Target Market Guide: How to Define Your Target Market

A target market is a group of people that share common characteristics. Marketers group these market segments based on psychographic and demographic information such as, age, gender, race, income, family size, marital status, political views, personal values, hobbies, and attitudes toward current trends. Individuals within a target market share similar characteristics, making them receptive to marketing messages that address the desires and pain points of their particular subset. Business owners use a targeted [marketing](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-market-a-new-product) strategy to optimize advertising campaigns. A marketer's goal is to reach the maximum number of potential customers in a single round of messaging. If marketers can advertise directly to target customers and not waste resources on the rest of the population, they can increase their conversion rates. Thus, when a new product comes to market, businesses develop a marketing plan that focuses on an ideal customer with the goal of capturing market share. By conducting careful [market research](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-conduct-market-research), retailers and manufacturers can understand the exact type of person who would pay for their products and services. They can then tailor their advertising to reach that specific group of consumers in niche markets and develop a pricing model that meets these consumers where they are. In order to understand your target market, you must begin by understanding the product itself. 1. __Clearly identify what it is you're marketing__. A quality product or service is central to your [marketing mix](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-use-the-4-ps-of-the-marketing-mix-to-sell-a-product). If your business sells multiple types of products, you may need to narrow the scope of your marking to focus on one product or line of products. 2. __Articulate how your product meets customer needs__. Your product should clearly serve specific customer needs, so make sure you can articulate what those needs are and how your product or service uniquely meets them. 3. __Consider where the product will be sold__. This step requires envisioning the physical environment or online e-commerce market where a product or service is available to customers. It also includes the delivery method used to get a product to your customers. Marketers evaluate the potential customers in their target market to decide what sort of retail business or Internet platform they are most likely to shop at. 4. __Learn from your current customers__. Established businesses have an existing customer base. Evaluate customer information from your [CRM database](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/crm-databases) alongside market research, and apply what you learn to the next product or service you launch. 5. __Study your rivals__. If a rival company is already marketing a similar product, take note of who they seem to be marketing to and where they're trying to reach them. Get the [MasterClass Annual Membership](https://www.masterclass.com/) for exclusive access to video lessons taught by business luminaries, including Sara Blakely, Chris Voss, Robin Roberts, Bob Iger, Howard Schultz, Anna Wintour, and more. For both small businesses and large corporations, successful marketing efforts identify a specific group of customers as a target market.