What exactly are you selling, to who and where?

Branson Centre - Foundations of Entrepreneurship, Session 2

To view Foundations of Entreprenuership Session 1, click here

There is a big difference between a dream and a goal. A dream is something you hope will happen, but there is no call to action on your part. It's a picture in your head that you may aspire to, but there's no clear map for how you'll get there. A goal is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and bound to specific time frames. It is clearly defined.

What does this have to do with session 2 of "Foundations of Entrepreneurship"?

Our focus in today's session was mainly on who our target markets are.
As an entrepreneur your target market needs to be more like a goal and less like a dream. By that I mean clearly defined. Specific. Measurable.

Two of the questions that were addressed in detail were:

1. What am I selling?

2. Who am I selling it to?

While each of us in the room had what we though was a good understanding of our product, industry and target market - presenting it in a clear way to the rest of the class was surprisingly challenging.

Most of us were thinking a little too broadly, but by the end of the session we had a clear understanding of both the demographics (age, gender, ethnicity, income levels etc) and some psychographics (feeling, motivation, attitudes etc) of our markets. 

Accurately defining your target market is a critical step in the business process. Different segments have different needs, and different problems to overcome in order to meet those needs. The features of your product, as well as your marketing strategy will depend heavily on the needs you are trying to fulfill within a clearly defined target market.

So, if you are an entrepreneur reading this my question to you is:

What are you selling, to who, to fulfill what need?

If you're struggling to answer that question, then you need to take a deeper look at who your target market actually is, what is important to them and how you can alter your product or service offering to meet their needs.

Keep an eye out for next week Thursday's post, where I'll let you know how today's theory has been applied practically to improve my business. 

Also - if you have any questions, comments, or insights - I'd love to hear from you in the comments box below.