Why EVERYONE Is Not Included in Your Target Market

August 7, 2014

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There’s a common misconception that leads some people to believe that EVERYONE is a potential customer for their product or service and therefore EVERYONE is included in their target market. Let’s set the record straight with these three reasons why everyone is NOT included in your target market.

3 Reasons Why Everyone is Not Included in Your Target Market

1. Saying that everyone is in your target market implies that your product appeals to no one in particular.

Who's included in your target market?
It’s important to define your target market because everyone is in a unique life stage which affects their buying process.

It would be highly unusual if your business didn’t have a product that appeals to a certain audience. People start businesses because the public has expressed a need or the business person sees a need themselves for the product they want to make available. Following this logic, you just need to answer: WHO has the greatest need for your product? That’s the question you need to resolve to start defining who your target market actually is. Defining your target market will allow you to speak directly to your audience through the verbiage, color and images on your website and other marketing/promotional materials.

2. Attempting to appeal to everyone through one creative piece is a bad idea.

Another reason everyone can’t be included in your target market is because one specific message won’t resonate effectively with different demographic groups. Demographically different groups also have unique preferences and travel through the buying process at varied times and speeds. Try thinking about it this way:

  • Do teenagers and grandparents have the same buying principles?
  • Do they interpret need for products in the same way?
  • Do they decide to buy products for the same reasons?

Nope, nope and nope! Separate creative pieces need to be developed to appeal to your audience members in appropriate ways.

3. Marketing to everyone costs more money.

Spending your resources marketing to people that aren’t interested in your product is the first place is a waste of money. Recent research has revealed that ignoring your target market costs you money.

  • Average cost per lead using traditional marketing: $41
  • Average cost per lead using inbound marketing: $36

You don’t want everyone included in your target market because that means spending more money and resources on marketing materials that won’t result in customer acquisition. By narrowly defining your target market to only include individuals likely to convert into leads and then customers, you’ll be able to focus your marketing budget where it counts.

What if my product does appeal to everyone?

At this point you may be thinking, “Hold up, I do have a product for teens and grandparents and EVERYONE in between.” That’s completely possible. But if you do indeed have a product that appeals to everyone, you still need to talk to you audience members in a tailored way.

Part 1: Define Your Buyer Personas

The first step of talking to your audience members in a tailored way is to define your buyer personas. Having a product that appeals to everyone means that you don’t just have one target market, you have multiple target markets, or buyer personas. Defining your buyer personas involves describing who you’re talking to so you can then talk to them accordingly. Some questions you’ll want to be able to answer about your ideal buyers include:

  • What’s their income?
  • Are they men or women?
  • What’s their occupation?
  • What’s their communication style?
  • What’s their lifestyle?
  • What’s their age range?
  • Where do they live?
  • Are they current clients or prospects?
  • What education level have they reached?
  • Are they college grads?
  • Are they professional business people?
Speak to your audience.

Part 2: Create a Set of Marketing Campaigns

In order to communicate with your distinct buyer personas effectively, consider creating a set of marketing campaigns instead of just one. The campaigns should all fall under one big umbrella theme or idea, but the content, images and delivery of each campaign will vary slightly to optimize message resonation with the intended audience.

Part 3: Format Your Website to Speak to Buyer Personas Separately

Hercon Construction
The Hercon Construction website is strategically designed to help visitors find the information they need by displaying two separate portals for their different buyer personas on the homepage.

To further maximize your ability to communicate with multiple buyer personas, you may want to appeal to each market type in separate areas of your website or create separate websites. For example, some companies that offer both residential and commercial services promote their services on the same website while others strategically divide the categories. Many sites have separate entry points for each of their target markets so that visitors can find the information relevant to their needs.

If you are struggling to figure out how to divide up the sections of your website, start with your market that shows the most need for your product and then build from there.

2 Key Takeaways:

  1. When evaluating your target market don’t assume that everyone is in your target market.
  2. Remember to format your website and other marketing materials according to your buyer personas so you can speak to them separately and effectively.

Who Manifested This Madness?

Monica Maye Pitts

This fabulous human, that's who.

Monica Maye Pitts

Monica is the creative force and founder of MayeCreate. She has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with an emphasis in Economics, Education and Plant Science from the University of Missouri. Monica possesses a rare combination of design savvy and technological know-how. Her clients know this quite well. Her passion for making friends and helping businesses grow gives her the skills she needs to make sure that each client, or friend, gets the attention and service he or she deserves.

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