This week we are looking at Customers in your market analysis. Here is the market analysis template again, for your reference.
Market Analysis
Industry
- Description of Industry
- Industry Trends
- Market Segment(s)
- Distribution Channels
Competition
- Direct & Indirect Competition
- Strengths & Weaknesses
Customers
- Demographics
Company
- Company Profile
- SWOT Analysis
Customers
Who are your customers? Do you sell to individuals or other businesses? Try to break down your customer base into logical categories. If you sell to consumers, use demographic categories. The more precisely you can identify your customer base, whether individuals or other businesses, the more efficiently you can promote your business.
If you do business with individuals, business-to-consumer (B2C), then identify the demographic categories that best describe your customer. Use any demographic category that makes sense for your business, such as age, sex, marital status, income, or education. There are many additional categories like home ownership, religious preference, school affiliation and so forth. Use those categories that make sense for your product line and market.
In addition, identify where your customers live, work, play, eat, worship, what kind of vehicle they drive and anything else that is identifiable. We find that many times small businesses don’t really understand their customer. What about their income, age or behavior makes them interesting to you? What about your product, service, mission or corporate philosophy makes you interesting to your potential customer?
Likewise, if you do business with other companies, business-to-business (B2B), try to identify those characteristics that make your customer base identifiable. The more clearly you can identify your customer, the more accurate you can be when defining your marketing strategy.
Clearly define your target customer in the appropriate categories. Depending on your business, you may have defined an even more precise measurement system. If you have actual historical data from this or another business that closely matches yours, use that information to get a better feel of your customer and their behaviors.
Stay connected with us on social media and our blog. Next week we will look at analyzing company.