target market examples Archives

Need a new target market strategy for your small business?

I have helped a lot of small businesses and one thing I always encourage, is to think of all the potential markets for your products.

So, if you have been predominately selling your products and services to the consumer or end user, why not expand into the business market as well (and I don’t mean wholesale).

For example, let’s say you sell artwork. Are you strictly focused on selling to people who want art in their homes? What about businesses that want art? Do you know how often the phrase, “Dental Office Art” is Googled?

New Target Markets for Home Goods

Small, boutique hotels/motels
Spas, hairstylists, health clubs, yoga studios
Retail shops
Restaurants
Professionals – doctors office, dental offices, real estate agents, attorneys, banks, etc.
Daycares, private schools
Interior decorators/designers

New Target Markets for Jewelry and Fashion

Stylists
Costume designers
Photographers (need props)

New Target Markets for Pet Products

Groomers
Trainers
Dog Walkers
Pet Sitters/Hotels
Veterinarians

New Target Markets for Wedding Products

Wedding planners
Wedding venues
Hotels and inns
Caterers
Hairstylists

New Target Markets for Vintage Goods

Costume designers
Set designers
Museums
Historical attractions

New Target Markets for Kids Products

Teachers
Daycares & private schools
Party venues
Baby and kids photographers
Mommy classes

Ways To Make Your Products More Enticing to Businesses

Offer discounts for certain professionals
Offer volume discounts, encouraging them to buy more
Offer free customization
Offer superior customer service and many ways to contact you
Offer free publicity for their business (with a mention on your website, blog)

The benefits of targeting the business market is that you will likely get more volume orders, get repeat business, not to mention great exposure to end users (if your products are labelled correctly).

FINAL WORD: Don’t get hung up on selling to just the end user. The business market is still a huge opportunity, especially your local business market.

Be Sure to Check Out

If you need target market examples because the concept confuses you, I’m here to help.

Your target market is the group of people who are most likely to buy your products and/or services. It is one of the first things you must identify before you can do any type of marketing.

Why is it important to know who is most likely to buy from you? Well, you can’t find them if you don’t know who and where they are.

Your Target Market Q&A

Gender – Are your products for male, female or both?
Age – You just need a range. For example, if you are selling wedding products, the age range is probably 23 to 33, for the most part. If you are selling orthopedic shoes, then probably an age range of 60+.
Income – For example, are you selling luxury products? Then you need to target buyers in the higher income range.
Business or End User – Are you selling products that another business would want, such as graphic design services or business cards? This means you are selling business to business or B2B. Or are you targeting the end consumer? Maybe you sell art, which you think is mostly for the home or consumer/end user, but businesses look for art for their offices as well. In this case, you can have two target markets or niches.
Primary Buyer – Is the buyer of the product not the user? For example, if you sell baby products, obviously you are selling to the parents, not to the baby.
Location – Is this a product only of interest to someone in a certain city or country? For example, you have a product with the Union Jack flag on it. Would someone outside of the U.K. still be interested?
Needs – What are the current needs of your target market? Is it someone who is getting married, having a baby, starting a business, going to college, buying a new home, etc.

There are other factors you can consider as well, depending on what you sell, such as your target market’s style (traditional, modern, etc.), ethnicity, education level and so forth.

Target Market Examples

Let’s say you are selling inexpensive women’s fashion jewelry online, and you only ship to the United States.

Then your primary target market is likely women ages 17 to 35, with a lower income range say under $50,000 a year, living in the US.

Once you have identified your primary target market, go back over this list and identify possible secondary markets.

So the secondary target market for the example above could people who might buy your jewelry as a gift for someone. This buyer could be both men and women, still in a lower income range and they could be living anywhere if they arrange for the item to ship directly to the recipient.

Still another secondary market could be a fashion stylist, who is buying your jewelry for their clients. Again, could be both men and women, a possibly higher income range and they would be living in the US.

Once you have identified your primary and secondary target markets, now you have to go and find where they are and what makes them buy. I always recommend asking friends, family and colleagues who fit the description of your target market. It should NOT be guess work.

You want to ask your target market what they read, watch they watch, where they shop, what social media sites they are on, what they are influenced by, how much they spend in a year on your type of products – the questions are endless but the more you know about your target market, the more effective your marketing efforts will be.

If you want to make it easier on yourself, download my 96-page Marketing Planner as there is an entire section dedicated to finding your target market.

It is impossible to market your business effectively if you do not know who you are selling to. Make that your first priority to determine who wants your products and/or services, and everything else should work around that.