Your target market is the group of people that want, need and can afford your services and products.  They are the ones who are most likely to buy your services and products. Within that target market is your ideal client.

A common misconception that some of my newer clients have before they master marketing, is thinking that the whole world is their market.  Sometimes they are so afraid of losing out on business or they need business so badly, that they try to reach everyone with their marketing message. Unfortunately trying to reach everyone with the same message doesn’t work.

Identifying your target market is not going to drive away clients who don’t fit your target. It’s just going to reduce the amount of time you spend with the tire kickers.

Trying to reach out to everyone is kind of like throwing a gigantic net in the water to catch fish, without figuring out which fish you want to catch. Since your net is not targeted to be just the right size to catch the fish you want, you don’t know what you will end up with. The same thing happens with your marketing. If you don’t know who your target market is, your message isn’t targeting anyone and you might not end up with any clients at all.

However, when you have a very clear target market you can customize your message. A customized message can be so clear that it PULLS your target market and your ideal clients to you by addressing their very specific problems, issues, needs and wants.

Here are a few more ways you will benefit from identifying your target market:

I spend a lot of time talking about needing to know what you WANT from your business. Identifying your target market is an offshoot of this. By identifying your target market, your becoming clearer about what you WANT from your business, which makes growth and success easier.

Knowing your target market also allows you to make projections about your business. It allows you to change course as needed and address current events. For example coaches like myself, that deal with businesses can focus on how current event issues are affecting our target market.

Having a clear target market will allow you to build a relationship and leverage the Know, Like and Trust Factor. You need to know WHO your target clients are to build a relationship with them. How could you build a relationship and meet the needs of someone you don’t know anything about?

Identifying a target market will also allow you to decide if your market is viable. In other words, can your business survive on this target market? If not, you can adjust your target market and niche to something that is viable.

You can’t be all things to all people.

The more you know about your potential clients, the easier it is to build a relationship with them, understand their problems, wants and needs. Knowing your target market is an important step of your business success.

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