Defining Your Target Market
Defining your audience as “young and alternative individuals between the age of 18 and 40” is just not going to cut it if you are serious about your company. When defining your niche market you MUST dig a little deeper, keep away from being too general.
A target market is easily defined as a set of consumers at which your product is aimed. They share similar needs and characteristics that your brand will hope to serve. They are the people that are most likely to buy your specific clothes.
When you target a specific audience
You are not excluding customers who do not fit your criteria but rather concentrating on consumers that are more likely to buy your range. You are choosing to focus on where to spend your marketing money and brand message to reach your most likely customers. With a well-defined target audience, it is easier to determine where and how to market your range.
When gathering info on your market, there is no right or wrong way. Just make sure you gather as much data as possible. You could choose the informal way of asking friends, family and anyone else willing to help you out or you could send out email questionnaires, use Survey Monkey and other services tailored for this need. You can even surf the internet to see if the information you are looking for is available already!
Next,
try to narrow down a description of your model customer. Focus on:
Demographics (age, gender, occupation, income, family status)
Lifestyle (location, leisure activities, travel, hobbies)
Psychographics (personality, attitudes, values, behavior, interests)
Buying habits (online/retail, features they look for, impulse buyer)
Once you’ve gathered as much info as you possibly can, you’ll see patterns and similarities developing and it’s very important to consider the following:
Whether your target market will see a need for your product.
If they can afford your services.
Are there enough people who fit your criteria?
Are they reachable/easily accessible?
When you’ve done your research and defined your target market it will simplify which resources you could use to reach them.
You will have more clarity on processes such as product development, marketing, and your overall business decisions. You will have the insight into what works and what needs tweaking and be able to focus on selling what people want to buy.