How to identify the perfect target market for your physical product

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Today, we'll be discussing how to identify the perfect target market for your physical product.

Billions of dollars are spent every year manufacturing products that nobody asked for.

It seems simple, but literally 97% of the products that come across my desk have zero utility.

Understanding your target market is key to creating a product that people actually need.

So let's jump right into it!

1. Start with Market Research

Before you can identify your perfect target market, you need to research potential customers.

Explore market trends.

See what consumers are buying in your industry.

And, more importantly, why they are buying.

Market research can help you to:

• Identify potential competitors

• Understand customer preferences

• Spot emerging trends

Example:

If you want to make a new water bottle that is good for the environment, you first need to see what people are already buying.

You might discover (or confirm) that people want things that are good for the environment.

So if you make a bottle that is eco-friendly, people are more likely to buy it, compared to an unsustainable one..

2. Understand Customer Pain Points

When you want to find the people who will buy your product, think about the problems your product can solve.

Look at the things that people struggle with when they use products like yours and think about how your product can help.

Example:

Back to our water bottle example, a common pain point might be that traditional plastic bottles are harmful to the environment.

Your eco-friendly water bottle could be designed with biodegradable materials to address this issue and stand out in the market.

3. Define Your Target Audience

Once you have an understanding of potential customer pain points…

Narrow down your audience by focusing on specific demographics.

Consider:

• Age

• Gender

• Income

• Location

• Occupation

• Education

• Interests

Example:

For our eco-friendly water bottle, the target audience might consist of environmentally-conscious, health-oriented individuals between the ages of 25-45, with a slightly higher focus on women due to their preference for reusable water bottles.

4. Examine Customer Behavior

People within your target market might have specific:

• Behaviors

• Preferences

• Habits

That could influence their interest in your product.

Analyze how your target audience interacts with similar products to better understand their needs and expectations.

Example:

For our water bottle, we might learn that our target audience frequently browses online stores for eco-friendly products and follows a specific group of influencers on instagram.

That suggest we should focus on influencer marketing and building a strong social media presence to effectively reach our audience.

5. Conduct Surveys and Interviews

To make sure your product is what people want, ask them what they think through surveys and interviews.

You can also ask them direct questions about what they like and how they normally do things to make sure you're on the right track.

Example:

Ask questions about the preferred materials, size, and functions of reusable water bottles in your survey.

When you're making a water bottle, you should ask people what kind of material, size, and features they like in a water bottle.

You can give the bottle the features that people ask for!

This will help you design a bottle that people will want to buy and like.

Why?

Because they had a say in its design.

This is the best way to get consumer buy-in.

6. Refine Your Target Market

Chances of you getting it EXACTLY right first time around are slim to none.

So…

Remain open to change.

After reviewing the information you've gathered, use your findings to adjust and refine your target market.

As you learn more, you might get new insights that cause you to alter your focus.

Example:

Through customer feedback, you might learn that young professionals in urban areas are the ones buying your water bottle.

Now, you can refine your target audience by focusing on city-dwelling professionals between the ages of 22-35...

And write hyper-focused scripts for your influencers campaigns.

The saying is true…

The riches are in the niches!

Final Thoughts

To create a successful product, research the market to find out what people want and what problems your product can solve.

You probably won’t hit the nail on the head first time around…

But keep learning and changing to create a product that people will love.

That’s for now.

See you next week!

Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Raise crowdfunding: We can help you turn your product prototype into an investible asset. If you’ve got a working prototype, and need funding to scale, send me a direct message on Linkedin (click here) saying “funding” for more details on how we can help.
   

2. Validate your physical product concept: Got a concept (napkin sketch or full concept design) for a killer product? We want to see it. Click here to submit it for review.
   

3. Free Guide - Crowdfunding 101: How to prepare your physical product for a crowdfunding campaign. Click here to learn more.