Name:
NewVenture Activity 5c
Target Market
Identify characteristics of my target market.
Directions
Use Activity 2a Customer Profile Worksheet and prior research on your market and
competitors to determine your market segments and target market for start-up by
following the steps below. If you need additional research, you may wish to interview
potential customers.
Step 1 Brainstorm potential market segments. Brainstorm a list of potential market
segments for your product or service. Use your research about the competition to help
determine which segments have unmet needs or problems relevant to your product or
service. Write your answers below.
Potential Market Segments
EXAMPLE
Electrical contracting — The market segments I have identified are based upon the type
of work performed, which is a demographic criterion: commercial construction,
residential construction, remodeling, and repairs.
Market segments for my business could be:
I have chosen these market segments based on:
© 2005 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
FastTrac® NewVenture™
Activity 5c
Page 1 of 3
Step 2 Identify key characteristics of each market segment related to your
product or service. On the chart below, list the market segments you identified above
in the left-hand column. Across the top, list the major features or benefits of your
product or service. You may want to review the Reality Check Features and Benefits in
Module 4, p. 140. Then check each feature or benefit that is most valuable to each
market segment to determine which segment is your most likely target market. See the
example of the golf ball manufacturer on p. 187 for an example.
Features and Benefits
Market
Segments
Segment 1
Segment 2
Segment 3
Segment 4
Step 3 Select a target market. Which of your market segments in Step 2 appears to be
the best fit for your product or service? Using this segment, choose a target market. You
may choose this target market because its members are easy to identify, it is easy to
enter, it offers a significant profit potential, or competitors have identifiable weaknesses.
Target Market
EXAMPLE
My target market is the owners of commercial construction companies who will use an
electrical subcontractor to build new homes. I have chosen this market because I can
create a list of construction company owners who are members of my building industry
association and who are known to my fellow subcontractors in other trades.
My target market is:
© 2005 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
FastTrac® NewVenture™
Activity 5c
Page 2 of 3
I have chosen this market because:
© 2005 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
FastTrac® NewVenture™
Activity 5c
Page 3 of 3