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Defining Your Target Market

Written by: Susan Payton

Article Overview: Target market is key to effective marketing. Know who your audience is and how they like to receive messages.

Defining Your Target Market

I want to talk about your target market. First off, do you know what I mean by that?

A target market is the group of people most likely to buy your product or service.

So if you’re a virtual assistant, that target market will likely be solopreneurs, who may work from home, who have trouble doing all their tasks by themselves, who need a little help a few hours a week with administrative work.

If you sell organic cat food, your target market would be people with cats who have a little more money to treat Fluffy to special organic food.

Take a minute to write out who your target market is.

* What type of person is he or she?
* How old is this person?
* What income does he/she make (can be vague like upper/middle/lower class)
* Where does he/she shop?
* Does he/she have to live in a certain area to be an ideal customer for you?

Now for the big question: how does he/she receive his/her marketing messages? Is he/she computer savvy? Then the answer might be social media sites. If your target market is seniors, this might not be the case.

It’s important to understand your target market before you plan your marketing campaign. That way, you know what marketing tools to use to best reach and convert your target market to sales.

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Article Tags: administrative work, cats, marketing campaign, marketing tools, money, organic cat food, organic food, seniors, target market, virtual assistant



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Re: How should i promote a new website? - ignore this message IF it's already been stated. I haven't had a chance to read all the replies and i have to jet from the office... I suggest marketing where ever your Target Market congregates. If it's a forum of concerned parents - go there. Strike up a deal with the forum owner (JV) and have him promote it to the list of members (Integration Marketing). If you want to go with Forums then i would partner with a parent who is a frequent poster/moderator on a particular Target Market Forum and have him/her add your link to their signature. That was just a thought but it's not as intense once you get buy in from the Forum owner or high ranked poster/moderator. Hope that sparks some new ideas.
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Starting a New Business - Congratulations on the first step of deciding to create your own business. First, you have to ascertain if you are going to be selling your products or services to people or to businesses. People purchase products and services for three basic reasons: •To satisfy basic needs •To solve problems •To make themselves feel good. You have to determine which of these three categories your product or service is the solution to. Businesses, unlike individuals, buy products and services for three reasons as well: •To increase revenues •To maintain the status quo •To decrease expenses. Knowing the reasons why people/businesses buy, you should have a picture emerging of who you think your "Target Market" (or ideal customer) is. Once you have zeroed in on your solution, you are ready to create your Marketing Strategy. If you look at any company that has grown rapidly over the past few years, (i.e. WestJet and Starbucks), it should demonstrate to you the importance of Marketing. In simple terms these companies have: •Clearly defined what makes them different; •Who their ideal customer is; •How to reach them; •Why customers should buy from them; •And most importantly why customers should come back again. It is strong Marketing Awareness that singles out the best companies. I can not stress enough how important it is to create a "living" Marketing Plan before you even start. I hope this helps a little in the creation of your plan. All the very best of luck. Remember: "A Goal without a Plan is just a Wish" Miles of Smiles, Marketing Maven
.. - We are the UK Market Leaders.....the first to venture into this on a huge scale. What makes this a success is the simplicity of the product and the price, very affordable to the mass market.


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