Eight Steps to Defining Your Target Market

Is your business targeting B2C, B2B, or Dual Buyer Persona? Here’s how to identify your target market.

Recently, I’ve been working with a new client on helping define their target market. From my experience working with companies large and small, local and global, I identify three types of target markets:

• B2C
• B2B
• Dual market (for example, a law firm who targets families — B2C and also targets CPAs or wealth management firms for referrals — B2B)

Let me share with you my approach developed from a decade of marketing strategy experience across 12 different industries.

RELATED: Get One Step Closer to Your Revenue Goal

8 Steps to Defining Your Target Market

1. Identify whether you target B2C or B2B market (or a dual BP)

• Do you see yourself working with individuals?
• Do you see yourself working with organizations?
• Do you see yourself solving personal issues for clients?
• Do you see yourself solving business-related issues?
• Will clients pay you with their own money?
• Will clients need a budget approved to pay you?
• Will clients decide on your effectiveness personally?
• Will clients use revenue analytics to assess your effectiveness?
• Will you be hired by your prospect directly?
• Will you need an organizational authority to hire you?

Once you think through and write the answers to the above questions, you’ll decide whether you want to target a B2B, B2C, or dual market.

Your B2B Buyer Persona is called Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).

Answer the below questions for BP and ICP in two separate documents.

2. Ask these 8 questions for BP and ICP separately

1. What’s important to them & what’s the problem they need to solve?
2. What’s increasing or diminishing their need to find the right solution?
3. How do they go about solving this problem in their life/organization?
4. What do they need to know to make all relevant decisions?
5. Whom do they consult regarding the advice they need?
6. What’s the benefit they envision after the decision is made?
7. Whose buy-in do they need to gain to decide upon the solution?
8. What could cause the need for finding solution to lose its priority?

3. Define your ultimate goal

What’s your goal for this project?

Example: To create a portfolio of Buyer Personas that can help your company identify where and how you can help your prospect groups to solve their pain and gain the desired benefits, so they chose you as a vendor.

Write the response in your own words. What do you see as a result of this project?

___________________________________________________

4. Decide why you are focusing on Buyer Persona portfolio

Why are you working on your Buyer Persona portfolio?

Example: BP portfolio will help my business target all content effort via all marketing and sales channels to enable me to speak directly to the Buyer Persona’s heart, anticipate their objections, solve their pain, and persuade them to chose me with their dollars.

Write the response in your own words. Why are you creating a BP portfolio?

___________________________________________________

5. List the stakeholders who need your Buyer Persona Portfolio

• Marketing consultants you work with
• Sales people you work with
• Customer service support
• Product development support
• Vendors doing web development or graphic design

Who else needs to understand your target market as they work in business with you?

___________________________________________________

6. Why would your BP or ICP vote for YOU with their dollars?

Why choose YOU? What unique value do you deliver? What is your unique style?

___________________________________________________

Ineffective Buyer Personas = Ineffective business results.

7. What are your demographics/firmographics?

Answer for your Buyer Persona (BP)

1. What are their DEMOGRAPHICS: gender (skewed female or male?), age group (Baby Boomer, Gen X, Gen Y?), etc?
2. What are their IDENTIFIERS: some unique behavioral traits relevant to that specific group of your targeted buyers?
3. What are their PRIORITIES: their 3–5 problems, to which they dedicate time, effort, and budget?
4. What are their SUCCESS FACTORS: the tangible or intangible metrics or rewards that BP associates with success, such as “improve X” or “overcome Y?”
5. What are some CHALLENGES: the factors that cause this BP to experience pain and stay up at night?
6. What is their BUYER’S JOURNEY: what steps do they take to explore their problem, research available solutions, make their decision, and select a vendor to hire?
7. What is their DECISION CRITERIA: what exactly are they evaluating to prefer one vendor over the other?

Answer for your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

1. What are their FIRMOGRAPHICS: company size (Enterprise, SMB, etc)
2. What are their GEOGRAPHICS: where are you willing to travel, where’s your prospect located by state, city, or zip code?
3. What are their PRIORITIES: their 3–5 problems, to which they dedicate time, effort, and budget?
4. What are their SUCCESS FACTORS: the tangible or intangible metrics or rewards that ICP associates with success, such as “grow revenue by X” or “reduce turnover by Y?”
5. What are some CHALLENGES: the factors that prompt your ICP’s leadership to stay up all night?
6. What’s the DECISION-MAKING UNIT: who are decision-makers within ICP?
7. What is their ACCOUNT JOURNEY: what steps do they take to explore their problem, research available solutions, make their decision, and select the best vendor?
8. What is their DECISION CRITERIA: what exactly are they evaluating in each solution? What makes them prefer one vendor over another?

8. Answer the questions for BP and ICP in two separate documents, review, think through, edit, review, and gain buy-in from all stakeholders. Then, focus all your efforts on the target market you identified.

Do you define your target market as B2B, B2C, or dual?

© Anna Szabo, JD, MBA. All rights reserved.

Originally published on LinkedIn: Eight Steps to Defining Your Target Market