Understanding your target demographic is a crucial part of the marketing process. The target demographic can be seen as the people who will buy and use your services or products, so understanding this group is vital for marketing activity success.
The target demographic, also called target audience is usually limited to gender, age group and location but it can be more specific though some companies choose to target everyone due to their product or service being generic enough e.g. toothpaste. The target demographic is also called target market; target group, target audience and target public.
What is a target demographic?
Just about every business, or small group of people, that want to target a specific group of customers needs to work out their target demographic. Your target marketing demographic is the type of person you are looking to target with your products or services; basically they’re your target customer. You need to know who they are and what they like so that you can effectively market your product at them.
The target audience is also referred to as target market and target consumer group – basically anyone that wants to buy what you’re selling. They are selected based on a variety of characteristics such as age, gender, socioeconomic status and others. Having target market clearly defined allows you to target ads, produce sales and marketing material that appeals to them and gets them interested.
Most businesses have a range of target markets, but one target market should take priority over others if possible: this is called “core target demographic” or “primary target segment”. Primary target segment takes more attention from you than other segments
Targeting primary target segment allows for a better customer experience. You talk to people who are likely to be interested in your product and target them with marketing materials.
Ideal target audience should share a set of common characteristics or traits (age, gender, income level, hobbies etc.) because they use similar products/services.
For example, if you sell luxury goods like expensive watches and accessories online then target younger professionals who might have already bought something from your business before; it’s easier than trying to target students that don’t have any money to buy luxury products or parents who won’t buy something very expensive for their children without considering other possible options first.
Why you need to work out what your target demographic is
By working out what target demographic you are aiming your marketing efforts at, it is easier to target them. It’s no use spending time and effort pitching a product or service to people who aren’t interested in it. Working out your target demographic can be achieved through surveys, questionnaires etc. This can give you valuable information on the kind of person(s) that you should be targeting!
The advantages of identifying your target demographic are huge. If you target the wrong demographic, your business might fail quickly. You will spend all your marketing dollars talking to the wrong people.
How do you work out your target demographic?
Looking at a demographic in terms of target markets can be really helpful. Your target market is the specific group of customers that you are trying to target with your products or services. Here’s an example:
The first step is obviously working out who your target market is. This may seem easy; however, there are some important questions you should ask yourself before jumping onto social media and telling everyone just who your target market is. Firstly, you should think about where they live. Do they live locally? Regionally? Nationally? Internationally? The more precise location the better if you’re looking for sales, as this means that they will be able to get in contact faster and easier
It’s good idea to figure out why your target audience is going to choose what you have on offer over something else-whether it be a competitor or a different alternative. What is special about your product, service or brand? Why should they choose you over someone else who might have a similar product or target audience?
What are the things that interest them? What sort of TV shows do they like to watch and what kind of music do they listen to? These are some questions that you need to ask yourself when working out your target demographic.
The first step in determining your target market is to sit down and think about who would buy something from an unknown company like yours. Start with what you know. Who buys products like yours where you live now? Is there anyone in a position for them to tell other people about it too? If yes, start by targeting those people.
Then move on from there.
While target audience can be easily identified at the beginning, target market should be reviewed continuously to make sure you’re targeting right people
Tips on finding your target demographic
Use these tips to help you target the appropriate people when marketing your business:
- Target relevant groups e.g. golfers – target businesses who offer products and services related to golf (not just the people playing it).
- Move beyond just gender – target age, income, job title etc.
- Look for evidence of your target demographic e.g. if they are trying a new product in your industry or there is an increase in demand for their services, this can be used as evidence that you need to target them more specifically.
If you do not target your advertising appropriately then it will be very difficult to build up a following for your business; you may even lose potential clients because they feel irrelevant towards what you’re offering them.
To find out more about your target demographic and how to write to them, grab a copy of my copywriting book, POTENT.
