Startup Bootcamp, Part 7: Identify your target audience
While you may think your idea is so groundbreaking the whole world will want it, you’ll need to narrow your scope.
Having a product a few people love and would recommend to their friends is much more valuable than many people who think your product is “just OK.” This is where you flesh out who you think will care about your idea. Who’s your target audience? You’ll need to identify what your product/service does, what problem it solves and for whom.
Make a list of everyone you think would be interested in your concept.
Triage your list. It’s time to cull your list. Narrow your list to three at most. Is the problem your product solves in your target audiences’ top three problems? Who within your list considers this a top tier problem? What are their other major problems?
Customer segmentation. You’ve determined who has a problem that your product can solve, but what other information can you discern? Where do they live? How much cash are they pulling in each year? Are they cat ladies living in a 15th-floor walk up or husbands living in the ‘burbs with 2.5 children? Which website is more likely to be their homepage -- Reddit or Real Simple? Add some color to your audience profile with the following data:
Geographics: Large or small city/town (be specific), region, country, climate, internet connectivity/geographic advantages or disadvantages relative to your product
Demographics: Age, gender, ethnicity, household income (HHI), education level, marital status, children
Psychographics: Personality traits, interests, likes/dislikes, opinions, lifestyle
Technographics: Devices used, social media platform preferences, communication likes/dislikes, when and how they use technology (work, home, play)
