batesvillechristmastrain.com – No business can target everyone. Therefore, having a specific target market must be a priority for your online business. Good for those of you who have just started a business, or those who want to boost product sales.
The target market will help us to make products according to the needs of prospective buyers, and market products according to their habits. A small business can effectively compete with large companies by targeting the right niche.
How to Determine the Right Target Market
Many businesses say they target “anyone who is interested in my services”. Some say they are targeting small business owners, homeowners or millennials.
Targets like this are still too common. If you are able to target a more precise audience, it will be much easier to determine where and how to market your product. However, accuracy in determining the target market is a successful way of selling, including in online stores.
Target Market Benefits
Let’s study the definition of the target market first.
The target market (target market) is a group of people who are the target of product sales. Generally, the target market will have the same characteristics, both in terms of habits, demographics, and others. In other words, the target market is prospective buyers potential who should get information and promotions related to your product.
Strategy marketing which good begins by defining target market potential. If you have found this, then all you have to do is apply one strategy effective to offer your product.
In general, the target market aims to ensure that your marketing strategy is right on target. By knowing the exact target market, you will get several benefits at once, such as:
1. Sales increase
Focus on the target market gives you the opportunity to make products faster and market them before competitors. As a result, sales will also increase rapidly.
In addition, all the data you have from the target market can be used to determine which products customers like. In other words, it will be easier for you to do product development.
Furthermore, your ability to properly meet customer needs will encourage customer loyalty. Remember, 65% of business profits usually come from loyal customers.
2. Marketing costs
Marketing activities, of course, cost money. If from the start you insist on targeting everyone, you can imagine how much marketing costs you have to prepare. Even though there may be a lot of sales in the end, the profit you get will likely be relatively small due to high marketing costs.
3. Anticipate competition
The point is how to make your product different from competitors. If you know your target market specifically, you can offer products that really suit their wishes through product advantages that competitors haven’t been able to offer.
Therefore, don’t be lazy to find out the characteristics and desires of your target market, make it an advantage to create products that don’t exist in competitors. That’s what a company like Nike does with its various products.
4. Ease in preparing promotional content
Your target market will determine whether the marketing campaign really has to be done through omnichannel or simply through social media. In formulating the strategy, you need your target audience data.
In addition, by knowing your target market, it will be easier for you to understand customer needs, so communication will be easier. Because you already know your target market, you already know who deserves to be involved in your promotional activities with great precision. This is important to determine the new product that you will create. Of course, products that users need will be easier to sell.
5. Target Market Determinants
Target Market Determining the target market, of course, should not be done haphazardly. There must be certain factors that become the conditions. Here are some tips to help you determine the target market for your product.
6. View Your Customer Base
Who are your current customers, and why do they buy from your online store? Look for common characteristics and interests, see which ones generate the most business.
7. Peek at your competitors
Who are your online business competitors? Precisely find a market niche that they don’t control, don’t chase the same market.
8. Analyze Your Product / Service
Write a list of each feature of your product or service. Next to each feature, list its benefits. After compiling the benefits of your product, make a list of people who have your needs.
9. Choose Specific Demographics to Target
Find out, not just whog need your product or service, but also who is most likely to buy it. Think about the factors age, location, gender, income level, education level, marital or family status, ethnic background.
Understanding the demographics of potential buyers will help you to know the volume of your target market and what marketing approach is most appropriate.
For example, children’s toy business. Even though your target market is parents because they are the ones who make purchasing decisions, the promotional content that you create must reflect the world of children. Both in terms of design, color selection, typeface used, and how it is delivered.
10. Consider the Psychographics of Your Target Market
Psychographics are the more personal characteristics of a person, including personality, attitudes, values, interests/hobbies, lifestyle, mannerisms, habits and others.
Determine how your product will fit into your target lifestyle. How and when do your target consumers use the product? What features are most attractive to the target? What media does the target turn to for information? Does your target read newspapers, search online, or attend certain events?
By studying the habits of potential buyers, you can not only determine what product you want to create, but also the right time to market it.
For example, when you are in a cake business and find that consumers tend to be price sensitive, then you can make products in economical packaging. For that, of course, your promotional language must also be focused on the economical side of the product.
11. Geographical/Location of Product Sales
Remember, not all products you can sell anywhere. So location is one of the factors that must be considered when determining the target market with geographic segmentation.
If you sell culinary products typical of a region, you can indeed sell them throughout Indonesia online. But if your business is a service business, say a barbershop, of course your target market will be limited to certain areas even though you also do promotions online on selling websites.
How to Determine the Right Target Market
Target Market Now, after knowing the importance of knowing your target market and how to determine it, it’s time for you to choose the right strategy to target it.
Basically, there are four target market strategies: Mass, Differentiated, Niche, and Micro Marketing.
- Mass Marketing
Is an effort to sell products to everyone. Yep, this strategy does not apply special segmentation, and that’s not wrong. But it must be remembered, this strategy is only suitable for selling products that are general in nature and intended for everyone. Examples are daily necessities such as soap, rice, wheat flour and others.
If the product you are selling is of a general nature like this, focus your strategy so that as many people know as possible so that more and more people will buy your product.
- Differentiated Marketing
If your product starts targeting specific users, you must start using a differentiated marketing strategy. The target market in differentiated marketing is often determined by demographic factors. This strategy requires you to create different products for different target markets. For example, you can start to differentiate boys’ shampoos from girls’ shampoos.
- Niche Marketing
Is a target market strategy that is even narrower because it is related to specific consumer characteristics. For example, sales of toothpaste products for sensitive teeth.
Even though the market is relatively small, it is not uncommon for niche marketing to allow for better market penetration. With the right strategy, it’s not impossible for you to become a market leader in that niche market.
- Micro Marketing
As the name implies, this strategy targets an even smaller target market. It can be applied if the product you produce has limitations in terms of location, time or type of goods. For example, hotels, barbershops and others.
Conclusion
How, ready to sharpen your target market? Find the right marketing strategy, and wait for how it works for the success of your business.