Why am I writing about something as obvious and well-known as the Target Market? I suppose, it’s like “common-sense”, not very common, and from working with clients who should know better, their markets are rarely targeted enough….
When developing your business, there is, quite literally, nothing more important than identifying your target market very precisely. Without thoroughly determining and understanding the people or businesses you are promoting your services or products to, you are unlikely to be able to effectively market yourself. Some companies are in a position to offer products and services to every demographic and every individual with any interests; Amazon, an established national supermarket network, or a nationwide department store might be prominent examples you would think of. However, small and medium businesses like yours are generally speaking not in this position, and therefore must identify a more specific target audience to maximize your return on your marketing budget. The below advice will help you understand why and how to optimize your target market.
The Right Audience
When choosing and cultivating your target market, there are many elements for you to consider, including these few essentials:
Need – Your Clientele must actively need or want your products; if you offer very advanced products, your clients may not know these exist, so you will need to educate your target audience
Affordability – Your target market must be able to afford your products and services
Reachability – Your target must be easily reachable through your different marketing channels
Similarities – It is much easier to market to a target audience who have geographical, demographical or opinion-based similarities
Narrow it Down
Many business owners can be reluctant to narrow their target market, as they believe that this is merely decreasing their opportunities for leads and revenue. Yes, you will limit your options of who you can sell to, but in today’s competitive market you are rarely relevant to everyone and you need a defined target audience to succeed. For example, one accountant may choose to target dentists, media companies and legal firms, whereas another accountant may focus specifically on construction and engineering companies. There is never a defined target market within each sector; what is important is that you are honing in on a smaller range of clients in order to market to them more effectively.
How does that work? By targeting these specific individuals/companies, you can explain to them, in language which is finely tuned to their market, that your business understands their position, wants, needs and challenges; making you infinitely more attractive to the potential buyer. Your offer will resonate more clearly, your expertise will be more obvious and you will stand-out.
Multiple Target Markets
Though identifying a specific audience is crucial for businesses, it is also possible, and essential, to identify multiple target markets to suit the different products and services you may offer. For example, a lawyer focusing on family law will communicate very differently to clients than a commercial litigation specialist. While they may work for the same company, it would be unwise to market these services to the same clients or with similar language, style, graphics, and channels. Whatever the distinguishing features are, it is essential that you take them into account when creating your marketing to the specific groups. Therefore, each demographic has different targeted strategies which will pique their interests; one size does not fit all!
Other Areas Which Must be Considered
In addition to some of the problems and solutions we have introduced here, there are many others which you must considered when building and addressing your target audience, such as:
How to Identify Your Target Market
Creating Your Customer Avatar(s) (a fancy name to describe all of the elements that make up your target audience) – if you have multiple markets, you need matching Avatars for each one
Discovering and focusing on your Buyers’ Motivations
Your market’s Key Pain Points that you must address
Their Common Objections and how to avoid them
If you are interested in learning more about how all these factors work together and are implemented, then we have the answer for you. The maxpotenti Growth Club is a proven and effective means by which SMEs can develop their business and increase their revenues. Through the use of the 9 Core Elements, of which Defining a Target Market is a critically important one, the Growth Club initiative guarantees tangible results for its members. To find out more please click here.