Market Segmentation

How is it that a target market, let alone audience, is determined? It takes time studying, researching, and developing an understanding for a like-minded (Or even culturally) group of people. While there are target audiences and target markets it can also help in knowing the difference. A target market is the intended group of potential consumers to receive the marketing message. While the target audience is the expected group of individuals to purchase the product, within the target market group. It’s like hitting the target at any point and hitting the bullseye directly.

Market segmentation is the steps taken to divide and determine a group of potential consumers (Track Maven. n.d.). They are generally separated into groups of common traits such as demographics, ethnographic, interests, location and the list continues. However, in determining the perfect audience for your product or service there are endless possibilities that can be used. A common place to start is by creating a ‘customer profile’ of who is most likely to buy your product. In creating a customer identity it allows a foundation of your target audience to be discovered and then utilizing research to fine tune the details (Ben Sailer, 2016). For instance, in creating a customer identity start with the desired age group, gender, and possible income level needed to afford your product. Later, with research, the details such as race/culture, psychographics, interests, and locations can begin to fill in the gaps. A tool that can be used in finding this data is Google Analytics. This tool can provide an analysis of the company’s website in comparison to the customer segmentation tool to give insights to better marketing and business decision tips (Live Chat Agent, 2018).

Although, there are tools out there that can help in the refining process. Do some competitive edge research. This allows for a ‘fact check’ option in comparing a business to its already established competitors consumers. A way to help differentiate the business from the competitors could be to find the gap in why consumers need your product/service over your competitor (Gates Digital Consultancy, 2019). While the consumers may not be the exact same they could be synonymous with slight differences. NG Data is an excellent tool in finding and comparing data to see if the product and marketing are meeting the market’s needs. Utilizing data, like NG Data’s tools, allows a clear understanding in how the business is moving with the consumers. Lastly, this tool also offers a library of pre-determined (with data) consumer markets and a list of segmented market information along with suggestions on markets based on the company and its products (NG Data, n.d.)With both of these tools they can give a head start in right direction to determining the market segmentation for your business.

References:

Gates Digital Consultancy. (2019, March 20). 5 Ways to Refine Your Target Audience. Retrieved from Gates Digital Consultancy: https://www.gatesdigitalconsultancy.com/single-post/5-Ways-To-Refine-Your-Target-Audience

Live Chat Agent. (2018, January 22). The Best Customer Segmentation Tools for A Fruitful Marketing Campaign Retrieved from The Medium: https://medium.com/@aqusaglivechatagent/the-best-customer-segmentation-tools-for-a-fruitful-marketing-campaign-8c26ec7ea86f

NG Data. (n.d.). Customer Segmentation Tools Retrieved from NG Data: https://www.ngdata.com/dictionary/customer-segmentation-tools/

Sailer, B. (2016, August 1). How To Find Your Target Audience And Create The Best Content That Connects. Retrieved from CoSchedule Blog: https://coschedule.com/blog/how-to-find-your-target-audience/

Track Maven. (n.d.). Market Segmentation. Retrieved from Track Maven: https://trackmaven.com/marketing-dictionary/market-segmentation/#:~:text=Market%20segmentation%20is%20the%20process,interests%2C%20needs%2C%20or%20locations.