If you have done sufficient market research you should have a strong sense about your target market. It’s now time to clearly define who they are, how they think, where they live, etc. Knowing the inner and outer characteristics of your target market gives you enormous power because you’ll know the triggers that cause them to purchase your product or service. In this article we’re going to look at your market’s outer life (demographics) and their inner life (psychographics).
An Important Note about Target Marketing
Entrepreneurs sometimes get tripped up here. This doesn’t have to be complicated. But realize one thing, categorizing people is NOT a black and white process because we’re all complex individuals. Your goal is to find an average when coming up with a description of your market.
Imagine writing an email to your list. Instead of getting nervous trying to please everybody on your list, simply write to one person. When you know the general personality, values, and characteristics of your target market, you can create one person that represents your whole target market. Write all your marketing material to that ONE person and, on average, you’ll hit the mark with a successful email for all of your market.
The reason entrepreneurs overcomplicate defining their target market is because they misunderstand the definition of “target market.” There are two ways to define your target market: demographics and psychographics. Here’s the trick… depending on what you offer, you may not be able to clearly define your market with BOTH demographics and psychographics. So don’t get discouraged or confused if you can’t narrow down the demographics of your market because you probably CAN get very specific about their psychographics.
Identify Your Target Market’s Demographics
Your markets’ demographics describe the outer life of your market: where they live, how much they make, their age, where they gather, etc. Knowing this helps you know where to advertise.
Define Your Market’s Psychographics
Psychographics describe your market’s inner life: how they think, what they value, what they believe, what they feel, everything that motivates them. Knowing this helps you create the right tone in your advertising and marketing.
Here are just some of the ways to get in the head of your market
What is your market’s personality?
There are dozens of great personality assessments in the market: Insights Discovery System, DiSC, Myers-Briggs, etc. They all touch on some general personality characteristics of people.
The four main distinctions of personality are: Introvert/Extrovert and Thinker/Feeler
People generally tend to lean towards one or two of these quadrants. Choose the qualities that best describe where your target market leans.
Upper Left Quadrant – Introverted/Thinker: “The Analyzer”
Slow to make decisions
Enjoys analyzing the facts and making sure all the details are accounted for
They want the facts first (and in great detail)
Tend to see what’s not working
This group tends to be: accountants, engineers, financial planners, etc
Upper Right Quadrant – Extroverted/Thinker: “The Driver”
Driven to get the job done
Goal focused
Will tend to not care about people’s feelings – especially if it gets in the way of reaching the end objective
Tend to focus on results
This group tends to be: CEO’s, lifestyle entrepreneurs, sales people, etc.
Lower Right Quadrant – Extroverted/Feeler: “The Visionaries”
Sees the big picture
Generates tons of ideas
Sees the connections between things
Creative, energetic, charismatic
Not so good with details and being grounded in reality
Tend to be innovators
This group tends to be: artists, consultants, creative entrepreneurs, etc
Lower Left Quadrant – Introverted/Feeler: “The Caregivers”
Are sensitive to other people
Take into consideration how everyone feels
Want consensus and harmony
Tend to see how actions will affect others
This group tends to be: caregivers, nurses, life coaches, spiritual counselors, HR, etc.
Masculine and feminine energy
Does your market tend to be more masculine or feminine? I’m not talking about male and female… but masculine and feminine ENERGY. These are just generalities again, but helpful in understanding who you’ll be marketing to.
Masculine energy is driven, focused, directional, detached, competitive, aggressive, etc. The masculine desires freedom.
Feminine energy is communal, holistic, embracing, inclusive, supportive, etc. The feminine desires fulfillment.
We’re all a mix of both energies, but we display different preferences at different times. For example, my target market is 90% women but they are driven and achievement focused. The men in my market tend to be heart-based and not as edgy and competitive as “macho guys.” So in my marketing, I emphasize connection, relationship, expressing passion AND getting to the point and making money! In my marketing I balance different aspects of both masculine and feminine energy.
As an interesting side note, it’s interesting that my industry, marketing, tends to be a more overall masculine activity. A lot of the marketing experts out there are very masculine energy focused, which turns off a lot of women. But since I understand both energies, I can take this generally masculine topic and translate it to a more feminine audience. I don’t define marketing as JUST “beating your competition”, “killer copy”, “money, money, money.” I define marketing as “relationship building”, “connecting”, “meaning”, “bringing your passion to the world.”
In the past, direct response marketing was more masculine because it was mostly results focused. But today, social media is opening more possibilities to market – more feminine because it’s relationship focused.
Worldviews
A worldview is the meaning you attach to things. It’s based on your beliefs, values and biases. Your worldview is the filter you see the world through. Our worldview is so rooted in how we think that unless it’s pointed out to you, you probably don’t even know you HAVE a worldview.
When you dialogue with your target market they also won’t be able to tell you outright what their worldview is because they (like us) assume it’s how things are. But defining the specific values and beliefs of your market is very powerful because you’ll know the sweet spot that motivate them.
This is why your listening skills are so important. You have to listen behind what people tell you.
When you ask your target market what they want, they’ll tell you the surface answer. But they are answering from their “logical” mind.
To create an extremely powerful marketing message you have to uncover their worldviews. You have to probe beyond their “logical” brain and get into their “reptilian” brain – the part of their brain that drives their desires.
Also, people who share a common worldview usually belong to specific communities. By showing that you are “one of them”, you’ll be accepted into their group. You’ll be the go-to expert for that group. They’ll buy from you again and again because you “get it.”