Business owners have so much on their plates in order to run a successful operation, and one of the most important and time-consuming tasks is marketing your goods or businesses. The ability to get your business in front of people that want to patronize you is ultimately what will allow your business to sink or swim. That being said, getting the maximum amount of eyes on your business is NOT always the easiest route to success.
You need to be in front of the RIGHT people, not just the MOST people. That’s why identifying your target market is SUCH a critical task. So here are 3 tips on how to identify your ideal target customer!
TIP #1- Market Research
The first step for finding your ideal customer profiles is conducting market research. While that may sound like an intimidating process, it’s really quite simple. Every business type and industry has a different array of options available in order to gain information about their potential market. Don’t be afraid to search for answers online, as someone has probably been asking the same questions – so let them do the work for you!
Small businesses often have to operate on shoestring budgets, but there is a huge selection of completely free tools that will help you out – especially Google Trends. It can provide you with valuable information about the popularity of certain queries, searches, and terms. Searching on blogs and professional forums can also show you valuable insights on issues consumers are having with other businesses and products.
TIP #2- Evaluate Your Competition
If you’re entering a new industry or launching a new product, make sure you’re looking at competitors in your industry. You can use their marketing strategies to inform exactly the type of customers you’re looking for. Obviously, you should never take direct ideas from competitors, but if you notice someone in your space crushing it with a specific group – there’s no harm in trying to reach them as well!
Another great way to leverage other businesses in your marketspace is to identify their missing segments. If you look at their business and notice they’re not thinking about a specific type of person, profession, or alternative use for their product or service – use that to your advantage and target them. It may or may not work every time, but these attempts at reaching new customer bases will only help your zone in on exactly who you DO truly want to reach.
TIP #3- Create Customer Profiles
Once you’ve conducted some in-depth market research and evaluated other businesses in your space, it’s time to create your ideal customer profiles. Ideally, you’ll have one or two specific customer profiles that fit your business – and be a way of creating too many and spreading your marketing out too thin.
A customer profile will encompass two main concepts – demographics and psychographics. Demographics are the true statistical factors involved in customers such as age, gender, income, geographic locations, and more. Psychographics focus on the intangible factors such as interests, activities, and opinions. So when you put together a customer profile, you’ll have an idea on exactly what type of people you are seeking out to buy your goods and services, and which customers you aren’t looking for.
WRAP UP
If you’ve followed these three tips – you should have a comprehensive view of your business, familiarity with the marketplace you’re operating in, knowledge of your competitors and their strategies, as well as a detailed view of exactly the type of customer your business is searching for.
Having these targets solidified will make it easier to focus on the delivery methods of how to reach your ideal customer, rather than constantly moving the target and “wasting” time trying to reach customers who may not be interested in the first place. That’s why it’s so critical to take time to identify your ideal target market!
If this sounds like an overwhelming process – at 84 Reach, we specialize in helping businesses surpass their goals using digital marketing strategies, and we’d love to help you! Reach out to us today at 84Reach.com for a FREE Business Marketing Plan!
