You’re likely to find most of your customers in a small part of the total population. It’s an example of the 80/20 principle. Most of your results come from a small number of people or actions.
Imagine that you knew what these folks had in common – the ones who are most likely to buy from you. If you know who they are, and what binds them together, you can craft your marketing messages with them in mind. They are your target market.
So, here are my three tips to help you identify your target market, or your most likely customers, whichever description you prefer:
Step 1
This is the easy one. What do you sell? Think of it in terms of the solution you provide. For example, a shop may sell hand drills, but their customers want holes. The customer could buy a drill, or they might prefer to hire a contractor to make the hole for them. So, looking at your product or service from your customer’s viewpoint, what are you offering? This leads us to the next question.
Step 2
What problem or challenge, that you can help with, are your prospective customers facing? Perhaps they are deep in debt, or they may have cars that are due a service, or perhaps they have issues managing their time and are often late for appointments. What you’re looking for here is a relatively large number of people who face an important problem that you an help solve.
Step 3
But not everyone with a problem wants help to overcome it. They may not realise they have a problem, or may not worry about what will happen if their problem persists. Or, they may fear the future but lack the time or the money or the will or the energy to do anything about it. Maybe they see the unwanted future like a train coming down the track, no way to stop it. So, the third step is to identify a group of people who both face a problem you can solve, and are actively looking for a solution.
So, that is your target market. A large group of people who are looking for the solution that your product or service offers. Of course, they are not all going to buy your offering. However, a proportion of them are likely to do so, if you are able to get the right information in front of them.
