There are a variety of tools that can help marketers define their target market. Two tools that I like are Hootsuite Analytics and using a test market scenario. These marketing tools can be adjusted to fit the needs of different products/ services and can help a marketer define or refine their target segment.
Hootsuite is an online marketing company that offers multiple tools to make the lives of digital marketers easier. Hootsuite (2021) allows a user to look at their analytics across multiple platforms simultaneously, giving the marketer a larger view of the overall picture. With this tool, a marketer can view and print reports or check the performance of posts (Hootsuite, 2021). Here are some of the pros and cons:
- Posts can be organized by date and set to be most relevant first
- View individual platform reports or aggregate reports
- Limited free account option, full access requires a paid subscription plan
For the subscription fee, there are many benefits to Hootsuite (2021). A user can:
- Set posts to publish automatically
- Crosspost on multiple platforms
- Answer communications from consumers in one location
- Design advertising campaigns
Hootsuite is highly customizable, user-friendly, and has tons of great blogs on marketing tips and free e-learning courses too!
Test Markets are a great tool to help marketers define or refine their target segment. This research entails finding a target market similar to the intended segment and testing the product with those consumers. Similarities in the consumers should include the geographic location, psychographics, and demographics of the target group (Babin, 2019).
Test Markets can be accomplished through many different research-specific companies or done by the company themselves. A test market provides a sort of trial run for the product or service. Sometimes the product or service is free or lower cost as an incentive to the consumers. Test markets can serve as a trial for different versions of a product or service. It can also help determine the affinity for a product a segment may have.
Other techniques may involve offering the product free with the intent of having the consumer fill out surveys about the product and their experience, or holding panels (Babin, 2019). This tool can be a more costly venture depending on how the firm wishes to run the test, but it can also produce compelling results. A firm may find out that their product has a fatal flaw, or that consumers prefer one color over another. This preemptive research can save money in the long-term production of a product by helping to work out the kinks before its full launch.
There are SO many wonderful tools to help marketers. It doesn’t matter which ones you choose as long as they work for you! Happy marketing!
References
Babin, B.J. (2019). Essentials of marketing research. Boston, MA. Cengage
Hootsuite Inc. (2021). Hootsuite. Hootsuite. Retrieved September 18, 2021, from https://www.hootsuite.com/platform/monitor.
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