Target Audience

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Target Audience is a specific group of people a company wants to reach with its products, services, or ads.1

This group has common traits like age, gender, how much money they make, what interests them, where they live, and how they shop. 2

Purpose

The primary purpose of identifying a target audience is to focus marketing and sales efforts on the group of people most likely to convert into customers.3

This focused strategy helps save resources by avoiding those who aren’t interested and ensures that marketing messages really connect with potential buyers.4

Classification

When figuring out who your target audience is, consider these important parts:

  1. Who they are (Demographics): Things like age, whether they’re male or female, how much money they make, if they went to college, if they’re married, and what kind of job they have.
  2. What they like and believe (Psychographics): This covers their hobbies, values, what’s important to them, and how they live their day-to-day life.
  3. Where they live (Geographic Location): Knowing the area your audience is from can help you tailor your approach based on local tastes and habits.
  4. How they shop (Buying Behavior): Understanding how people buy things, including what they’re looking for in products and where they prefer to shop, is key.
  5. What they need (Needs and Preferences): Knowing what problems they want to solve or what needs they’re trying to meet can help you make your product or service more appealing.
  6. Their financial situation (Socioeconomic Status): This involves how much money they make, their education level, and their job, which can affect what they can afford.
  7. Their stage in life (Life Stage): Whether they’re college students, parents, or retirees, for example, can influence what products or services they’re interested in.5

Example

For instance, a publisher of children’s books decides its main customers are parents with kids aged 3-8 who live in cities, care a lot about their child’s learning, and prefer products that are good for the environment.

With this target audience in mind, the publisher picks books that match these interests, crafts marketing messages that speak to these values and chooses places to sell their books where these parents are likely to shop.

This focus leads to more parents paying attention and buying their books, boosting sales.

Related Terms

References:

1. Wikimedia Foundation. (2023a, November 18). Target audience. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_audience

2. Evolution, M. (2022, July 20). How to find your target audience: Marketing evolution. How to Find Your Target Audience | Marketing Evolution. https://www.marketingevolution.com/marketing-essentials/target-audience

3. Waller, T., & Waller, T. (2020). Discovering Your Target Audience. Personal Brand Management: Marketing Human Value, 37-49. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-43744-2_3

4. Digital Marketing Content Creation: Engaging Your Target Audience. (2023). (n.p.): Boost Template LLC. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Digital_Marketing_Content_Creation_Engag/bnHXEAAAQBAJ

5. Defining your target audience: Showcasing with examples. Sender. (2023, November 15). https://www.sender.net/blog/target-audience/

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