If you have children, know someone who does, or have ever bought a toy as a gift for a child, you’re probably aware of the age range the company lists on the packaging so the customer knows what age the toy is appropriate for. . Toy companies have done it to some degree. It is easier for them to determine their target market based on good pre-product research and smart marketing that engages children while assuring parents and adults that the toy is appropriate and safe.

However, for those in the technology field, determining your goal may not be that simple. Not everyone is going to fit into your target market, although there are many VARs who still believe that mass mailings and broad marketing campaigns that are designed to encompass everyone are still the way to stimulate interest in their products and services. But realistically, you’re not chasing the sale of every IT person because one solution doesn’t fit all. Just because a big company has an unlimited budget (rare in these economic times anyway) doesn’t mean they’ll spend those extra dollars on you. You can’t hope to appeal to a broad-based group because a 20-something in the industry may have a very different perspective on a new trend than a 50-something.

How do you develop targeted marketing campaigns and programs to specific audiences that are important to your business, instead of hitting “send” to a paid email list of 50,000 “potential” (but not yet qualified) new customers? Part of your success rate with your marketing initiatives will actually be a result of how well you sell and market to each segment that you’ve determined to be viable. In other words, just capturing sales from “some” of a specific market may be fine, but to really be able to measure the effectiveness of your marketing within a particular group or demographic, you need to be able to reach 100 percent of each market. specific. So how do you determine those target markets, and then how do you know if you have the right matches for your business offerings? We’ll see:

– Know your exact targets. This is the hardest part of target marketing, actually determining correctly who you should go to. If you’re not sure where to look for customers or are having trouble closing the sale of leads and existing customers, chances are those leads don’t fit your specific target markets because they don’t need your products and services. Ultimately, you end up wasting your time trying to get them to buy something they don’t need or want, instead of finding those real customers who really need you for what you have to offer. Take a look at your existing database (you should already be doing this regularly anyway). Look for common traits among active customers and group them accordingly. Voila, your target markets! Now think about where you might find new leads that fit into these categories. Finally, develop your marketing campaign based on the specific characteristics of each group.

– Test each segment. Now that she knows who she wants to approach, instead of jumping in feet first, test the waters. Talk to some of your most loyal customers and ask them why they do business with you compared to your competition. Is it the 24/7 quick response you provide or perhaps the way you stay on top of the latest trends and innovations? Will they give you a testimonial to use in your marketing materials? If you know what your top customers in each target market think, you can tailor your marketing campaigns around those ideas, attracting new leads within each demographic.

– Include your customers’ buyer personas in your target markets. Selling to your customers is one thing, but showing them that you can provide end-to-end solutions is something else entirely. Including end-user demographic information in your target market research will allow you to create marketing messages and ideas that show your customers that you understand your customers. Simply providing excellent service to your existing customers does not necessarily benefit your end user. Show your customer how your end-user benefits will benefit them. If you can relate to the end user, your customer will connect with you much faster.

Effective target marketing requires dedicated thinking about your target customer. By thinking carefully about who you want to reach and why, and who would want to do business with you and why, you can craft specific messages that will resonate with each group. Take the time to do the research. In the long run, you could reach hundreds more customers than if you didn’t.