Target marketing

What is target marketing?The practice of identifying a product’s ideal customer and targeting them to maximisesales

• Geography• Income• Age• Sex• Personal interests…anything universal among the group of customers

Market segments can be defined by:

Customer research

Entrepreneurs need to research their target markets before launching a business

Many don’t, however, and struggle to realise the potential of their product or service

Talking to repeat customers can help businesses identify what traits and habits unite them as a market segment…

They can then use that knowledge to attract more people like them to their product

Researching existing customers

Customer databases

Databases not only help businesses recognise customer segment traits, they can also record buying patterns

These help businesses identify more of their customers’ needs

Finding more ideal customers

Businesses often export or go online with e-commerce websites to gain access to more of the customers their products target

Competitor research

Who are your rivals targeting?Can you do it better than them?

Re-visit unviable markets

Markets are always evolvingWhat wasn’t a viable idea yesterday might be viable today

Adapt to untapped markets

Can you apply your product, service, assets or knowledge in a different way to meet the needs of an entirely new market segment?

Creating a market

Sometimes, an innovative new product isn’t designed with a customer segment in mind

These products can only succeed by creating demand

Business.govt.nz provides free access to a wide range of resources, including tools and interactive content. It acts as a gateway to government and private sector business information, news and services.Next steps:

Find out more with Business.govt.nz:

• Assess the health of your marketing• Business toolbox from Statistics New Zealand• Marketing and sales• Finance and money• Assess your financial health