Market Analysis - Identify Your Target Markets
May 11, 2016
Market analysis is the foundation of your marketing plan and you need to identify the key prospects and customers for your products/services to be successful in today’s highly competitive global world.
This is perhaps the most difficult thing for any business to do. You have to get this right or everything else falls down from here including your promotional plan.
You need to be specific and you need to narrow your focus to the audience you are trying to sell. Sure everyone might need your products or services, but certain groups will be more likely to buy them. What are their demographics? What are their psycho-graphics? What about their lifestyles? What about their purchasing habits? Where do they buy? Etc. The more information and detail on their characteristics and behavior you have, the better your chances for success.
One way to find out who is likely to buy your product is to look at who has bought it in the past. This applies not only to your products, but your business partner’s products and services as well.
When you’re conducting market analysis and developing a target marketing plan, the question gets down to how finely do you need to target a given market to be effective. The answer depends on revenue potential and whether you can reach and service that market cost effectively.
The number of segments identified in a market is a function of the cost structure of the company, the commonality of demand in the segments for specific products and services, and the number of potential customers in each resulting segment.
Target Market developed from Market Analysis…
Because markets are large and varied, and competition is keen, no organization can serve all customers equally well. The optimal strategy in a competitive market is to concentrate on particular types of customers—market segments—that (1) you have an edge in serving and (2) present an attractive opportunity for your organization.
Dudley Stevenson, founder and CEO of DWS Associates, has over thirty-five years’ experience in consumer marketing, business-to-business marketing, and direct marketing, including developing, planning, and implementing go-to-market strategies. He's also the author of "Marketing Direct: Breaking Through The Clutter." Working with organizations ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies, he and his team have helped clients such as IBM, Sony, Neiman Marcus, Arizona Highways, Marshall Field & Co., Mrs. Field’s, UNICEF, and Patagonia implement successful direct marketing programs. A longtime member of the Direct Marketing Association and the American Marketing Association, Stevenson is also a sought-after speaker. He’s given hundreds of presentations and workshops on marketing and direct marketing. His “Marketing Planning 101” workshop alone has reached more than 100,000 marketing and sales professionals.
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