The biggest mistake made by entrepreneurs especially first time entrepreneurs is not having a target market.
Why do you need a target market? Well, you can’t please everybody. So you choose a group of people with similar behavior patterns and cater your product or service to their needs.
If you are short of ideas on how to choose a target market, follow some of the common sense ideas in the coming paragraphs.
1. Take a good look at your family and friends
Your family members can be a great source for target market ideas. Watch members of your family and friends and see what products or services they use.
Find similar people like your family and friends, for example the members of the book club your aunt Sally goes to, or the night club your cousin Bobby goes to or the laughing club your uncle John goes to and ala you have 4 different target markets to choose from.
2. Yourself
Yes, you are your own target market. Just look at who you are and find people just like you.
All you need to do is make a list of products or services that you have purchased in the last 3 months and find people who have purchased similar products and there you go, you have your target market.
3. Your neighborhood
Look at the people in the 2 mile radius around the place where you live, go for a walk in the evenings or even better get to know them.
Observe the products and services they use on a regular basis. You’d be surprised that many of them have such good buying power and you’ll see them using variety of products and services that you never thought of.
Categorize them into similar groups and there you go another set of target markets.
These are just some ideas. If you dig into your own life, you will find several groups of people who have needs to be fulfilled or problems to be solved. Your hobby club, your school, your baseball team are all groups who have needs they want fulfilled. You’ll need to figure out if they are large enough to support your business.
Vinil Ramdev is a success coach and an entrepreneur who helps business owners achieve their goals. You may subscribe to his newsletter “Commit To Success in Business and Life” (www.committosuccess.com) where you receive articles by email on business and business success.
Tags
Target market, buying power, behavior patterns
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