5 Patterns of Target Market Selection Organizations Need to Consider
Introduction to Target Market Selection?
The term “target market selection” is frequently used to create and introduce new products. It is a crucial phase of the service or product launch since it helps to focus the marketing strategy, which in turn helps the service or product succeed in the market. It entails determining which market sector will provide the best return on investment, how long it will take to enter the market, and how valuable the various market segments are.
After a company has segmented its market, examined its customers, and put them into broad categories, the next step is choosing a market. Based on the size and growth of a certain segment, the business must choose the most lucrative market during the market selection stage in order to achieve superior margins and long-term sustainability. The market competition also cannot be disregarded. The market share of your competitors, whether you can overtake them, and the tactics they use to counter your fresh produce in the market will hugely impact your product’s success.
Target Market Selection Example: Boys between the ages of 9 and 11 may be the target market for a child’s toy and the parents of those kids. It can also be described as the group of consumers who are most likely to be affected by marketing initiatives.
Additionally, separate from the buyer persona is the target market. The buyer persona is a fully realized but fictitious individual, whereas the target market is a general sort of person. Depending on who a B2B company speaks to while selling inside its target market, the buyer persona might aid in the narrowing of an advertising campaign.
Target Market Selection Process and Its Importance
Back in the day, a company could easily promote and distribute its goods to all potential customers in the same way without selecting a specific target market. This mass-market strategy was frequently employed in the past, particularly in the snack food and soda sectors.
However, as more businesses worry about wasting money on customers who are loyal to other brands or have little interest in products, mass marketing has lost appeal. The target market selection strategies are crucial for increasing sales effectiveness.
Target Market Selection Criteria
The companies must research the following factors to choose a target market:
- Recognize the dietary habits of the target audience
- The age range of the people
- Consumers’ earnings
- Consumers’ capability to spend
- Education and occupation of those involved
- Gender mindset and consumer thought patterns
- Social status of buyers
- Environmental impact on an individual
Why Target Market Selection?
Let’s understand the importance of target market selection and how to achieve it!
- Target Marketing Identifies Room for Expansion
The company may have a significant opportunity to increase sales from a small number of customers. One example of a target market is the relatively small number of ice cream consumers who are lactose intolerant or unable to digest milk but who nevertheless represent a sizable market for producers of milk-free ice cream alternatives. This target market will readily purchase a product made for them. Establishing a target market may take some time at first, but it allows you to concentrate your marketing most efficiently. Define your service or product upfront, followed by the individual or company that will desire to put what you have to offer. It’s important to comprehend what customers need. A focus group, a review of the industry, or a market survey are all examples of thorough market research that can often reveal precisely how you might meet customer needs.
- Create Targeted Messages
Once you’ve identified it, you can create messages that speak directly to a target market. An interior decorator, as an illustration, can cater to a variety of potential clientele and sell their services to them. It will be necessary to craft the marketing message to appeal to either the wealthy homeowner seeking a costly makeover or even the senior citizen seeking to downsize while keeping some of their valued items. Each advert must be tailored to reflect how each demand will be addressed because the needs are extremely distinct.
- Consider Potential Leads
Organizations lack the time and resources to communicate a product message effectively to all customers. By defining a target market, marketers can concentrate on the people who are most likely to buy the product. By reducing the population, research and funding are directed toward the clients who have the most potential for profit.
- Choose an Underserved Market
By locating underserved areas, companies of any size can successfully compete. Instead of attempting to reach every potential buyer for your product, you may build out a niche for it by tailoring your marketing strategy to a more specific and probably untapped portion of the overall market. A small company might be able to better service a niche market than its competing firms by concentrating resources on that market’s customer base.
- Cost-efficient Techniques
Making media allocation decisions is much simpler once you are aware of who you are targeting. Instead of buying advertising space in every magazine, you can choose to advertise solely in publications that appeal to young women as your target demographic. By adopting a target market plan, you’ll save money and earn a better return on your investment. Media purchases will be more effective with a significantly smaller audience that is unlikely to buy your product.
- Identify the Correct Audience
After you’ve determined your target market, give some thought to your target audience, the people who will be receiving your advertising message. Your message must be targeted to the individual making the purchases because the buyer of your goods frequently differs from the final user. For instance, laundry detergent provides advantages for everyone in the house, yet it is typically bought by women who also shop for the family’s groceries. Because of this, soap advertisements frequently target mothers who want their families to wear clean clothes.
However, this tactic can sometimes be off. Kids are the primary end users of toys; thus, marketing directly to them may be more successful. Children significantly impact how their families spend money in this area, even if their parents purchase the toys. Advertising can influence children to encourage their parents to buy things for them.
5 Patterns of Target Market Selection Organizations Need To Consider
A firm separates the market into various segments through segmentation. However, not all of them must comprise the target market. Only those sectors that the company wants to use as its markets are referred to as the target market. As a result, the target markets are chosen from the created groups.
After evaluation, the apparent next step is to proceed with segmenting the market when a marketer has assessed the multiple sections for their size, growth, and attractiveness and determined that they are compatible with the company’s aims and resources. There are five methods for choosing a target market.
- Single Segment Concentration:
It aids a corporation in choosing the most alluring portion. It’s frequently referred to as intense segmentation. Small businesses that have few resources frequently focus on a single market sector. For instance, Ginger Hotels solely caters to customers who are on a tight budget and only offers the most minimal amenities to them. The marketer favors sticking with a single segment. In our fictitious example, corporation A employs this tactic whenever it creates a typical product for a single market, such as a plasma TV. Real-world examples include businesses like Edgar Elgar Publishing (which publishes just legal books) and Viva Books Private Limited (which publishes computer books exclusively). If the company has a powerful market position, a greater understanding of segment-specific needs, a defined reputation, and a likely leadership position, it may choose to use this technique.
- Selective specialization:
It concentrates on several commercial sectors. With this kind of specialization, the company employs knowledge to meet the needs of the chosen segments. By choosing multiple segments, a company can reduce its risk since it can shift its focus to a more lucrative area if one part starts to become less profitable. For instance, Hyundai offers a variety of vehicles, including the Santro and Accent, to suit the needs of clients with various income levels.
- Market Specialization
It means focusing on the requirements and preferences of clients who are a part of a particular market. Risks are also there because the company solely serves one particular market. For instance, a market downturn has an impact on the organization’s profitability and long-term viability.
- Product specialization:
It concentrates on offering various items to various market segments. An organization places more emphasis on its products than on its market segments. A company that employs such a strategy gains a strong reputation for creating those particular products. For instance, Samsung produces mobile phones for several client groups. For business class customers, they offer S-Series phones and basic phones for those with lower incomes.
- Full coverage:
It stresses how crucial it is to provide goods for every market group. Complete market coverage aids in market expansion and increases income for a company. The business makes an effort to provide for all possible product needs for all consumer groups. Only extremely large companies can implement a full market coverage plan, which can be accomplished in one of two ways:
- Undifferentiated marketing or convergence: The business disregards the distinctions among market segments and targets the entire market with a single market offer. Instead of emphasizing buyer distinctions, it concentrates on a fundamental need.
- Differentiated marketing or divergence: It segments and creates unique programs for each one. Compared to the former, it generates greater total sales. However, the following expenses would be greater:
– Cost of Product Modification
– Manufacturing Costs
– Cost of Administration
– Cost of Inventory
– Cost of Advertising
It is impossible to determine whether this method would be profitable because both the revenues and the costs are increased. Avoiding over-segmenting the market is a caution businesses should take; if that occurs, the business will need to pursue counter-segmentation to increase its consumer base.
Conclusion
Maintaining a competitive lead may be one of the most significant advantages of target marketing since its prominence in the target market will operate as a barrier to rivals looking to enter the same industry. Want to learn everything there is to know about Marketing Analytics Course from the top experts in the field? Check out our course on Product Management. Live instructor-led sessions are held online during the course of this six-month program.
