Focus on identifying your target market, communicating an authentic message that they want and need and project yourself as an “expert” within your niche.
Kim Garst
A target market is essential for attracting the right customers to your craft business. In my last post, we discussed how to find your niche. I suggest you check it out before you work on finding your target market. It’s now time to narrow things down more by thinking about your target market. A target market is the select group of customers to which you will aim your products or service.
Examine the Customers You Already Have
Think about the type of customers you have already established. Then ask yourself a few questions to figure out what they have in common. Here are a few questions prompts to get you started:
- Are your customers within a certain age group?
- Do they all have similar careers?
- Are most of your customers retired?
Another great way to examine your customers is to send out a survey to them with these questions because it will give you more insight. Write down the commonalities that your existing customers share so that it helps you determine the exact target market for your product.
Develop an Ideal Customer
Don’t worry if you haven’t sold anything yet because you can create a target market by making your ideal customer profile. This can be a fun exercise. First, give your ideal customer a name. Then you will want to start creating their profile. There are a few areas of focus to consider when it comes to creating your customer. These ares are the demographics, geographics and psychographics.
Demographics are things like how much money they make or what they enjoy doing as a hobby. They can also include marital status, income level and education level. Geographics involve targeting customers based off of where they live, and psychographics include targeting customers through things like, their buying patterns and attitudes.
For this example let’s call our ideal customer Jennifer. Jennifer is anywhere between 23 and 34 years old. She is a stay at home mom. Jennifer loves to travel with her family. She also enjoys cooking meals at home. Jennifer lives a minimalist lifestyle, but when she does make purchases she prefers to spend money on high quality items that last a long time. This profile would work great for a customer who would buy a high end soy candle that she would display proudly in her home.
Other Factors to Consider About Your Target Market
There are a few other factors you can consider when narrowing down your target audience. These include:
- What products and services they currently use.
- Understanding their needs and services.
- What media they consume.
- What drives their purchasing decisions.
Ask these questions and more if you want to get a more detailed profile of your target audience. Think of yourself as a detective of sorts. You really want to get as detailed as you possibly can because this is going to help you to market and advertise your products as well as create new ones.
If you can narrow down a target audience, then you can serve a specific group of customers with a unique product that will set your business apart from your competitors. A target audience doesn’t have to be too complicated, but you do want to have a really good idea of who you are trying to sell your products to so that you can better serve your customers.
I have included a worksheet to help you create your own target customer. Print it out, three ring hole punch it, and add it to a business binder if you don’t have one already. I know that this will help your business because it has helped me with mine.
Creating a Target Audience Worksheet
Free Printable PDF worksheet.
In my next post, we are going to work on developing a product line based off your target market and niche findings.
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