How to Reach Your Target Market --Target Audience

Ways You Can Reach Your Target Market -- Target Audience

Starting a business is challenging enough, but finding and reaching your target market/s or audiences can be even more of a hurdle. Firstly you need to decide who your target audience or target market is, then you need to work out how you will reach them!

Here are a few things to consider when finding out who your target market is: and how you can go about reaching them:

The first question you need to ask yourself is; Are you targeting a local, regional or national market/s. When you have decided the kind of market yuou are going to target is when you can look at other things like your Business Plan, what and who your competition is. You should also put into the age group you are targeting for it will help you in knowing the kind of marketing plan to use. You should also put into consideration where your target audience shop and the kind of media they have access to; is it magazine/newspapers, television or internet?

Other things you need to think about is the kind of service or product you are going to offer to your audience and is it a seasonal product/service or its long term? You should also put into consideration the kind of budget you have in mind for the marketing plan; How you plan on reaching your target audience. Is it through the internet, through print media, through radio adverts, printed adverts and so on.

Finding and reaching your target audience or target market can be done on a shoestring budget so long as you undertake some research. Find out where your market is and what they respond to, do this and half the battle will have been won.

Reaching your target market is the second thing you should do after finding out about them. Here are some 5 KEY Steps you should follow to achieve success.

1. Undertake market research, use both primary and secondary research, find out what they read, watch and listen to.

2. Collate your market research results, then test out and trial your business, its products and services on a small sample of your target market. Find out what works and what doesn't.

3. Find out prices and so on for all the types of media your target audience use and take notice of, draw up a budget and timescale for the channels, methods of marketing and advertising you will use to reach your target market.

4. Create a marketing plan and a marketing plan for your business, products and services, will you launch everything all at the same time, or will you drip feed products and services to your target market? All of this should and must be considered to enable you to come up with a workable marketing plan and budget.

5. Decide how you will measure your success and results, how will you find out what has been successful and what has not.

Author: L J Pearce