Defining your target audience

6 replies
Something i believe is crucial to having a successful business. If you can't put your bait in front of the right people then how do you expect to get any results? I have been trying to do my own research lately after many attempted fails at trying to market and advertise products but i seem to come up short every time as I'm not defining my target audience.

I am going to use facebook as an example here for an advertisement as im pretty sure no matter what type of business you have online almost every business uses social media advertising nowadays. Now, let's say i want to sell a product in the weight loss niche and i use the keywords (weight loss) etc well that's not really defining who may be interested in that specific product. It's to broad a keyword. So we have to narrow down and really work out WHO in the weight loss niche would be interested in my product, people who like tread mills, people who like weight loss supplements etc etc.

However, that can be done easily enough because it's a niche that has a lot of interest but let's say i want to market and advertise a desk lamp for example. How does one go about defining your target audience for that product? I am really interested in knowing how to do product research correctly and learning what way you guys really zone in on who may be interested in very specific products. So answer me, if you where to advertise a desk lamp. Who would you advertise to? Also what methods do you use to really narrow down your audience to target to.

Thanks!
#audience #defining #target
Avatar of Unregistered
  • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
    You can't define your target audience until you've defined your target niche. For starters, there's no such thing as "the weight loss niche". Weight loss is a huge and disparate market comprised of countless sub markets and niches. Targeting such a broad and generic market rather than identifying a particular segment of it, is just throwing away your marketing budget.

    If you start by selecting a section of the market, let's say, brides-to-be who are looking to lose weight before their wedding, that will naturally lead you to where you can find your target audience - in this instance future bride forums, Facebook groups, wedding planner sites etc.

    It's the same process with your desk lamp example - first find the niche. Is it home office? Students? New homeowners? People who might have eyesight problems? Define your niche and you'll know where to find your audience.
    Signature


    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11416225].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author boblev
    Frank Donovan advice is solid, but how do you do product research when you don't have any idea who wants it or why?

    Here's a shortcut I use that I call WTF.....


    How does it work? you are going to let the market tell you what it wants by using google suggest.

    The letters are an acronym for With, To and For.

    Hop over to google and type in your main keyword, in this case, desk lamp (add) with

    you'll get a list of auto suggestions

    desk lamp with

    desk lamp with usb port
    desk lamp with outlet
    desk lamp with fan
    desk lamp with usb
    desk lamp with magnifier
    desk lamp with storage
    desk lamp with clamp
    desk lamp with organizer
    desk lamp with usb charging system
    desk lamp with wireless charger

    from this list we can see right away that there are a lot of people looking for desk lamps with usb port and charging capabilities. This tells us WHAT people want but doesn't identify the person behind the search

    Do the same thing with To and For

    desk lamp to

    desk lamp to grow aquarium plants
    desk lamp to reduce eye strain

    These result give me insight into WHY they want it.

    desk lamp for

    desk lamp for college
    desk lamp for plants
    desk lamp for sale
    desk lamp for dorm
    desk lamp for office
    desk lamp for streaming
    desk lamp for studying
    desk lamp for nails
    desk lamp for cubicle
    desk lamp for painting

    This gets closer to WHO wants it, a niche is a group of people.From this list we see office workers, college students, nail salons/manicures,plant growers *cough *cough weed *cough... and the most interesting one is painters (turns out their are a lot of miniature painters that need good lighting)

    Optionally you can do the same thing starting with a, then b, the c to Z

    Tip- look for keywords that indicate a search to solve a specific problem, those phrases are gold. I did a quick run through of the alphabet and also came up with

    desk lamp that doesn't get hot
    desk lamp that mimics sunlight


    This exercise demonstrates why it's important to identify what the market wants before you source any product, sign up for an affiliate program or invest your time in creating and marketing your own product. Identify the demand FIRST and the rest will follow.


    Hope this helps

    Bob
    Signature

    "The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same." Colin R. Davis

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11416289].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Listbuilder1
      Originally Posted by boblev View Post

      Frank Donovan advice is solid, but how do you do product research when you don't have any idea who wants it or why?

      Here's a shortcut I use that I call WTF.....


      How does it work? you are going to let the market tell you what it wants by using google suggest.

      The letters are an acronym for With, To and For.

      Hop over to google and type in your main keyword, in this case, desk lamp (add) with

      you'll get a list of auto suggestions

      desk lamp with

      desk lamp with usb port
      desk lamp with outlet
      desk lamp with fan
      desk lamp with usb
      desk lamp with magnifier
      desk lamp with storage
      desk lamp with clamp
      desk lamp with organizer
      desk lamp with usb charging system
      desk lamp with wireless charger

      from this list we can see right away that there are a lot of people looking for desk lamps with usb port and charging capabilities. This tells us WHAT people want but doesn't identify the person behind the search

      Do the same thing with To and For

      desk lamp to

      desk lamp to grow aquarium plants
      desk lamp to reduce eye strain

      These result give me insight into WHY they want it.

      desk lamp for

      desk lamp for college
      desk lamp for plants
      desk lamp for sale
      desk lamp for dorm
      desk lamp for office
      desk lamp for streaming
      desk lamp for studying
      desk lamp for nails
      desk lamp for cubicle
      desk lamp for painting

      This gets closer to WHO wants it, a niche is a group of people.From this list we see office workers, college students, nail salons/manicures,plant growers *cough *cough weed *cough... and the most interesting one is painters (turns out their are a lot of miniature painters that need good lighting)

      Optionally you can do the same thing starting with a, then b, the c to Z

      Tip- look for keywords that indicate a search to solve a specific problem, those phrases are gold. I did a quick run through of the alphabet and also came up with

      desk lamp that doesn't get hot
      desk lamp that mimics sunlight


      This exercise demonstrates why it's important to identify what the market wants before you source any product, sign up for an affiliate program or invest your time in creating and marketing your own product. Identify the demand FIRST and the rest will follow.


      Hope this helps

      Bob
      This is powerful brother thank you!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11416306].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author savidge4
    I agree that defining your target is important. Kinda like the direction boblev went. But there is something more important... and that's the WHY. Look up " Bias Lighting " and there is now a PAIN.. and the simple little desk lamp is a SOLUTION. Look up something like the 20-20-20 rule.. and you extend the concept from just computer screens to cel phones.

    Students will spend a lot of time looking at screens and need Bias Light. People with your average every day desk job will probably need bias lighting. People working from home will probably need Bias Lighting. Kids that play video games or watch youtube all day NEED Bias Light - I actually sell LED strips that go around TV wall mount for this specific purpose. - I target parents by the way! LOL

    Sometimes digging past the demographics of who, and start looking at the WHY will better define who exactly you should be targeting.
    Signature
    Success is an ACT not an idea
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11416388].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Steve L
    Originally Posted by Listbuilder1 View Post

    However, that can be done easily enough because it's a niche that has a lot of interest but let's say i want to market and advertise a desk lamp for example. How does one go about defining your target audience for that product? I am really interested in knowing how to do product research correctly and learning what way you guys really zone in on who may be interested in very specific products. So answer me, if you where to advertise a desk lamp. Who would you advertise to? Also what methods do you use to really narrow down your audience to target to.

    Thanks!
    Ideally you want your market research to inform your product offering, not the other way around. In other words, only offer a particular audience what they're already known to value and pay for already. Determine this using market research.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11416648].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Originally Posted by Listbuilder1 View Post

    Defining your target audience



    I think you're confusing your terms.


    "Defining your target audience" and "researching your product" are two separate and distinct tasks.


    As Frank mentioned, it's almost always best to begin with the audience you intend to serve without necessarily being fixated on a specific product you plan to market. You don't know yet if that product you have in mind is really going to be the solution to the needs and desires of your audience.


    Steve
    Signature

    Steve Browne, online business strategies, tips, guidance, and resources
    SteveBrowneDirect

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11416860].message }}
Avatar of Unregistered

Trending Topics