Wiktionary
n. A group of people whose needs and preferences match the product range of a company and to whom those products are marketed
Wikipedia
A target market is a group of customers a business has decided to aim its marketing efforts and ultimately its merchandise towards. A well-defined target market is the first element of a marketing strategy. Product, price, promotion, and place are the four elements of a marketing mix strategy that determine the success of a product or service in the marketplace. It is proven that businesses must have a clear definition of their target market as this can help reach its target consumers and analyze what their needs and suitability are.
A target market is a group of people considered likely to buy a product or service. A target market consists of customers that share similar characteristics, such as age, location, income and lifestyle, to which a business directs its marketing efforts and sells its products. As marketing efforts are becoming increasingly online based, the need to find the right audience for marketing campaigns is essential. One of the first steps in developing an effective marketing campaign is determining an appropriate target market so that marketing goals can be set and implemented.
Target markets can be separated into primary and secondary target markets. Primary target markets are those market segments to which marketing efforts are primarily directed and secondary markets are smaller or less important. For instance, the primary target market for a jewellery store might be middle aged women who care about fashion, and their secondary target market could be middle aged men who may want to buy gifts for the women in their lives.
It is important for a business to identify and select a target market so it can direct its marketing efforts to that group of customers and better satisfy their needs and wants. This enables the business to use its marketing resources more efficiently, resulting in more cost and time efficient marketing efforts. It allows for better understanding of customers and therefore enables the creation of promotional materials that are more relevant to customer needs. Also, targeting makes it possible to collect more precise data about customer needs and behaviors and then analyze that information over time in order to refine market strategies effectively.
Usage examples of "target market".
It may seem a bit odd for the Bank of Scotland to choose as their spokesman a man widely feared by many in the target market as America’.
I don't use it very much, because I am nowhere near their target market.
Even what passed for summer in Glasgow was enough to tempt much of his target market outdoors to have a go at games based on the Real Life(tm) engine, usually teamplay mods such as Football and Cricket, or that ever- popular two-player pursuit marketed variously as Dating, Winching and Lumbering.
His own reservations were about the destination, as despite all the bars, discos and reinforced concrete that had sprung up on Aegean shores, he feared the Greek islands might have too many connotations of rusticity in the minds of his target market.
For years he had existed meagerly on cutesy plots featuring baby animals and itsy-bitsy toddlers, using carefully researched language structures appropriate for his target market.
You're the target market: a shrinking violet who's afraid of change, but not quite blind enough not to see she's falling behind the visionaries.