How to Define a Target Market

Most marketers get this wrong: they think they should have one target audience. They shouldn’t. Take Peloton. Who is their audience? "People who want to work out at home"? Too broad. "Fitness enthusiasts"? Not specific enough. Peloton doesn’t have one target audience. Because the best marketers think in 5 levels of audience, depending on the need. Here’s how each one works for Peloton: 1. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 → 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞. This informs the direction of your long-term strategy, shaping product development, expansion plans, and brand positioning. For Peloton, for example, this is the entire at-home fitness market, which informs decisions such as expanding beyond bikes into treadmills, rowing machines, and even strength training. 2. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 → 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫. This defines your value proposition and the choices you make to deliver it. It influences features, pricing, and the overall experience. For Peloton, these are high-income professionals who value convenience and community, which leads to value prop components that include live and in-store classes, premium hardware, and a strong brand image. 3. 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 → 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭. This determines how you talk about your product. It tailors messaging to different customer needs and objections. For Peloton, this means crafting different messages for busy executives (workout efficiency), new parents (flexibility), and ex-gym-goers (competitive training), all within that high-income professional market. 4. 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 → 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞, 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐧. This dictates where you invest in attention. It prioritizes channels, placements, and creative strategies. For Peloton, this is people actively searching for "best home exercise bike", rather than just general fitness enthusiasts. 5. 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 → 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭. This decides when and how you engage. It helps match content to the right moment: brand-building for early-stage buyers, conversion-focused ads for those ready to purchase. For Peloton, this means running educational content for people researching and direct-response ads for those closer to buying. Most companies fail because they collapse these layers into one. The best brands don’t speak to just one audience. They layer these targets to control the narrative and own the market. If your marketing isn’t working, the problem might not be a message problem but a targeting problem.

I often say: Focus on psychographics (values, interests) Over demographics (age, gender, income) The tough part? Gathering psychographics (without being creepy or invasive.) It's easier to rely on demographics. They're: - painless to gather - straightforward - easy to analyze - quantifiable But it's a mistake to depend on them. A costly one. They're a weak data point. The role they play in purchase decisions? Smaller than many marketers think. Psychographics are much more useful. And easier to collect than you think. Here's how I do it: 👉 Customer surveys Ask direct questions about values, interests, and the purchase process. 👉 Social listening Analyze what your audience is saying in comments, reviews, and posts. Look for patterns in their language, pain points, and values. 👉 Website behavior Track which pages customers visit, what content they engage with, and how they navigate your site. 👉 Customer interviews Understand the customer buying process — from the first moment a customer noticed a problem in their life through purchasing your product (and ideally your product solving their problem). 👉 Community engagement Host webinars, engage in online groups, read and respond to customer comments. Learn your target market's pain points and how they phrase those pain points. 👉 Analyze reviews and testimonials Look for recurring themes in what people say about your product — or your competitors'. Psychographics give you: - customer behavior insights - voice-of-customer data - value props - pain points It's priceless info. Use it to hone your messaging, offers, marketing, design, and product. #marketing #customerinsights #strategy

I've talked with over 50 teams last year - every one of them got this wrong. Here's how you can avoid their same mistakes: 1️⃣ Target audience = people relevant to your product solution For vertical products, this might seem easy if you're providing 1 solution to 1 type of demographic. But if you've got a horizontal solution, this quickly becomes "we're something for everyone". Pro tip: even horizontal products have target audience focus 2️⃣ Once you have your target audience, it's time to break it down into bite-size segments Segments allow you to organize your target audience into categories Typically these categories are either industry Verticals or Departments [for example, Marketing teams might be a segment for Sprout Social whereas Carta bucket their segments by vertical such as Healthcare and Finance] 3️⃣ Once you have your segment buckets, it's time to break down personas Personas are individuals within your segment Bouncing off the examples above, you'd want to target a Social Media Manager inside a Marketing team for the Sprout Social product 4️⃣ Lastly, it's important to understand how these roles show up in User vs Buyer roles Perhaps the Marketing Director is the official buyer while the Social Media Manager is the champion and user Now, this is where things get fun... use your target audience framework to identify the buying process Social media managers might prefer to try your product and see results first before they go asking their boss for budget Perhaps this means a self-serve product would be beneficial in the buying cycle Has anyone else used a similar framework before? #productmarketing #gtmstrategy #segmentation

The #1 Rule of Marketing: "Everyone" is not your customer. Targeting everyone dilutes your message and wastes resources. Different people have different needs, and focusing on a specific audience allows you to create more relevant, impactful marketing. Remember, when you try to speak to everyone, you talk to no one. Less is more with this. Here are 6 quick steps to honing in on a specific customer: 1/ Identify Your Core Audience: Analyze your best customers to find common traits and needs. 2/ Create Buyer Personas: Develop detailed profiles of your ideal customers to guide your strategy. 3/ Narrow Your Focus: Specialize in solving specific problems for a defined group rather than trying to appeal to everyone. 4/ Personalize Your Marketing: Tailor your messaging and offers to different segments based on data. 5/ Test and Adjust: Continuously refine your approach with A/B testing and real-world feedback. 6/ Build Loyalty: Nurture relationships with customers who align with your brand values and are likely to become repeat buyers.