If you have started a business or are running a business and are wondering how to improve your sales, a well-defined audience is one of the best ways to achieve this result. Given people’s unlimited access to content, you simply cannot reach every single person in the entire world. But if a small business wants to compete effectively with a larger company or if a larger company wants to improve on what it already does, they should find a specific niche.
What does it mean to find your target audience?
It is important to determine what is meant by a target audience. Many business owners dismiss this definition by simply saying “we target everyone who is interested in our business”, but this is too broad a focus. Targeting a niche does not mean excluding those that do not necessarily fit the criteria. It just means that you adapt your brand message to a specific market that is more likely to get involved in your business.
A tattoo tool supplier, for example, would need to turn to a very niche industry that mostly consists of well-established tattoo artists and shops, but there are always new artists and companies looking for the tattoo machine and high quality accessories, so there are always opportunities to expand their customer base , also for niche markets. Dog trainers, on the other hand, would need to target pet owners, aspiring pet owners, and animal owners in general.
Given how important it is to define your target audience, what steps should you take to do it correctly?
Think about your current clientele
Who are your current customers and why do they buy from you? It is a good idea to try to gather some customer reviews to fully understand this. You should take several reviews into account and find the common denominator that connects them, in order to arrive at what gives the most dividends in your company. If you understand this, you will get a better idea of what it is that attracts people to your company and what you should highlight when you market the company in the future.
Take a look at your competition
It is important not to copy your competitors without really understanding what they are doing, this is because it will have a big impact on how you can change your marketing strategy to make sure you outperform them. By taking into account the actions of your competitors, you can understand who their current customers are and who they are trying to turn to. This way, you can discover an untapped niche market that you have previously overlooked.
Analyze your product or service
Make a comprehensive list of all the features that your products and services offer. Note the benefits that the services provide and why customers will be drawn to its benefits. Once you have listed all this, you know exactly what you have to offer to different demographic groups and you also know which target group you can market yourself to. Although this can still be quite extensive, it is a very effective foundation to build on.
Conclusion
We live in a world where the majority of consumers shop online. This is good for companies because it opens up for potential customers, but it also means that these customers have unlimited access to products and services from around the world. This means that you can no longer market yourself to the masses, but must make sure that you target a much more niche audience that is more inclined to shop from you.
