Different groups of consumers want different things. As a business owner, you must target them accordingly. How? Three words: Target Market Segmentation. Mr. Don Anderson, executive chairman of Market Research Services Limited, helps us to understand how to segment your target audience.
Guest:
Don Anderson, Executive Chairman, Market Research Services Limited
Target Market Segmentation
Different groups of consumers want different things. As a business owner, you must target them accordingly. How? Three words: Target Market Segmentation.
Target Market Segmentation, or audience segmentation, is the practice of dividing potential customers into meaningful subgroups based on their characteristics and preferences. Marketing content can then be tailored to these segments, helping to create more efficient marketing strategies. In short, it identifies who your consumers are so you know how to reach them and market to them. Don Anderson, Executive Chairman of Market Research Services Limited, told us how target market segmentation can help small business owners to improve their businesses.
Anderson indicated that gone are the days when business owners blindly target sales to large groups of consumers. As a result of Target Market Segmentation, business owners can be specific about the consumers that they would like to reach.
According to Anderson, the first thing to do is figure out who your market is so you can target advertising, marketing, and sales efforts towards them as opposed to doing so in a scattershot approach.
This is critical for small businesses since they can be limited by the number of resources they have. Therefore, by finding out exactly what segment is most attracted to your product or SERVICE, you can maximize your resources and save money.
Many people may buy from you, but do you know who these people are? What do they like? Where do they live? What is their socio-economic status? Anderson emphasizes the importance of documenting information on consumers.
He uses the example of a small sandals business. He explains that instead of wasting resources on marketing and advertising to a large group of people, you can research and place your consumers in more specific groups. That way you can target them more directly, save money, and see more financial returns. Some segments that can be used to describe consumers include psychographics, geographics, and demographics.
Sample Target Market for Kalilah’s Sandals Ja
Target Group | Demographics | Geographics | Psychographics |
---|---|---|---|
Primary Target Group: Professional Women (Gen Z, Millennials & Gen X) |
Age Group: 25-50 Gender: Female Socio- Economic Status: Middle- High |
Customers located island-wide, with particular focus on those residing outside of the Kingston and St. Andrew metropolitan area. |
Fashion forward Enjoy Comfort Professional |
Secondary Target Group: Young College Women (Generation X) |
Age Group: 16-24 Gender: Female Educational Level: College Students |
Customers located island-wide, with particular focus on those residing outside of the Kingston and St. Andrew metropolitan area. |
Driven Professional Aspirants Fashion Forward |
More and more in the modern market, consumers are demanding personalized experiences from brands. Through information provided in data analytics, business owners can appeal to each group of consumers.
Market research can be instrumental in determining which segments to focus on and what measures to take to meet their needs. Hopefully, you will consider using target market segmentation to learn your consumers and market to them accordingly.