All good businesses start off with two things: the right product (or service) and the right market. You might believe plenty in the strength of your product, but how do you know that you’ve found the right group of people to sell it to? Here, we’re going to look at some of the fundamentals to nailing your target market and just why it’s so important to your business’s success in the first place.
Who is your customer?
The first thing you need to start off with is identifying your target market. You want to do your research to find out what kind of person or entity is likely to purchase your products, be they consumers, industry members, or resellers. Find out why they want to buy your product and segment your market by researching the people within it. From there, you can create a customer profile that helps you get a better idea of who you should be trying to sell to, how to market to them, and what specific aspects of their lifestyle your product could potentially apply to.
Where are they?
One aspect of your target market that you should be keenly aware of is where they are situated. A great product might not have as much domestic appeal as you would think. If you were looking into selling fermented beverages, for instance, then looking at the global beverage industry statistics could help you get a better idea of where you should be trying to export and deliver your products to. In some cases, it might even be worth moving your business overseas, entirely.
Local location matters too
You can look at the statistics to help you narrow down whether or not your product will have the consumer base it needs on a global, national, and regional level, but if you’re running any kind of face-to-face survive or brick and mortar business, you need to focus on the local scale, as well. Your local infrastructure can affect a wide range of things, including your access to customers as well as the costs associated with your supply chain, both well worth keeping in mind.
Don’t forget the competition
No matter what market you’re targeting and no matter what location they are in, you have to take the time to make sure you know the players already in the market. Competition research is all about learning what other companies are providing the same products or services as you (or comparable ones at least), and how much of a share of the market they have. If it’s a competitive market, you might want to look at areas where there is less competition or work to find a niche in your business model that helps set you apart.
The stronger the market you find and the better an entrance you can make into it, the easier it can be to get the number of customers necessary to help you springboard your way to growth. Keep the above tips in mind as you look at where you’re going to market your product.
