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Table of Contents

Web

Technology

Location

Legal

Personnel Management

Risk Management

Insurance

Business Success Tips

Sample Documents

Checklists

Contributing Authors

	Steven D. Strauss Author of The Small Business Bible
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	Stephanie Chandler Author of The Business Startup Checklist & Planning Guide
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	Tom Severance Author of Business Start-Up Guide
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	Joe Kennedy Author of The Small Business Owner's Manual
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Targeting

Targeting your market consists of choosing one of the segments that you have identified, and going after that target with full force. Ignore the other segments. Let others go after them. Concentrate on satisfying your chosen segment better than anyone else.

There are times when you can go after two or more segments if you feel the markets are similar, or if you have the time and resources to develop separate strategies for each. However, more businesses make the mistake of trying to go after too much and trying to make everyone happy. They often try to be all things to all people. Fewer businesses make the mistake of trying to serve a market that is too narrow. Realize that you can become very successful and quite wealthy by serving a small segment of a broad market better than anyone else. As you learn and grow, it may make sense to later expand into related segments. However, don’t lose that specialized niche or market that originally made you a success.

When choosing an appropriate segment to target, keep the following tips in mind:

Make sure you can efficiently identify and measure the members of the chosen market.
Make sure the segment is large enough to be profitable.
Make sure the segment is economically reachable through a planned marketing program.
Make sure the segment is responsive to a planned marketing program.
Make sure the segment will be around for some time and will not change dramatically.

Once you have satisfactorily identified your target market, learn as much as you can about your typical targeted customer. You want to satisfy this person’s needs better than anyone else. To do that, you need to research, study, and analyze your prospective customers. The more you know about them, the better you can serve them, and the more effectively and efficiently you can reach them.

What information should you obtain about your targeted customers? The section below lists the traditional variables. Identify as many relevant variables as possible. The more information you can find on these variables, the better. Not all will apply, but don’t dismiss them without proper consideration.

Geographic and demographic variables are the most logical breakdowns. Psychographic and behavioristic variables are more subtle and more difficult to determine and measure. However, if such variables are available and relevant, they can be a gold mine of information.