The Kabbage Blog

If you’re considering setting up a business online, whether on eBay, Etsy, another auction site or your personal website, one of the first steps is to identify your target market. Your market will determine the product you choose to sell, the look of your website and all your marketing strategies. It’s even important in the naming of your website or eBay store.

What is a Target Market?

Your target market is the type of customer you want to sell products to. Ever notice the number of do-it-yourself home store commercials on HGTV or toy commercials during children’s programming? That’s catering to the target market. You can (and should!) do the same thing for your online business.

Why Bother?

Simple. You’ll have more financial success when you can cater to a specific audience. There are many online businesses vying for the attention of the same consumers you want to attract to your shop. If you understand who they are, you have a better chance of snagging their business. Shoppers would rather buy from someone who understands their individual needs and seeks to provide solutions. When you understand the needs of your target market, you are forming a relationship with your customers and earning their trust. When you build trust, customers will want to buy from you.

Understanding your audience also helps focus your marketing strategies, which will maximize the return on your investment (ROI). The time you spend researching and learning about your audience will pay off when your ROI is in line with what you had in mind for your business.

That’s all well and good, Kabbage, you say. But how do we do that?

How to Determine your Target Market

It’s best to establish your target market during the planning stages of your online business. This way, your products, site and marketing can be tailored to your specific customer. So, who do you want to sell your products to? Consider demographics such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, nationality, marital status, level of education, political views, family and personal interests. Are you targeting twenty-something men or retired couples? Teens, newlyweds or parents of college-age children? Working moms or stay at home moms? Be as specific as possible when determining your target so you’ll know the right ways to reach those people.

Pro Tip: Sites like Quantcast.com offer up demographic information about who views websites. Pick several of your more successful competitors, type their URL’s into Quantcast, and use the demographic information provided as a loose guideline for determining the demographics of your potential audience.

Quantcast info for one of our favorite sites. Can you guess who? Or you can just scroll over the picture to find out. But where’s the fun in that?

Once you’ve settled on who your customers are, consider their needs. Understanding your customers’ needs and wants will help you provide the products they’re looking for. Is there a need in this market that’s been unfulfilled so far? For example, Kabbage saw online sellers were struggling because of a lack of funding for their businesses. Because of this need that had been previously unfulfilled, we stepped up to help online merchants reach their fullest potential with extra cash flow.

Do research on your customers’ needs. Identify current trends in your market. Think about how you can make their lives more efficient, more fun or more profitable. Choose a product that caters to this audience. Or if you already have a product, figure out who wants it.

I Know My Target Market and Have Identified My Product. Now What?

Now it’s time to find ways to appeal to your market. You probably know off the top of your head that the elements of web design that appeal to teenage boys are markedly different from the ones that appeal to their moms. The design of your site should also be based on the likely technological ability of your customers. Would your customers like a website that is simple or flashy? Will they prefer to use PayPal or type in their credit card number? Think of usability for different demographics. Is your demographic senior citizens? The sad fact is that our eyes and our hand eye coordination begin to wane as we age. Did you include lots of tiny links to click on that will cause your older customers to swear at you? Make sure you make it easy for your customers to find the products they want, then choose a shopping cart system that makes it easy for them to actually pay you. There’s nothing sadder for an ecommerce seller than an abandoned shopping cart.

The images and words you use on your site, the pricing of the product and even the promotions you offer will be determined by your market. For example, if you’re targeting the parents of twins, a buy-one-get-one-free offer will be a lot more effective than if your target market is brides buying wedding gowns. If you’re targeting teens, your product will need to be priced affordably for them. But if you’re targeting the parents of teens, your product likely will not require the same pricing restrictions.

Be sure your product is aimed at the person who will purchase it, not only the person who will use it. For example, if you’re planning to sell women’s sleepwear, are you aiming to sell to women purchasing it for themselves or for men buying it for their wives? Your marketing strategies will vary depending on your target audience.

Also think about what else might persuade your site visitors to make a purchase. A how-to guide or tutorial on using your product or an instructional video helps assure your customers that they’ll have plenty of user support after the sale. Your audience might be interested in a blog about the industry of the products you’re selling or what’s new in the field. Provide additional content that would appeal to your target audience.

Remember, it takes more than simply setting up a website to bring in the right kind of customer and make a sale.