messages will resonate with them.
Save money and get a better return on investment (ROI) by defining your target audience.
Source: Inc.com
