The target market is the group of people to whom a specific product or service is addressed. When determining the target market, you must take into account some factors that we are going to tell you today.
what is the difference between a potential market and a target market?
Before knowing the main factors, you must differentiate between these two marketing terms: the potential market and the target market.
The potential market is a portion of the total market that has the capacity to buy your product. We talk about potential market because it has the potential to buy it, however, this does not imply that everyone is going to do it, nor that you need to create specific products for them.
On the other hand, the target market is a portion of the potential market, i.e. the segment that you select among those who can buy your product (potential market), to focus your marketing efforts, dissemination strategies, market research for innovation and in general, to offer your products and services.
what factors should you take into account to find out who your target market is?
- geographic: Geographic regions are taken into account when determining which products or services to target and the citizens who reside there. For example, products that target more tropical areas, such as the Caribbean, should be more heat-resistant.
- age: Age is a fundamental factor to take into account due to the changes in consumer preferences throughout their lives. For example, an adolescent may be interested in risky sports and an adult in calmer sports such as swimming. Products will be oriented towards this factor, taking into account these key factors.
- sex: You can also choose to divide the target market by sex in order to target campaigns depending on the item being advertised, for example, in the case of colognes or perfumes.
- educational level: The educational level of your customers can determine not only relevant specifications of the product, but also of the communication. It is not the same to sell a product to an architect, a nurse, a designer or a housewife. The profession and occupation of your customers define aspects such as their interests, their level of demand regarding certain topics and their specific needs.
- socio-economic level: The socio-economic level is an aspect that is not only related to purchasing power, product price or payment conditions, but also takes into account consumer habits, the perception of money for different generations and other cultural aspects specific to the reality of each socio-economic level.
what are the main advantages of defining your target market?
- Optimising resources: Knowing the target market a company is aiming at allows you to select the most appropriate channels to market your products or services .
- Create a more effective service or product: By carrying out prior research, you will have a better knowledge of the demand and you will be able to orientate the offer to satisfy the needs of a specific public.
- Creation of new products or services: Knowing the target market, it will be possible to define and create products that meet their needs. Sometimes these products are produced after knowing the company's target market.
- Knowing the potential demand for the product: Knowing the social, demographic or economic factors, among others, will give a more concrete and clearer idea of the potential demand that exists for the product or service that has been created.
- Marketsegmentation: Your target audience will be perfectly localised in terms of all cultural and consumer characteristics.
2 great examples of target markets
- Lego: When talking about Lego's target market, many people think that it is children, but is it really children? Maybe it is the little ones at home who want to buy all the Lego models, but they do not make the final decision. Therefore, Lego's target market is parents. This has made Lego a very familiar brand and it has managed to extend its audience. Nowadays, it does not only dedicate strategies and messages to children, but also to parents who have similar tastes for collecting figures of the cult characters.
- Vans: The footwear brand has a very well-defined target market and has built its image and personality. This brand defines and responds to the needs of a young audience, but it also covers the needs of an even more specific market: young people who practice the sport of skateboarding. This means that Vans can determine different strategies for its different markets, but in the end it ends up satisfying the lifestyle needs of the group of people it is always targeting.
