Target Marketing

Target Marketing is a way of selectively reaching people who are likely to buy your products, rather than trying to appeal to and send information to every person in the world. In other words you determine your likely client base, select merchandise that should appeal to them, advertise in media that would likely attract them, and promote your products at venues that type of person would likely attend.

Factors to include in target marketing are
Location – There is no sense advertising a chain of clothing stores found only on the west coast in Florida. Also when placing a new store, target marketing is very important. If you are opening a store for handicapped and elderly people to purchase wheelchairs, and walkers you might not want to put it in the middle of a mall with no close parking or nearby entry. A better choice would be a shopping center with parking very near the door, preferably near a grocery store or other shop already frequented by your chosen demographic. Inversely this would be a horrible location for a trendy teen clothing shop.

Age – One should select 1 or more of the following, children, pre-teens, teens, young adults, mature adults or elderly, and market accordingly. The choice of artwork, style and form of media advertising are vastly determined by the age of the person you wish to reach.

Special Interest.- Golf clubs are sold to golfers, Aquariums are sold to fish lovers, and Craft items are purchased by people who enjoy crafts. Thus placing an ad for aquariums on a website about pets makes much more sense than placing an ad for golf clubs on a site about cooking.

Pick forms of Media to fit the Demographic
Most existent businesses already have a target market, and that becomes obvious simply by reviewing the demographics of their clientele. For example a clothing store which carries Goth style clothing, such as Hot Topics has a target market of people aged twelve to thirty, who prefer not to blend with the crowd. If a marketing specialist were trying to promote Hot Topics they should advertise in guitar and fan magazines, liberally slanted political magazines, and perhaps try events promotion at various rock music events. On the other hand if one is marketing clothing for plus sized elderly women, a good choice for advertising would be TV ads placed near cooking shows, or print ads in women’s magazines, like Good Housekeeping, Ladies Home Journal or Red Book.

Sometimes making the merchandise fit the demographic is easier than making the demographic fit the merchandise.
Target marketing can either determine the types of items sold, or the types of items sold could determine the target marketing. For example a small retail storefront with a single existing location should consider the average person walking by their door, and try to stock merchandise that appeals to them, rather than try to attract a different kind of person to their neighborhood.

The worst thing you can do as a business person is try to convince an unlikely target market your product is better than what they normally prefer. How many people from NYC have gone broke building an expensive NY style deli restaurant in a small southern town? It’s an insane proposition. If you want to open a restaurant in NC you need to learn how to make NC style bar-be-cue, but taking that stuff to New York might be risky. In the same way you shouldn’t try to sell Hot Topics clothing to women over 70. IF they want to come in and buy a pair of platform boots, and a dozen pair of thongs that’s great, but it’s best for them to think of that on their own.