A target market is a well-defined collection of consumers or businesses that are most likely interested in your product or service. By “targeting” your offerings to these groups, you are maximizing the potential response to your mail out. To create your target market is to simply define your customer with 3 basic characteristics: demographics, psychographics, and geographics.

Demographics – this is basic consumer information that includes gender, age, income level, marital status, employment and cultural background. If you market to businesses then determine the industries and companies that would gain the most benefit from your product or service.

Psychographics – these are qualities that define a consumer’s behavioral and emotional side which generally guides their lifestyle. Ask yourself: Why does my customer buy from me? Why doesn’t my customer buy from me? What is it about my product or service that satisfies or disappoints my customer? Also ask: What do my customers like to do? Do they like the outdoors or are they home bodies? Do they or do they not have children? (major lifestyle determining factor).

Geographics – these qualities define the locations where your target market predominantly works or resides. These include countries, states, cities, towns and zip codes.

Additional questions to ask that will further define your target audience:

• What is a typical day like for my target customer?
• When do they buy? Day or evening? Summer or winter? Etc.
• Why do they go to my competitor?
• Why do you get referred to others? Why not?
• What is their greatest fear about purchasing products or services in your industry?

By gathering this information, you have generated a much clearer picture about who your best prospects are, what they are like, and where they can be found. All of this information will be used to determine what colors, graphics, photos, illustrations, promotion copy and support copy should be used in your sales literature.