Explore Target Marketing Strategies that Work for Top Brands

Not all market targeting is the same for every business? Find out the different target marketing strategies with stories from known brands.

Every business aims to increase revenue by developing a new product or service. That’s the end goal. In the background, the business has to evaluate and identify a target market. It is from this defined segment that it will obtain the most revenue. Now, there are various ways of attracting consumers and earning optimal ROI. In day-to-day business conversations, they are called target marketing strategies. 

Learn them all today. This blog will likely accompany the intermediate-level digital marketing courses you enrol in at any point in your career. 

Target Marketing Strategies | Meaning & Importance

Target marketing strategies focus on specific consumer bases to increase brand reach, grow sales, and stay ahead of the competition. Concepts such as customer segmentation apply here and give way to specific ways of reaching and converting.  

It’s like this – when a business has demographic data of a group of young professionals just out of college, it can use a target marketing strategy specifically for that group. This strategy of targeting will differ based on social class or age. Mostly because needs, wants, and demands differ from one demographic to the next. 

If you want to explore more about customers, you may learn the difference between needs and wants in more detail.

Knowing which targeting strategy to use is a crucial consideration for marketers. It creates clarity in brand communication. This further helps craft unique marketing campaigns for target customers. Consequently, it makes good customer relationships and improves the overall brand image. 

4 Types of Target Marketing Strategies

There are 4 types of target marketing strategies, which include mass marketing, segment marketing, niche marketing, and micromarketing. These categories move from broad to narrow, respectively. But note that they also irrespective of the company’s market size. Meaning, a big brand may choose a micromarketing target strategy over mass marketing.

Mass Marketing

This category is self-explanatory. It is to gather widespread attention to a product and is also known as undifferentiated marketing. 

The pain points such products or services solve are general in nature. Think of the kitchen or home appliances that the mass uses daily in their homes. These products generally tend to cover the base needs of individuals or families. 

Common Mediums in Mass Marketing 

• Television
• Radio
• SMS/mobile
• Print
• Online

Popular Mass Marketing Brand

Coca-Cola uses every possible medium out there to market its products. From sponsoring Olympics to leveraging influencer marketing, the brand leaves no stone unturned. 

Share a Coke campaign is among the best examples of mass marketing. It used different demographics and used almost every type of medium. You could see the ad campaign going viral on billboards, social media, pop-up kiosks, and at college campuses.  

Segment Marketing

Here, marketers focus on promoting products to specific audiences based on demographics, buying behaviours, and similar. Its other names are differentiated marketing and multisegment marketing. And the goal of this type of target marketing strategy is to take away the competitor’s customers and grow market share. 

Marketers can deploy personalised strategies in the differentiated marketing strategy by segregating the target audience into small groups. Read on STP marketing for more clarity.

Common Mediums in Segment Marketing

• Email marketing
• PPC ads
• Direct marketing
• Influencers
• Mobile marketing

Popular Segment Marketing Brand

It has to be Nike. 

Nike introduced the Nike Run Club (NRC) to capture the urban running market segment. This running app and community platform offered training programs, guided runs, and social features. It could create a tailored experience that resonated with the common urban runner’s needs and preferences.

Niche Marketing

It is also sometimes called concentrated marketing, where the market segment is smaller than the above categories. Small companies may use this targeting strategy if they have budget constraints or limited production capabilities. 

Common Mediums in Niche Marketing

• Social media
• Direct marketing
• Dedicated publications
• Invite-only events
• Word-of-mouth marketing

Popular Niche Marketing Brand

YETI Coolers uses the niche marketing tactic of selling luxury outdoor gear. 

The brand focused on outdoor trade shows. While on the content marketing front, the brand focused on storytelling about lifestyles in the outdoors. 

Micromarketing

Micromarketing strategy is heavily customising the product and brand communication to the customer base, which is much smaller than in niche marketing. 

Psychographic segmentation can apply here more because it narrows down into nuances, including the customer’s values and lifestyle. 

Common Mediums in Micromarketing

• Geotargeting and location-based marketing
• Direct mail
• Social media advertising
• Email marketing

Popular Micromarketing Brand

Starbucks does micromarketing well. 

Of more than 23000 shops globally, each of its store designs is different and reflects the local tastes and customs in the neighbourhood. The change is not just in the menu. 

How Should Your Business Select a Target Market?

Selecting a target market will depend on several factors.

Some of the strategic steps can include

• Evaluating each market segment’s size, growth rate, and profit potential. Segments that are large and growing with potential for good profits are most attractive.
• Assessing how well your company can meet the needs of each segment. First, consider your company’s objectives, resources, and capabilities. Target segments whose needs you can satisfy best.
• Determining the competitiveness of each segment. Avoid targeting segments where competition is intense unless you can develop a strong competitive advantage.
• Considering the compatibility of each segment with your company’s image and values. Target segments whose customers will perceive your brand positively.
• Targeting an early market if pioneering new products/services. You can target an early majority if seeking faster growth. Target late majority/laggards if pursuing stability. This is how price skimming works.
• Narrowing your target to a few key segments that offer the best strategic fit and profit potential based on your evaluation. Maintain flexibility to adjust targets as needed over time.

Learning to Apply Targeting Marketing Strategies

Taking decisions for target marketing strategies is part of the marketing manager’s job description. If you have become an intermediate in this domain, you can find some good marketing management and related courses here at Shiksha Online. 

Intermediate courses such as Executive Programme in Digital Marketing train you how to analyse the market environment and prepare you to use marketing analytics for strategies to work. 

But don’t worry if you are new. You can always start with free digital marketing courses, learn the basics, get certified quickly, and move up to become the one choosing the right target marketing strategy for your business!