When Growth Stalls: How It Happens, Why You're Stuck, and What to Do About It

11.3. How to Find Your "I"

There are many different variables that go into defining a core target. Sometimes demographics play a significant role (acne medication, home pregnancy tests), and sometimes they don't. Sometimes lifestyle is a major consideration, such as with video rentals or recreational vehicles. Sometimes it's behavioral (capital investments tend to involve committees, and corporations tend to replace their computers more frequently than consumers). Sometimes it's need-based (many purchase decisions are made during the back-to-school season or tied to holidays). And always—always—attitudes and perceptions are involved. Usually your "I" will be a function of some combination of the above.

The Wall Street Journal used to run a small ...