We’ve discussed your target audience (A.K.A. your “ideal client”) here, here, and here. But understanding this principle is far from simple. So let’s dive deeper.

What Is a Target Audience?

Here’s the hard truth: you can’t please everyone. Even if you happen to sell something as generic as bottled water, some people will just not be into it.

Identifying and reaching your target audience is about connecting with those people who actually want what you have. Whether you offer a standard service (like HVAC repair) or sell a hyper-specific product (like adult mermaid tails), someone out there is looking for you. All you have to do is find them!

We like to call this group of people the ideal client, the ideal customer, or the target audience. But in the marketing world, you may also hear them referred to as the “target market.” Call them what you want; they won’t care either way.

What’s important is finding a way to define and understand the group you are targeting. After all, around 80% of consumers report they are more likely to buy from a business that offers personalized interactions. To do this, you must first ask a series of questions, like:

• What are the demographics of your target market?
• What do these people value?
• How does your target audience spend their free time?
• What frustrations and challenges do they have?
• How does your product and/or service help the ideal client?

Of course, you can’t answer even the most basic question about your target audience if you don’t know who they are. But identifying your go-to-market comes down to more than just picking a group that sounds about right. 

(Believe us, we wish it were as simple as pointing to a figure in the crowd and shouting, “There’s the one!” That would certainly make our jobs a lot quicker and easier.)

How Do You Identify Your Target Audience?

We’re not here to tell you that the job is tough and send you on your way. If you are willing to do a little leg work, you can identify your target audience and use that knowledge to rake in sales. Here’s how we recommend you get started.

Step One: Consider What You Already Know

Start by looking at the customers you already have. To do this, you might speak with your marketing and sales teams to learn more about the unifying characteristics of your company’s best clients. Do any trends begin to appear?

You might learn that people from a certain geographical area, financial background, or age group are more likely to buy your product than others. This information can be hugely helpful when it’s time to sit down and create a marketing strategy.

From there, we recommend you look closely at the products and/or services you’re offering. You can draw some basic conclusions based on whatever it is you sell. For example, while ToasterTubs’ products are for everyone, they are less likely to sell to people who don’t have the time or money to spend on such a luxury. So, the target audience can likely be narrowed down to higher-income adults who are child-free and/or nearing retirement.

All of these details will serve as a solid stepping stone as you move farther along the path of identifying your target audience. But don’t stop there!

Step Two: Collect Some Data

You can continue to narrow your definition of the target audience by doing some industry research. After all, your company doesn’t exist within a bubble. Even if your niche is highly-specific (we’re looking at you, mermaid tails), there’s bound to be competition on some level. This is why you need to identify those competitors and get a feel for how your product/service could better reach potential clients.

While looking at what your competitors are doing, take note of what they aren’t doing.
Are there any gaps in the industry that your business is (or could soon be) filling? All of this information will help you understand the target market and how you can better serve their needs.

Step Three: Create Some Target Personas

With all of this data in hand, you’ll be ready to get more specific. Creating target personas (or profiles of people who fit within your target audience) will help you visualize who your brand wants to connect with and how to encourage interactions with these types of people. In other words, creating a target persona helps you move beyond data and demographics and onto actual problem-solving.

The best way to do this is by performing customer interviews either in-person or via a survey. Asking and getting answers to the questions we mentioned earlier will help you better understand what is and isn’t important to your target audience. Over time, more than one target persona may seem applicable to your audience. In fact, you’ll likely create multiple personas that represent different aspects of your business’s offerings.