Honing in on a Target Market and Maintaining Focus

When creating your business plan, you may have the perfect idea of how you want to spend your marketing and advertising budget. That being said, it takes more than just a good strategy to reel customers into the idea of purchasing your beading supplies and jewelry designs.

Every entrepreneur needs to develop a target audience in order to make sure that goods and services have direction. While your products might be decent quality and priced appropriately, the bottom line is that not everyone is interested in beading. Your job as an entrepreneur is to find people who are and market your business to them.

Defining a target audience may take some time. There are several demographics and traits to consider. Do you only want to market to women? Which age group do you intend on targeting? There are a few ways that you can narrow down your focus and make it easier for you to put your advertising budget to good use. Understanding the benefits of doing so can keep you motivated as you attempt to centralize your efforts.

The advantages of being focused

There are numerous benefits to having a target audience, one of them being that you will become more familiar with the people you are marketing to--this can help you build lasting relationships with your clients. Nolo.com reports that having a target market can give you a better understanding of how to market to your consumers. Having a focus can allow you to home in in on demands as they change over time.

Knowing your audience also makes it easier for you to decide on which type of voice and tone you can use with your customers. For instance, if your audience is primarily stay-at-home moms, you can have a conversational, lighthearted tone when pitching your products.

Honing in on a target market can ensure you're spending your advertising money wisely as well. If you are attempting to reach out to the general public, you might be spending money on marketing to people who may never gain an interest in your particular product. By knowing who is more likely to accept your advertising and do business with you, you can ensure that your money and efforts aren't going to waste.

The dangers of being unfocused

Inc.com reports that not knowing who you want to market your goods and services to is putting your business at risk of losing money, which can eventually lead to lasting damage.

"The big danger is that without a target market, it's like standing in a park shouting in the wind," Tammy Lenski, a business mediation expert, told the news source. "When you have a target market, it's like standing in a park and talking to a specific group of people."

Many entrepreneurs fear that excluding certain groups of people and favoring others will put them at a disadvantage--why market to a select group of individuals when you can reach out to all of them? The fact of the matter is that attempting to do it all is an unreasonable goal to have and it can come back to haunt you in the form of budget depletion.

Finding the right target audience

There are a few ways to find a group of people that you want to tailor your goods and services to, and the first step is to consider the various demographics. Start by choosing a gender, then an age group. From here, you can ask questions that pertain to your target audience's lifestyle. Do they work full-time jobs? How much money do they typically have to spend? The Association of Fundraising Professionals reports that asking these type of questions can help you narrow down your target audience even further.

Conducting market research

WAHM.com reports that the next step following honing in on a target audience is to do your homework. While you might have a good idea of who will be most interested in your beading, it's important to verify your assumptions through market research.

In order to do this, you might want to consult a marketing firm to host polls and use other tactics to determine how your advertising will fair in the industry. Although this might cost you time and money, doing so can make sure your efforts don't go to waste in the future.

It may seem easy to hone in on a group of people who will be interested in your products and services, but you may be surprised to find which target audience works best for your company. In the end, your efforts will pay off in sales and profit, aiding you in your success as an entrepreneur.