A target market is a group of people who share a set of similar needs and characteristics. Companies use this knowledge to help them sell or market their products or services to the right buyers.
It’s no longer just about price and availability. Consumers have vastly different expectations for customer experience than they did before. Today’s retail customers want personalized and individualized service, value for money on their purchases, and a sense of control over their data.
Consider your customer journey.
A customer journey refers to the various steps a customer takes, from first seeing your brand to making a purchase. Ecommerce entrepreneurs need a concrete understanding of their customers’ journeys. Knowing how your customers arrive at you is valuable, and what drives them to make that next step is helpful.
Following a typical customer journey across your website can provide valuable insight into what your customers think and feel as they interact with your content and products. You can use this knowledge to figure out how to help the customer in the future.
Conduct market research
Market research will help you gain insights into your target market and how to reach out to them. Through in-depth interviews, focus groups, and surveys, qualitative research can help you understand your customer’s motivations, needs, and interests.
Quantitative data is more straightforward, providing statistical information on what people buy. Analytics tools like Google Trends can help you analyze search trends and consumer behavior.
Assess your competition
Consider the type of customer drawn to each of your competitors’ offerings. The one that best matches your ideal customer would be a great place to start when figuring out the market appeal of your business.
Assess each element of your competition’s offerings, including the value for money and convenience. Understanding the competition helps you know how to position yourself in terms of pricing, features and benefits, and brand identity.
Analyze your offerings
An offering is the entire set of products and services you provide. For eCommerce entrepreneurs, this might be your store and its content, including product descriptions, photos, articles, and blog posts.
Focus on the needs of your target market and tune in to how you can help them. Knowing what your target market needs will help you tailor your offerings. If they solve a specific problem your customers need to have, then it’s likely that they’ll be more than happy to pay for them.
Evaluate your market demographics
Describe how your target market is composed and analyze your customers within that group. Focus on the demographics that indicate their purchasing tendencies. Demographic factors to consider include:
- Age
- Location
- Gender
- Occupation
- Marital or family status
You can use this information to plan and monitor promotions and test product offerings. This analysis will also help you understand how much of the market you need to reach.
Consider the psychographics of your target market.
Psychographics refers to how your customers relate to you and your brand. They can include purchasing habits, social media influence, personality, and attitudes.
Determine how your product fits into their lifestyles. You can then add value to their lives by optimizing your offerings for them. Psychographics can also help you determine what kind of advertising your target market is most receptive to.
Create customer profiles and buyer personas
Creating customer profiles will help you visualize your perfect customer. A buyer persona goes further by explaining your customers’ motivations, goals, and characteristics in detail, which will allow you to prioritize features and products that best address their needs.
A buyer persona synthesizes information on the demographics of your target market to create an avatar for them, making it easier for you to write compelling content that appeals to these visitors and converts them into customers.
It also helps you connect with your market better as you begin to understand what they’re thinking and how they decide whether or not to buy from you.
Before you go
As an entrepreneur, this will help you devise a streamlined marketing strategy and sales plan. You must stay ahead of consumer trends to gain that lead over your competitors. Understanding this will help you tailor your services, sales, marketing, and advertising to reach your target market.
