Page 57 - SpectrumOctober2018

Target Marketing

How to define your

target market

3 steps to finding the best customers for your business

Defining your target market will help you choose who you “Ask yourself which customers are best for your business,”
want to serve, know who your best customers are and Kazim suggests. “Is there a certain kind you want more of?
organize your efforts to win more of them. Or less of? Is there a customer you’d like that you’re not
getting today?”
“You pay your sales team to knock on doors,” says BDC
Senior Business Advisor Mallika Kazim, “so you want to 2. Understand what makes them tick
make sure they’re the right doors.” Once you have a sense of the kinds of customers you’re
serving—or want to serve—gather more information about
Kazim recommends these three steps to define and reach who they are and what they need.
your ideal target market.
This can include purchasing behaviours, demographics,
1. Know who you’re serving today social values, media consumption habits and more. Your
Theoretically, companies develop a business plan and experience with existing customers will give you some of
identify target customers before going to market. But the this information. So will your sales and customer services
real world doesn’t usually work that way. employees.

“Frontline staff interact regularly with customers and know
them well,” Kazim explains. “They have a good idea of who
is buying your product or service, whether they come in
with their family or alone, or how long they spend in the
store. Any of that can be useful.”

She also says talking to your customers directly, conducting
customer surveys and watching what they say on social
media are all good ways to gain insights.

"A lot of businesses think about

their customers in terms of how
much they spend, but that doesn’t
“Most people put out a product and see who buys it,” says
Kazim. “It’s usually organic. So most businesses are already tell you why they’re buying from
up and running when they decide to get clearer about the
customers they want to serve.” you—which makes it hard to know
how to target them effectively.
Kazim says this is actually good news, because it means
you already have some information about your customers Get beyond thinking just about
and their behaviours. If you have a storefront, for example, transactional behaviour."
you may have daily regulars, occasional repeat customers
and random drop-ins. Mallika Kazim, BDC Senior Business Advisor

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Fall 2018