Understanding Your Target Market
· Red are instructions & Blue are questions & your answers and headings will be in black
· When you’re done erase the red & print only the blue and black on one piece of paper (may need to shrink font)
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No business can be all things to all people. Instead, you must reach specific customers and satisfy their particular needs. As an entrepreneur, you must identify those customers and understand as precisely as possible what they want.
The process of finding and studying potential customers for your venture doesn’t have to be complex or expensive, but it is extremely important. In a nutshell, it requires you to find out everything you can about the customers whom you intend to pursue. Once you have that information, you’ll have a much better chance of capturing those customers for your business.
The facts you need to know about your target market fall into these three categories:
1. Demographics
2. Geographic and lifestyle factors
3. Customer needs
Briefly describe/define what each category means:
1. Demographics:
2. Geographic and lifestyle factors:
3. Customer needs:
HELP: You may use the: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page or www.dictionary.com for help finding descriptions and definitions
DEMOGRAPHICS of My IDEAL TARGET MARKET
Begin your research by checking the demographics of the region that you plan to target. You’ll want to know the population’s make-up in terms of age, gender, income level, occupation, education, and family circumstances i.e. married, single, retired, and so on.
1. Race (ethnicity):
2. Age:
3. Income (yearly or hourly amount &/or lower, middle, or upper class):
4. Disabilities:
5. Mobility (travel time to work, # of vehicles they own):
6. Educational Attainment (how far they got in school):
7. Employment Status (if, where, & how much they work):
8. Location (where they live):
Geographic and lifestyle factors
Give some thought to where and how your target customers live. Are they Southerners or Yankees; urbanites, suburban soccer moms, or country folk? Are they risk-takers or conservative, athletes or couch potatoes, spenders or savers? The answers will help determine what you can sell to them, how you should sell it, and at what price.
1. Where do the people in your target market live? (in the sate? The country? The whole world? The city? The suburbs? The country? Etc.)
2. Are they risk takers or conservatives?
3. Are they athletic or couch potatoes?
4. Are they spenders or savers?
5. What does your ideal customer (target market) do for fun?
6. What kind of music might they listen to?
7. What kind of activities might they do on a day off?
Customer needs
Consider all of the reasons why people might purchase your product or service. For example, if you’re opening a string of health clubs, will your customers come to meet other people, to take exercise classes, or to play racquet sports with their friends? Find out by talking to people in the local fitness industry and by quizzing friends or acquaintances who go to health clubs. Then you can design and market your club accordingly.
Once you’ve considered the key demographic factors, you can begin to assemble a customer profile — a more focused statement that describes your target market in detail. Consult that profile when you make decisions about issues such as what products and services to offer or advertise, how much to charge for various products, and expansion plans.
Write a short paragraph describing all the reasons why people might purchase your product or service (be specific):
1. WHY PEOPLE MIGHT PURCHASE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE (specifics):
Now write a paragraph describing your “perfect customer” in detail. This is a small description of what your ideal customer would be like. You can include things like age, favorite music, favorite brands, hobbies, etc. The more specific the better.
2. CUSTOMER PROFILE (paint a picture with words of your ideal customer):