Small Business Marketing Kit For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Step 4: Define Your Market

Define your market in terms of geographics (where target customers live), demographics (who your customers are in factual terms such as age, gender, religion, ethnicity, marital status, income level, education, and household size), and psychographics (how your customers live, including their attitudes, behavioral patterns, beliefs, and values). See Chapter 2 for assistance.

By defining your market and knowing your customer profile, you can

Develop marketing tactics that reach and appeal to your target market.

Create advertising messages that align with the unique interests and emotions of existing and prospective customers.

Select effective communication vehicles.

Weigh marketing opportunities based on their ability to reach those who match your customer profile — accepting opportunities with confidence or rejecting them quickly if they don’t provide a cost-effective way to reach and interact with your defined target audience.