Targeting Your Audience

How to gather information on your target customers

Defining your target audience is a crucial step in developing an effective sales and marketing strategy for your business. For budding companies, conducting this research can help you determine if a viable market exists for your new business idea. For established businesses, this information can help in updating your existing marketing plan.

A good way to jump-start your research is by brainstorming a profile of a "target customer." Base the profile on your own knowledge of your product. Consider your users' gender, age, location, income, purchasing influences (family members, etc.), and reason for buying. With these details in mind, you can determine if this customer profile represents an available niche in your target areas. The most cost-efficient way to figure this out is through researching secondary data, or data that already exists. Here are a few sources of budget-friendly or free secondary data to try out:

• Reference libraries. Today, most of the information that you'll want from a reference library is available on computer databases, which makes researching an easier proposition. Reference librarians are also a huge asset — most libraries have reference staff who will help you get started using the system and assist you in finding the data you need.
• Chamber of commerce. Your local chamber can supply you with demographic information for your area, market trends, and more. Information from chambers of commerce is usually free or close to it.
• College business libraries. Head over to your local university and check out the business library. That will have more information on trends and economics than a typical public library.
• Small Business Development Center. The Small Business Association operates Small Business Development Centers in many cities. Stop in at your local center to stock up on their publications; they often include very useful information and feature advice or market predictions. Visit sba.gov for more information.