What is a Target Market?

The target market is the group to which you are trying to sell your product. It can consist of the desired age group and/or gender, those with specific hobbies or interests, or even those with specific medical issues. Companies use many different ways to obtain information about who their target market is and what they want from a product. Businesses cut the market into sections. This is called market segmentation. Markets can be segmented into location, age, income, education level, use of technology, etc. The particular product that the company is producing will determine what target market and which market segment the company will focus their 4 P's toward.

For example:
If a company is making candy bars. Their main target market will be kids, those that desire the product. But they also have to take into consideration the parents, those that purchase the product. Their market segment will have many characteristics, but some of them could be: middle class income families with children ages 2-13 that have parents who have disposable income. The 4 P's of this  segment could be:

• Price- $.50-1.50
• Place- checkout (placed for impulse buying) and shelf (placed for controlled purchase)
• Product- chocolate bar
• Promotion- colorful packaging with  a large, recognizable name.

This example product is similar to many candy companies out there in the market today.
Can you list products with these criteria for their target market, market segmentation, and 4 P's?

Knowing who your target market is extremely important to understand. You must know who to sell to and how, as well as how to meet their needs with your product. There are many ways to determine this information. You must first define your target market. You can ask them directly to obtain information about the customer you want. But this is not easy because your target market could be large. You must obtain information is several different ways. Surveys, polls, direct interviews, direct observations, audits of consumer behavior, commercial and governmental research, and the list goes on.