As the saying goes, “If you’re marketing to everyone, you’re reaching no one.”
Narrowing your customer base may seem like the opposite of a good marketing strategy. But in practice, it actually increases your exposure to the customers who will be most likely to make a purchase.
Not knowing who your ideal client is can cost you sales, wasted marketing money, and missed opportunities. In this article, we’ll explain the differences between a target market vs. a target audience. We’ll also show you how leveraging both groups can help you market your business more effectively.
Target Market vs. Target Audience
The main difference between your target market and your target audience is the size of the group.
- A target market is a broad group that includes many subgroups. Your target market will inform your overall business strategy.
- A target audience is a specific subgroup within your target market. You can tailor your marketing campaigns for several different target audiences.
For example, the target market for a high-end athletic shoe brand would be fitness enthusiasts. The target audience for their next YouTube ad is competitive marathon runners.
What Is a Target Market?
Your target market is a broad group of people you have identified as the most likely potential customers. There are four major segments used to identify a target market:
- Demographics: These are the main characteristics that determine your target market, which can include stats like age, gender, income level, occupation, or education level.
- Geographics: Unless you are able to sell your products and services globally, you need to take regional preferences into account. This is especially helpful when you are implementing a local SEO strategy.
- Psychographics: Going beyond the basic information of demographics, the psychographic information for your target market includes information about their lifestyles, attitudes, interests, and values.
- Behavioral: This segment is based on competitor and customer research. It separates people into groups based on common characteristics like purchasing similar products or services, sharing the same hobbies and interests, and having similar beliefs.
Target Market Examples
Take, for example, an organic baby food company. Their target market will be health-conscious parents with infants. And a veterinary clinic would have a target market of cat and dog owners within a 20-mile radius.
What Is a Target Audience?
A target audience is a narrower, more specific group of people within your target market. These people may be from a specific age group, gender, or location, but the targeting can get even more detailed than basic demographics.
Target Audience Examples
Let’s take the organic baby food company from the earlier example. Their target market is health-conscious parents with infants. Their target audience for a Facebook ad may be first-time mothers aged 25-35 who follow parenting blogs. Or an Instagram ad for first-time mothers aged 18-25 who follow parenting influencers. By comparing the performance of the two ads, you can narrow down your focus even more.
How to Find Your Target Audience
Now that you know the difference between the two, it is time to find your target audience. Luckily, there are several ways you can do this, so choose what works best for you and your business.
- Customer Surveys and Interviews: You can use customer satisfaction surveys, social media polls or interviews from potential customers to gain a better understanding of your customers. By understanding their emotions and feelings about your store and products, you can better understand how future customers may feel as well.
- Competitor Research: Chances are, your customer base will be very similar to that of your main competitors. There are several online tools you can use to find out who your competition is targeting.
- Analyze Internal Data: You can review your business’s analytics records about products or services similar to your new one. Or review past marketing campaign analytics to see the demographics, geographics, etc., to help you determine a target audience for your new product or service.
- Social Media Analytics: If you use social media, you can use the built-in analytics to help you find your target audience. If you are on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or TikTok, you can use the built-in analytics to analyze who follows you. Set up social media polls about your business and products to find out general information like the gender, age, education level, etc., of the people who see your poll. You can then put this information together to get a general idea of your target audience. For example, you may discover that 70% of your followers are male, aged 25-35 and live in rural areas.
- Create Buyer Personas: Imagine that your ideal customer is standing right in front of you. Write down what age group they belong to, which social media platforms they use, what their interests are, etc. As you create these personas, you can identify the audience that would be most interested in your products or services.
Do You Need Digital Marketing Services for Your Business?
Understanding the differences between your target market and your target audience will help you create a more effective marketing strategy. By eliminating wasteful spending on failing marketing campaigns, you can get your business in front of the right audience and make those much-needed sales.
With a little research and an effective online marketing strategy, the sky is the limit. If you’re ready to reach the right people and grow your business, contact New Wine Digital. Our advertising experts will help you get your products and services in front of the people who need them most.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (04/11/2025) Image by Parveender Lamba from Pixabay