How to Define Your Ideal Target Market or Niche

How to Define Your Target Market or Niche- Finding Your Ideal Business Clients

How to define your target market or niche… I know, the title here is redundant – target and niche are very similar words. They refer to the small, specialized group of people who your products and services best serve. This reinforces the importance of narrowing down who we want to market to and work with to get the most paying clients out of our marketing for small businesses. In this article I’m going to discuss how to define your ideal target or niche for successful marketing!

Why is it so important (especially in marketing for small businesses) to narrow down our niche market?  If we were big companies with a whole marketing department and million dollar budgets, it might not be so critical.  I will bet you my bottom dollar that they spend a lot of time and money on exactly this exercise, so they get the best return on their million dollar investment!  We have limited time, energy and marketing dollars.  Therefore, we must use all of these wisely.  If you do a newspaper ad or billboard, is that the best use of your marketing dollars?  Perhaps yes, but the point is that these get a lot of readers or traffic (so to speak), but not very targeted.  They can be relatively expensive as tactics, and when marketing for small business your money is better spent focusing on your niche.

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At any one point in time, only 3-4 percent of the population wants or needs what we have to offer and are ready to buy – no matter what industry we’re in.  What you really want is to target a maximum 20 percent of the population and narrow it down to your ideal clients.  Do you see how now you get at least 5 fold better marketing results? Now, let’s get to how to define your ideal target market or niche!

marketing for small businesses - defining your ideal target market is the key to success

Who are your clients that you love to work with?  They make you smile and pay you well because you fit their needs perfectly.  Imagine doing business with nothing but these dream clients.  Great business and wonderful quality of life.

How do you find them?  How can  you describe them while networking so that others can refer your preferred client to you?  Your first step is to profile them with a detailed description.  Who have you worked with or are working with now that meets this description?  This could be a business or individual, depending on your business.  What makes you both a perfect fit?   What can you help your perfect client with that they really want or need?  What problems can you solve for them better than your competition?  **Remember** by narrowing down your definition of your ideal client, you don’t have to turn away anyone and you’re not excluding anyone– you can serve people outside of your niche!

Here’s an example from “Jim” – a business coach:

“Frustrated business owners (business stagnant, too busy and want help prioritizing, want accountability support, they feel that they’ve tried everything they know and are not sure what to do next, overwhelmed by online marketing options, team not functioning well, tech phobic, etc…), age 30 – 45, welcome help, open minded, Sacramento, Folsom, Orangevale, Rancho Cordova, Auburn, El Dorado Hills, Granite Bay areas, 2-50 employees, $120K – $2MM gross, college graduate, has passion for family, sports or hobbies outside of work, excited about getting results.”

Below is an exercise worksheet for you to complete.  It includes some starting points for demographics or criteria for profiling your ideal client.  It is not a comprehensive list, so think of any ways you can describe your perfect dream client.  Be very specific and narrow – remember this isn’t a good client, it’s your ideal!  When you do this, you will be much more effective at networking your business.  Your detailed description will help jog your listener’s memory and they will think of the perfect person to refer to you.

Business to individual consumer clients Business to business clients
Gender Location
Family Structure Number of employees
Marital Status Specialty or type of business
Household Income Size of company – revenue
Location Number of departments
Education Industry
Kids/no kidsHome owner or renter Public or privateYears in business
Other other

I hope you found great value in this article and that you have a clearer understanding about how to define your ideal target market or niche. If you have questions or want help with marketing for your small business or defining your ideal client, or target market, please feel free to reach out to Coach Jim at Jim@SummitBusinessMarketing.com or call (530) 426-8404 to make an appointment.  Summit Business Marketing provides business coaching services, business plans, marketing plans, website design, online marketing services and is a search engine optimization specialist. We serve clients all over the world, and of course love serving local businesses in the Sacramento Valley.

Jim Kaspari

Summit Business Marketing

Web Design . SEO . Marketing Consultation . Business Coaching Services

111 Natoma Street, Suite 111 Folsom, California CA 95630

phone (530) 426-8404 | fax (440) 425-6094

Jim@SummitBusinessMarketing.com

We proudly serve Folsom, Granite Bay, El Dorado Hills, Orangevale, Rancho Cordova, Fair Oaks, Auburn, and Roseville CA California areas.

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