Defining your market
The more you know about your target customers, the more you can
offer to meet their needs and desires. And the more you can
tailor your marketing and sales strategies - which means, of
course, that you can sell more product.
- Identify your target customers
- Research their lifestyles
- Research their spending habits
Identify your target customers
Your target customers correspond with your USPs. Figure
out who exactly wants your product or service. Consider
gender, age, profession, hobbies, income - a clearer profile will
mean you can meet their needs more precisely. Find out more
about your proposed customers by holding focus groups, speaking to
retailers who deal with the market you're considering and talking
to people who would fall into the target category.
- Target customers correspond with USPs
- Research to back up your assumptions
Research their lifestyles
Where do they live, what do they do for a living, how old are
they, where do they go on holiday, are they married, do they
commute? This will help you tailor your product and
marketing. Get demographics info from your local
council. Think about where they live and how that would
effect distribution of your product.
- Build up as specific a customer profile as you can
- Consider how their location will influence your business
Research their spending habits
Spending habits will be a key decider in how to sell your
product. Do your customers shop online or in person,
impulsively or after lots of research into competitor
products? Do they prefer independent shops or huge
supermarkets? How will they find you? Look at how
similar products are being sold to get a preliminary feel for
consumer habits. Remember to consider less obvious
competitors - online mobile phone top-up sellers are now
competitors to sweet shops because kids spend their pocket money
online and on their phones now.
- Identify customers' spending habits
- Use the information to formulate your sales strategy
- Consider all potential competitors, not just the obvious
ones
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