TARGET MARKET
Finding those interested in your product/service
and willing and able to pay for it.
Ex: You sell real estate.
1. Specifically what are you selling; say,
new moderately priced condominiums.
2. Your target market would be middle-class
individuals who are either just starting off or
elderly and looking to downsize.
MARKETING CONCEPT
Find out what customers want and need
 Offer products that are better than others
 Make a profit

DEMOGRAPHICS
Age
 Marital Status
 Family Size
 Ethnicity
 Gender
 Profession
 Education
 Income

PSYCHOGRAPHICS
What they like
 Opinions
 Personality
 Lifestyle Habits

IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET
MARKET
1. Who are my customers: individuals or
companies?
2. If customers are individuals:
How old are they?
How much money do they earn?
Where do they live?
How do they spend their time and money?
3. If customers are companies:
What industries are they in?
Where are those industries located?
continued
IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET
MARKET
4. What needs or wants will my product or service
satisfy?
5. How many potential customers live in the area in
which I want to operate?
6. Where do these potential customers currently buy the
products or services I want to sell them?
7. What price are they willing to pay for my products or
services?
8. What can I do for my customers that other companies
are not already doing for them?
CUSTOMER PROFILE
Identifying the types of individuals or companies
that would be interested in your product/service.
Ex: Customer Profile for Rave
 Females
 Ages 13-21
 Lives near Merrillville
 Wants trendy clothing
 Interested in reasonable prices
 Average household income of $40,000/year
Market Segments

Smaller sections of a market

For example: Sporting Goods
 Skating
 Tennis
 Golf
 Soccer
 Volleyball
 Track/Running
 Bowling
Secondary Market Research Data
Items found in published sources
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US Census Bureau
SBA
Chamber of Commerce
Specific Industry Books
Internet
Specialized Magazines
Newspapers
Primary Market Research Data

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Questionnaires/Surveys
Observation—Say you want to open a
bicycle/roller blade/skateboard shop, you may
want to go to the local parks and count how
many people are doing those activities to give
you an idea of possible customers
Focus Groups—Small groups that would answer
the same types of questions as on a survey,
however, you would be able to get more
information since you’re interviewing them
personally.
PRIMARY MARKET RESEARCH
How Do You Do It?

What are you trying to find out? Be
specific and detailed
PRIMARY MARKET RESEARCH
How Do You Do It?

How will you get the answers you’re
looking for?
– Survey –Things to think about
 How long should it be
 What questions should be on it
 How should you give it
 How many people should you give it to
PRIMARY MARKET RESEARCH
How Do You Do It?

How will you get the answers you’re
looking for?
– Observation
 Where can you get the best info
 When can you get the best info
PRIMARY MARKET RESEARCH
How Do You Do It?

How will you get the answers you’re
looking for?
– Focus Group
 What kinds of people do you want in group
 What questions to ask
PRIMARY MARKET RESEARCH
How Do You Do It?

Collecting the Information You’re Looking
for
– Secondary data first to help you decide
exactly what kinds of primary data you may
want
 Demographic
 Psychographic
 Economic Trends
 Industry Forecasts
PRIMARY MARKET RESEARCH
How Do You Do It?

Figure out and write down what the
information you got means for your
business
PRIMARY MARKET RESEARCH
How Do You Do It?

Decide how you will use the information
you just got (draw conclusions)
– Develop a plan that will include the
information learned so your business can be
profitable
TYPES OF COMPETITION
Direct Competition—Businesses that make
all or most of their money by selling similar
products/services as yours
Indirect Competition—Businesses that
make only a small part of their money by
selling similar products/services as yours
Ex: Your business sells adult ladies
clothing—a direct competitor would be
Fashion Bug; an indirect competitor would
be JC Penney
TOUGH TO COMPETE WITH
LARGE BUSINESSES—WHY?
More items in stock
Don’t really too much on any one
product/service
More money for advertising
ANALYZE ALL COMPETITORS
Price—How are their prices compared to
yours
Location—Where are they located; close to
you?
Nice Facility—Clean, Looks good
Strengths—What do they do that makes
them different and/or better than others?
Weaknesses—What things are not so good
about them or their products/services?
Strategy—Develop plan to get customers
to your business rather than others
WAYS TO MAINTAIN AND
INCREASE CUSTOMERS
Give superior service
More convenient hours
Easy return policy
Match sale prices from competitors
Frequent buyer program
HOW TO KNOW WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT/NEED
Ask for customer feedback when making purchases
Call customers to ask questions
Feedback/Suggestion box
Survey