Target market is the groups of same types customers who are most likely buy your products/service for their needs. Every business has a unique target market. Without finding your target market, you can’t focus on whom you are marketing. So 1st you need to find out who your target market is.
While researching your target market, you need to consider every possibility of them, like who they are, their age, what they want, what problems then have, what is their emotional state, how much they earn, their family background, their locations etc.
Example:
For a Saree store in India, their target market is like this:
Age: 20 to 60
Gender: Women
Marital status: Both married and unmarried
Jobs: Housewives, Government/private job holder, business women
The Emotional State of Your Target Market:
You can’t influence someone if you didn’t know about their mental & emotional state. When you know their emotions, it will be easy for you to influence them to buy from you.
Every person has 3 core desire. They are wealth, health & relationship. All our thinking, emotions, choices, decisions and actions are influenced by these core desire. There is other sub category of desires, but in every case, there is always this 3 category.
These 3 core desires are responsible for your happiness and also for your unhappiness. You can test it on your self. If you have a fight with your family members or loved one, you feel unhappy, that’s because your core desire “Ideal Relationship” is not fulfilled or under threat. Then you try to do more talking or other compromise to mend the relationship. When the arguments are over, you feel happy, because your core desire of “Ideal Relationship” is fulfilled now.
Similarly if you found yourself worried (= unhappy) in any moment, you will find that the reason behind your worry is either wealth ( = money) or health or relationships.
And if you found yourself peaceful ( = happy) in any moment, it is also due to any of your core desire like wealth or health or relationship.
Same thing happens with your target customers too. They are either happy or unhappy due to their core desires of wealth or health or relationship.
If they get any problems related to their core desires, they feel unhappy. And if they get solutions for those problems related to core desire, they will feel happy.
These core desires influence their emotions, logic, choices, decision and finally actions. So if you found the core desire of your target market, you will know clearly how to influence them and attract them to your business.
You can check the examples below to find how these core desires affects your us.
Core Desire: Wealth
Pain (Unhappiness): Mobile broken, house need repair, huge debt, less customers, less sales, high tax
Decision & Actions: Buy new mobile, repair house, earn money to clear all debts, do marketing to increase sales
Pleasure (Happiness): New mobile, big house, high bank balance, lots of customers,
Core Desire: Health
Pain (Unhappiness): Stomach problem, fever, not good looking, hair fall, pimple, not much fair, over weight
Decision & Actions: Go to best doctor, buy good hair products to cure hair fall, buy exercise equipment or join gym to reduce weight.
Pleasure (Happiness): Good health, no sickness, strong body, strong hair, clear face
Core Desire: Relationship
Pain (Unhappiness): Not in romantic relationship, arguments with loved ones, broken relationships, not getting attentions from opposite genders
Decision & Actions: Buy new clothes to feel good & possible attract opposite gender’s attentions, have good conversation with family members
Pleasure (Happiness): Get in a new relationships, spending quality time with family, getting lots of attractions/compliments from opposite genders
Find out the core desire of your target market & their emotional state:
Now its time to find out what are the possible one core desire for your target market. Then find out their pain they are feelings, the decisions they would be making and the pleasure they are seeking. To do this you need to be obsessed with your target customers & put yourself in their shoes. Remember that while finding out their emotional state, you have to put yourself in their own shoe and find out what they are thinking most of the time. I know it will not be accurate, but you have to find out as much as possible. Gradually you will get more clarity about themselves.
Below is an example:
Target Customer of an Indian Saree store:
Married housewife of 35 age, Educated, 2 children, husband government salaried, Bhubaneswar location
Core desire: Relationship.
Pain (Unhappy thoughts): Am I over weight, Am I still looking beautiful to my husband, I don’t have good saree for my relatives wedding, my friends have good design saree but I don’t have
Decision: I have to do something about it. I will buy a good design saree. But where to shop? I will search online or ask my friends for suggesting good shop nearby
Pleasure (Happy thoughts): I will look beautiful in the eye of my husband, my friends will praise me for my saree design. I will get attentions from my friends.
Similarly think about your own business and find out the emotional state of your target market.
One core desire at a time:
While finding out the emotional state of your target market, remember to focus one core desire at a time. If you are focusing on their core desire or relationship, then not focus on wealth/health. If you are focusing on their core desire of health, then not focus on wealth/relationship. Not more than one. One marketing strategy for one core desire, if you found other core desire, then it need different marketing strategy.
See this example. Most deodorant company, face wash company etc. body care companies display ads where it shows that if you (Men or Women) use their products you will get attentions of opposite genders (Women or Men). So here they are not targeting core health desire of their target market, rather targeting their Relationship core desires.
Similarly Patanjali Ayurveda company is focusing on health core desire. Jio company focusing is focusing on wealth core desire (they are marketing by reducing price on everything, so that you can save some money by buying their products).
Now you would have understand how important it is to find your target market and their emotional state. Once you found this information, you can influence their decisions & influence them to buy from you. All you marketing strategy is founded on this research.