Know Your Target Market

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Know Your Target Market

Address the Needs of Those You Want to Reach

The terms target market and its companion target audience are often used when talking about an Internet home based business.

What exactly is a target market and why is it important?

Your Audience Makes a Difference

In marketing, a target audience is the primary group of people that your product, service or advertising campaign intends to reach.

Identifying a target audience is different from what is commonly known as mass marketing.

In that broader version of marketing, no specific group is identified. As such, the message must remain fairly general in order to reach a wide range of people.

With target marketing, you set your sights on:

• imparting relevant, quality information

• to a specific group of people

• in order to develop a business relationship

• with interested members of that group.

The Road to Baby Boomers

This website targets baby boomers starting or maintaining a home business. Here are some of the reasons for this choice.

When I was first considering launching my Internet home business, I pondered my target audience.

Who might want what I have to offer?

I could have chosen anyone interested in starting a home business. It is a specific group of people, who could benefit from my products and services. Although it is a large group, with varying problems and interests.

So why did I choose to target baby boomers?

• There are a lot of us

• Unemployment is high

• Retirement funds have dwindled rapidly

• Home based businesses are on the rise

• Baby boomers are searching the Web for solutions

And there is another very important reason that I chose to gear my message for this particular group of people:

I am a baby boomer myself.

Not only am I familiar with the territory, I also care deeply about my audience.

My level of compassion fuels my inspiration, which ignites my entire business.

Not All Markets Are the Same

There is an obvious advantage to being a member of your target group: familiarity.

This can reduce your research and simplify your marketing. However, it is not a necessary component.

Although you do not need to be a member of the group you choose to target, you must have some connection to their wants and needs.

Understand the Territory

In order to know how to address the needs of your target audience, you must:

Enter the conversation that goes on inside their head.

Understand their pain. Know the wants, needs, desires of the people you want to reach. Speak directly to their problems.

Your business will be more fun, more meaningful and most likely more successful if you care about your target market.

Why is that?

A home business involves a lot of research and planning and tweaking and more research and more planning.

If you are excited about what you offer as well as whom you offer it to, the ride can truly be exhilarating. After all, you’re going to spend a lot of your time with your business.

Why not be excited about what you do?

Diving Into A Deep Pool

There are some tricks to choosing your target audience, and you would be wise to do your research.

Your audience needs to be large enough to sustain a business. And yet, not so large that the competition is too high.

Within a large, competitive pool, you must carve out a niche.

You must "brand" yourself, so people know exactly what you offer, and what differentiates you from the crowd.

For example, although my target audience is quite large, the services I offer are not the same as others serving this same group.

My niche is content creation. I'm a writing coach, assisting other baby boomers in unraveling the mysteries of doing business on the Internet. My focus is on all of the writing necessary to support your work on the Web.

Offer something new, or something already out there in a different way.
Draw on your strengths.

A smaller target group works well if the need for your product is high and the competition low.

Do your homework. Ponder you choices. Research your market.

From your short list of viable possibilities, note which feels the best. Then take a little glance inward and figure out why.

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