Marketing your products and services can be costly, so determining your target audience can ensure that you are seeing the best ROI. You simply can’t afford to target everyone with your product or service, and you would likely go out of business trying. The trick is in finding exactly who your target audience is and how you can capitalize on their needs, wants, and interests. There are many steps you will take in this process, and nearly as many approaches as there are types of markets, but if you don’t know whose problems you are solving with your goods and services, how will you know how to reach them with your messaging?

Who Needs You and Why

To determine your target market, you must first identify who is going to use your product or service. A good starting point is to think about the moment when you designed your product or developed your service. To whom did you intend to market your offerings? Who found value in what you were offering? For instance, you may believe your product is something that women would like, but there can be a huge difference in needs and wants between a college-aged woman and a woman in her forties with a husband and four kids. Women from either demographic could benefit from your product, but can either afford it? What might make it appealing to them? There are many things to consider that can help you refine your target. Factors such as age, marital status, and buying power all have an influence on who your target market will be.

Use Data to Your Advantage

Survey data is a generic method of identifying interests; small focus groups can offer even better insights. You can also tap into existing data for products comparable to yours, either products you currently sell or competitors’ products that you’ve previously identified. It’s likely that your competitors have already done some of the heavy lifting in determining who purchases their products or services, and much of that data is publicly accessible. Furthermore, take advantage of your own circles. Ask family, friends, and colleagues their opinions on your products and services, especially if they fall into what you assume is your target audience. This type of data is not always subjective, but comes from a personal perspective that you can leverage on a larger scale.

Define Current Customers

Lastly, assess your current customers. Why do they purchase from you? What are the common characteristics or interests that they hold? What problems do you solve for them? What don’t they like about what you do?

Even after you have established a direction for your marketing strategy, it’s important to continue careful analysis to make sure you are actually reaching your target audience with your messaging. Finding the perfect balance requires effort, but before you spend dollars on marketing and messaging, make sure it’s going to reach people who care. Need help? Contact DaSh factor today!