Did you ever have a lemonade stand as a kid? Think back to where it was set up; probably on your street where potential customers would see you. No doubt you had a sign stating that you had lemonade for sale, and the price.  You knew your lemonade stand would probably not do well alongside a rapid transit rail. Seems obvious. But still many companies haven’t identified exactly who it is that they want to market towards. As a result, are wasting their marketing dollars.  Picture yourself standing by the rail track holding up a cup of lemonade and looking hopeful as a speeding commuter train whizzes by.

Here’s an article found at MarketingSource.com with some good advice for determining exactly who your target market is.

++++

Business owners all over have ran into this dilemma at one point or another: “Who is my ideal target market?” We want everyone to be our customer! The reality is that only a piece of the market is actually your target and most profitable. These “target” or “ideal” customers are those who are most likely to purchase your products or services.

First, you have to examine your current customer base and pull out your best customer(s) and study their characteristics. Once you have determined who your best customer are, you are ready to ask yourself a few more important questions that will determine the success of obtaining new “best customers”.

Here are a few questions to ask.

1) What area do they live in? Select certain zip codes that you would like to target. The larger area that you choose will raise your number of potential prospective customers. Ask yourself if you are selecting areas that are convenient for these prospects. If they don’t need to come to see you and you go to them, is it convenient for you to go to them? This will not only help you determine the number of potential customers but will also allow you to make things easier on you as a business person i.e. gas expenses, travel time, convenience etc.

2) Is your target customer male, female or both? Or is it the household income provider?

3) Does age matter? If you are an insurance company, yes! Bank, hair salon, or tattoo parlor, need to know whether certain age groups will be interested in your products or service. Or maybe you want to target parents, grandparents, and children.

4) How much is their income? This is very important for everyone! Remember, if you get stuck on what brackets to choose, remind yourself of the 80/20 rule. Out of the whole 100% of your current customer base only 20% are your best. What income bracket do they lie in? Then, only market to your best customers, not the rest.

5) Are they homeowners or renters? In addition, how long have they been at their current residence? What is their current mortgage rate?

6) Do they have children? If so, how many and again, what is their age group?

7) Do you look for a specific characteristic for their lifestyle? Activities such as shopping, fishing, gambling, etc., can help you identify their needs.

8) What is their profession? This is a good question when marketing towards businesses and trying to reach a specific hierarchy in the company. When you know what person makes the decisions for your specific product or service, you minimize sending your mailings to the wrong person, and reduce the chance that information will get lost in the shuffle.

Once you have determined the answer to these questions you should have a good understanding of who your ideal target market is. The next step is getting in front of them. Put together a direct marketing plan, set goals and expectations. Determine your budget and off you go!

Jennifer Spaeny
Chief Executive Officer
Postcard Planet, Inc.

For more information visit http://www.postcardplanet.com or contact Jennifer Spaeny at jennifer@postcardplanet.com or toll free at 866.427.3623

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.