What is a “target market” & why is it important to shops, shop design, stock & location?

[lc.star]

How does this relate to segmentation?

Also why is it important to anyone spending money on advertising?

A detailed answer would be greatly appreciated, but also links to relevant websites as I can't seem to find anything useful so far!

['' ... .. siMpLyCoMpLeX.]

a target market is the group of people that a particular shop is aiming to sell their products too

xD

[iuud2noitall]

No need for me to retype it, simply go to www.Wikipedia.com and in their search pane type in target market. There is a fantastic explanation with several examples and it covers segmenting and advertising as well. You will love it.

[cell200311]

target market is like when you target a specific group to sell your product to. like......on t.v. they do this alot,if theres a popular teenager show, like they would put alot of commercials and stuff to that would appeal to them like clothes, ipods, cellphones, video games. stuff like that, they want to sell to that specfic group cuz they know they would get the most money out of it, and they do spend alot of money on advertising alone, but without it, how would ppl know what out there for sell, it crazy they spend millions of dollars to just come up with the idea,

[Jamie O]

Think about it...would you put a Neiman Marcus (for example) in Harlem? No, because it doesn't cater to their needs. There isn't a need for the products that Neiman Marcus sells there. It's a poor community. Just like a farming tools supplier wouldn't get any business positioned in the middle of Times Square.

So, Chicago or the heart of NY City is a "target market" for Neiman Marcus because of the upscale clientèle. Businesses look at the demographical area and decide if that area would bring in the most revenue. That's how it relates to segmentation. To put it simply, you wouldn't hang a crystal chadelier in a haunted mansion...

[Explorer]

No business can be all things to all people. Instead, you must reach specific customers and satisfy their particular needs. As an entrepreneur, you must identify those customers and understand as precisely as possible what they want.

The process of finding and studying potential customersfor your venture doesn’t have to be complex or expensive, but it is extremely important. In a nutshell, it requires you to find out everything you can about the customers whom you intend to pursue. Once you have that information, you’ll have a much better chance of capturing those customers for your business.

The facts you need to know about your target market fall into these three categories:

Demographics

Begin your research by checking the demographics of the region that you plan to target. You’ll want to know the population’s make-up in terms of age, gender, income level, occupation, education, and family circumstances — married, single, retired, and so on.

To find that information, you’ll probably need to visit the local library. Good sources available at most libraries include:

Country and City Data Book, published by the U.S. Department of Commerce
Survey of Buying Power Data Service, published by Sales and Marketing Management
Geographic and lifestyle factors

Give some thought to where and how your target customers live. Are they Southerners or Yankees; urbanites, suburban soccer moms, or country folk? Are they risk-takers or conservative, athletes or couch potatoes, spenders or savers? The answers will help determine what you can sell to them, how you should sell it, and at what price.

Customer needs

Consider all of the reasons why people might purchase your product or service. For example, if you’re opening a string of health clubs, will your customers come to meet other people, to take exercise classes, or to play racquet sports with their friends? Find out by talking to people in the local fitness industry and by quizzing friends or acquaintances who go to health clubs. Then you can design and market your club accordingly.

Once you’ve considered the key demographic factors, you can begin to assemble a customer profile — a more focused statement that describes your target market in detail. Consult that profile when you make decisions about issues such as what products and services to offer or advertise, how much to charge for various products, and expansion plans.

Target Marketing involves breaking a market into segments and then concentrating your marketing efforts on one or a few key segments.

Target marketing can be the key to a small business’s success.

The beauty of target marketing is that it makes the promotion, pricing and distribution of your products and/or services easier and more cost-effective. Target marketing provides a focus to all of your marketing activities.

So if, for instance, I open a catering business offering catering services in the client’s home, instead of advertising with a newspaper insert that goes out to everyone, I could target my market with a direct mail campaign that went only to particular residents.

While market segmentation can be done in many ways, depending on how you want to slice up the pie, three of the most common types are:

Geographic segmentation – based on location such as home addresses;
Demographic segmentation – based on measurable statistics, such as age or income;
Psychographic segmentation – based on lifestyle preferences, such as being urban dwellers or pet lovers.
If you’re interested in target marketing, the first step is to do the research that will help you define and zero in on your target market. How to Find and Sell to Your Target Market will help you get started.

Also Known As: Niche marketing.
Common Misspellings: Targit marketing, target markiting.
Examples: The target marketing example above is an example of how demographic market segmentation could be used.

Target market is, in peaunut butter and jelley, the market segment to which a particular product is marketed. It's often defined by age, gender, geography, and/or socio-economic grouping.

Targeting strategy or targeting is the selection of the customers you wish to service. The decisions involved in targeting strategy include:

which segments to targeting a wihte boy
how many products to offer
which products to offer in which segments
There are three steps to targeting:

market segmentation
target choice
product positioning
Targeting strategy decisions are influenced by:

market maturity
diversity of buyers' needs and preferences
strength of the competition
the volume of sales required for profitability
Targeting can be selective (eg.: focus strategy, market specialization strategy or niche strategy), or extensive (eg.: full coverage, mass marketing, or product specialization).