You may never meet the people you market to online, but you should get to know them like a friend
by Emma Westlund
Defining your target market is an incredibly important part of creating an effective digital marketing strategy for your business. Businesses should cater products and services specifically to consumers who would need them and who are willing and able to buy them.
What is a Target Market?
A target market is a group of consumers who you want to reach with your marketing message. It is the group of people most likely to need your business’s goods and services. This group of people shares certain characteristics that unify them, such as their behaviors and demographics.
Defining Your Target Market
Defining your market is the foundation to developing an effective marketing strategy. It is important first to figure out who already uses your products or services — your “current customers.”
Once you determine the characteristics of your current customers, you can begin to target an audience that is similar. This will help you reach a new audience that could potentially be interested in your products or services.
Some common demographics to consider when doing target market research include:
- Age
- Stage of life
- Location
- Interests
- Buying habits
- … and so many more!
As you do more research on your target audience, you will likely discover more demographic data that you can use. Over time, you can adjust and adapt whom are you targeting, and your target market may change over time.
Pro tip: Keep your target market research fresh! Doing periodic target research is important to make sure your marketing messages continue to target the right consumers.
Understanding Your Target Market
Fully understanding your market allows you to use marketing messages that speak to your potential buyer’s needs. The more you understand your market, the better you can adjust your marketing efforts by delivering relevant content to the right people. As your audience grows, this will lead to higher conversion rates and increased ROI.
Knowing your market is one of the first steps in an effective digital marketing strategy. Without a clear audience, your marketing messages may not be relevant to those the messages are reaching. Knowing your audience will help you you deliver the right marketing content to the right consumer.
