Intro To Marketing Thinking About Target Markets
A target market is the market segment to which a particular product is marketed. Target market is a key concept for your business. The more you know about your target market and how to position your product to sell to that market, the more successful your business will be.
Target Segment Identification
Target segments or markets are often defined by their demographic attributes such as age, gender, geography or income. They are also often grouped by preferences such as trendy, organic, etc. In B2B marketing, target markets are typically defined by industry and business size.
Consumer Markets
Consumer markets can be specific to a part of the globe or can sometimes be global in nature such as Baby Boomers, those people born from about 1946 to about 1959 in World War II affected countries. This huge segment of the population has been defining market trends since their birth and will continue to do so as they age. In most countries, these consumers are generally better educated and more affluent, and are often the consumers of high end merchandise as well as merchandise that creates quality of life.
In western countries, another segment that has recently been gaining notoriety is the ‘tweenies’. These are the aged eight to twelve year olds, no longer children in terms of maturity and taste but not yet teenagers. This sought after group, armed with discretionary income, are the likely segment for those selling electronics and gaming equipment as well as fashion merchandise.
There are also a number of groups that have less household recognition but are very important in the marketplace. One such example is LOHAS. This segment of cosumers who subscribe to Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) is an enormous marketplace ($228.9 billion in the U.S.) for goods and services focused on health, the environment, social justice, personal development and sustainable living. The consumers attracted to this market have also been collectively referred to as Cultural Creatives. Approximately 30 percent of the adults in the U.S., or 50 million people, are currently considered LOHAS Consumers. The interconnections between global economies, cultures, environments, and political systems play a large role in the holistic worldview of the typical LOHAS Consumer, but equally important are the interconnections of mind, body and spirit within individuals.
Business Markets
Business markets have huge variation based on industry, size, location and governance.
The healthcare industry, for example, has enormous needs for products from basic office supplies to sophisticated electronics, software and equipment, linens, personal consumables and so on. Does the notion of serving the healthcare industry seem too daunting to you as an online reseller? Or, is it too large a segment to be meaningful? Try thinking about smaller segments within this industry such as physicians’ offices who buy not only traditional medical supplies but also office furnishings including artwork, paper goods, promotional items, waiting room reading materials, electronics such as pagers and so on.
Manufacturing industries require every manner of tools, specialised and generic parts, machinery and so on. Again, too daunting? Narrow your segment to auto parts manufacturers; narrow again to auto parts manufacturers with revenues of less than GBP 10,000,000.
Who are your target markets? Sports enthusiasts? Travelers? College students? Families with young children? Identify the markets that you sell your services or products to as specifically as possible. The better you know your market, the better you can plan your marketing campaign.
Characteristics of Target Segments
The value of identifying target segments is that they are groups of people with similar points of view and/or similar needs or purchasing patterns. By understanding those segments, you can position your products in the optimal way.
Need
Once a target segment has been identified and described to the extent possible demographically, it is useful to understand that segment’s needs. Are they looking for value and efficiency? Do they need support because they have too much on their plates? Are they analytic and particular and have the finances to support that approach? Are they empty nesters looking for ways to enjoy their new lives? Are they people with a strong devotion to a holistic and spiritual approach to life and are willing to make life changes to operate that way?
Resources
What kind of resources does your target population have? Are they middle income people who want a bargain or want to buy products that look high end but are economically priced? Are they high income people who prefer to surround themselves with one-of-a-kind creations and seek out fine craftsmaship? Are they wholistic folks who prefer to buy natural and organic and will search the Net looking for goods that match their special needs?
Methods of Receiving Information
Where do you find your target segment and how do they receive information? Are they socialising in MySpace or searching eBay for bargains?
Purchasing Behavior
Does your target market purchase frequently? Do they follow sales and buy at a good price or read supporting materials and buy quality? Are they constantly seeking out new sources or do they show purchase loyalty?
The answers to these questions give you the information you need to optimise sales.
Internet Marketing Negative Effects Of Not Managing Time
To become a successful internet marketer you will need to develop certain skills that are key to that success. One of the key skills that you will need to learn and use is time management. Managing your time the right way is a very important aspect of running a healthy online business. The truth of the matter is, if you are not managing your time correctly your internet business may encounter negative effects. In this article you will get to see what some of he negative effects are.
Falling behind in your work. Because there are so many different tasks and operations that have to be done to run a successful internet marketing campaign, from setting up your salespage, to driving targeted traffic to that site and much more. Without the proper management of your time it is easy for any individual to fall behind.
Loss of organization. Poor time manage management can often lead one into major organization problems, Being unorganized can cause you to lose track of what is that you should be doing at a particular time, or place, also loss of valuable and important information pertaining to your business. Wasting valuable time because you have to figure out what you did or didn’t do. Where you left off or where to start. This can be avoided by having a simple daily list of thing you want to do, this is a way to begin to keep track of what you have done and what you need to do.
Becoming overwhelmed. Another negative effect of not managing your time is the ability to become overwhelmed with the many tasks that must be done to operate your internet business. Operating a successful online business has many aspects and can take a lot of time. If you end up spending to much of that time on only one aspect of your business… say, your website graphics, or getting it perfect in your eyes, then you may run into the problem of neglecting other necessary task involved with your businesses success, like getting targeted traffic to that website, or optimizing that website to ensure top page rankings in the search engines. This approach can lead to you finding yourself overwhelmed with a lot of task not implemented or finished.
Playing the catch up game. Now that you have fallen behind, no organization, and having become overwhelmed, you can find yourself in the awkward position of attempting to play the “catch up game”, trying hard to get yourself back in a position where you are in control of what your next task will be, also when and how it will be completed. Playing this catch up game can move a individual to a point where they may even want to give up on their project. My advice to you is to take a little time to think it over, relax, and come up with a workable plan. Giving up will only lead to failure.
Loss of focus. Losing your focus and becoming vulnerable to distractions is another symptom of poor time management. Managing your time correctly should ensure that you have your workday scheduled out. Distractions are bound to pop up during the work day, how you handle them is what is crucial. Keeping focus on those tasks that you have scheduled out for your work day will help you resist the urges to fall prey to any distraction that may surface.
Because most internet marketers start their businesses from home it is easy for many distractions to pop up. I found it a very good idea to make sure that individuals in my life know when my work hours are and that during this time I do not want to be disturbed unless necessary. This works well because these are people pulling for your success also. Limit phone calls to business calls during your work hours. The important thing is you need to get the distraction time under control and to a minimum.
Loss of potential income. Now we come to the bottom line, that is that “time is money” especially when you are in your own internet marketing business. If you are wasting time and not getting the needed tasks done to promote your business the right way, you will not make money. Improper time management can lead to loss of income and eventual internet business failure.
I have made this list of negative effects to impress on the reader the importance of proper time management in their home online businesses. By incorporating a good work schedule for your daily work projects and task, you can avoid the negative effects mentioned above and help ensure a more positive result in your internet marketing efforts because of your time well spent.
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