How to identify and engage with your target market

You’ve created a product you're proud of, you’ve developed your brand identity, you’ve dotted the legal i’s and crossed the regulatory t’s, now it’s time to get selling.

But before jumping in with both feet, it's worth taking some time to identify exactly who your target market is, so that you can effectively communicate your brand's image to them, and win them over from the start.

Why is it important to identify your target market?​

There’s a whole load of reasons as to why you want to identify your target market and speak to them directly. The first of these is cost.

“Identifying your audience allows your business to focus marketing efforts and [money] on the groups that are most likely to buy from you,” says Raven Dreibelbis, founder of marketing firm, Raven Creative.

What’s more, this approach could actually help you to compete with major brands from the start. Plus, it’ll help you to really get to know your customer.

“Focusing on the needs of your current consumer helps your business to develop an effective marketing strategy while saving time and money along the way.”

“In the current economy, small businesses can compete with large businesses by marketing to defined audience groups,” says Dreibelbis. “Focusing on the needs of your current consumer helps your business to develop an effective marketing strategy while saving time and money along the way.”

Another reason is that you want to make sure you’re appealing to the interests of your target demographic. You may be familiar with the phrase, 'appeal to everyone and you’ll appeal to no one’ and this is as true in food and beverage marketing as it is in any other industry. This is particularly true with regards to demographic – if your customers are likely to be older then you’ll likely use different language to if your customers are Gen Z​. So, identify your target audience and then you can speak directly to them. 

But don’t worry, you’re not cutting potential customers out by focusing on those most likely to embrace your product.

“Targeting a specific audience may seem exclusive, but it doesn’t mean that you are eliminating people that do not fit your criteria,” says Dreibelbis.

How to identify and engage with your target market​

No one knows your product(s) and your brand as well as you do. So, the first step to identifying your target market is identifying what makes your brand unique, that way you know who your products will appeal to.

“There are a lot of factors that will affect the markets your product sits in,” Charlotte Dawe, co-founder of seafood brand Sea Sisters, told FoodNavigator. “For example, if you are passionate about being sustainable and/or you only want to use quality ingredients. What's important to you and your brand will have an impact on the markets you end up in.”

Once you know what makes your products and your brand special, you can start to look at similar brands on the market, to see who their target market is.

"Ideally you want to do one of two things - make your product stand out in an already existing market or create a new category altogether."

“Looking at already existing products and their markets is helpful,” says Dawe. “Ideally you want to do one of two things - make your product stand out in an already existing market or create a new category altogether.”

Getting to know the existing market will also help you to establish what you don’t want for your brand as much as what you do. This includes design and tone of voice. For example, if your product is likely to appeal to younger consumers then you may want to use bright and bold colours in your marketing, whereas if you’re appealing to an older consumer then you may want to use a more classic colour palette.

How to engage with your target market​

This will depend on a number of factors surrounding the type of customer you’re looking to attract to your brand. But, as in so many situations, social media​ is a good place to start.

“Social media is obviously very powerful and the easiest place to start,” says Sea Sisters’ Dawe. “Building a following on social media platforms, months before a product launches, is a great way to build hype and engagement.”

Getting out there and meeting people is also a great way to, not only get feedback on your brand, but also to further understand who your target market is.

“Meeting your customers face-to-face and getting their live feedback is helpful,” says Dawe. “Heading to food markets and events where you can offer tastings and ask customers questions to gain information is great.”

And remember to pay close attention to who’s picking your product up, at these events, and who’s passing on by - the people picking your product up are your target market!

It’s also important to bear in mind that as your brand grows and evolves, so too will your target market.

“Once your brand is launched it will start to take a path of its own and this can be surprising so stay open-minded and let the product and its customers lead the way,” says Sea Sisters’ Dawe.

Good luck!