The Basics on Target Market Research

One of the most basic principles in effective marketing is to know who your target market is and then positioning yourself, in the best way possible, to appeal to the needs and wants of your target market. You must find the exact types of companies that fit your location and position yourself as the best possible alternative to meet their needs and wants.

But how do you determine the best target market?

The following steps will create a usable and workable target market analysis, which can be used to better market your location:

1. Complete a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of your location in relation to the following factors:

- Quality of Life
- Infrastructure
- Workforce and Education
- Economic Development Efforts

2. Evaluate local and regional industry clusters, as well as local growth industries and opportunities.

3. Review local assets to determine what your area offers to existing clusters and industries, as well as potential opportunity industries.

4. Assess your goals and your constituency's goals to determine which types of industries do and do not fit with the area's long term goals.

5. Evaluate national growth industries and compare them to the local assets available.

6. Compare and contrast basic NAICS industry classifications with local industry clusters and growth industries to determine the best match overall. Narrow down the search to niche opportunities in terms of specific industry types, company sizes, and geographic location.

There is no need to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for this type of study. If you have the in-house resources you can do it on your own, or Economic Development Marketing can perform this type of study for a fraction of the cost of a full-blown target market report which does nothing more than sit in your file cabinet or on your bookshelf.

Donald Flor
Economic Development Marketing (EDM)
(800) 595-7052 (619) 585-7052

flor@econdevmarketing.com
www.Econdevmarketing.com