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Target Market Examples

Elon Glucklich

7 min. read

Updated April 24, 2024

Imagine your dream is to own a diner.

You have restaurant experience and a great location in mind – you just need the bank to approve your loan to get started.

But the bank has questions. A big one it wants answered is: who is your target market?

It might be tempting just to say, “hungry diners.” But you’ll need to dig deeper to truly define your target market . 

In this article, we’ll use this diner scenario to walk through the market research process and illustrate what the final result could look like.

• Questions about your target market

Before you even set foot in the bank, you should already have asked – and taken steps to answer – several key questions about your target market.

Let’s call our example business the Bplans Diner. Where is that perfect location you’ve found for the diner? Is it in a densely populated urban area, suburban neighborhood, or rural?

What are your hours of operation? Some diners cater to a breakfast crowd, while others might offer 24-hour dining to be a favorite among night owls. When you expect your peak hours could help determine whether you should expect to sell more omelets or hamburgers.

What’s the area’s median income, and what types of businesses or institutions are nearby? This information will help you determine pricing and marketing strategies for your diner. For instance, if your diner is located in a business district, you may want to offer lunch specials. But if it’s near a college or university, you might want to offer student discounts.

This is what a thorough target market analysis looks like, providing key insights and data to pinpoint the specific groups of customers most likely to patronize your diner. Gathering all of this information may sound intimidating, but it’s really just a matter of doing research. If you need help and guidance, check out our complete guide to conducting market research for your business . 

Let’s look at an example of a target market analysis for this diner. Then, we’ll break it down and discuss each element in detail.

• Example of a target market analysis

As you can see, the target market analysis follows the basic market segmentation process of splitting out potential customers into their demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioral traits.

Next, let’s take a look at each in more detail. Afterward, we’ll look at how you can harness your target market analysis into actual business strategies.

• Demographic

You may have noticed that the demographic analysis in our example is very broad – 18 to 65 years old, including students, workers, and some seniors.

Finding your target market isn’t always about identifying a narrow demographic to cater to. In the case of a restaurant, it makes sense to focus on the geographic location and who currently frequents the area (more on that in the next section).

A different approach may be needed for a technology product that’s sold online. In that case, narrowing the demographic focus to specific age ranges or needs would be much more important than where the business is located.

In the case of the diner, we reached our decision by conducting a demographic analysis, examining the age ranges, occupations, and other concrete data points about potential customers near the proposed location (Reminder: we didn’t do this for the Bplans Diner, we’re just providing an example). 

There are several ways to go about collecting this information for your business. The most straightforward is to get out in the neighborhood, take a look around and talk to people. Are you mostly seeing students, or families? Are there a lot of office workers in the area? 

You can also look up data from the U.S. Census Bureau , which includes population, age, income and other useful information, often down to the neighborhood level.

After conducting this research, one valuable step is to create a detailed customer persona that represents the typical customer you expect for your business (we provide an example of a customer persona for the diner further down in this article).

While the demographic analysis considers the type of people who might frequent your business, the geographic analysis considers the characteristics of the neighborhood itself. 

Our target market analysis for Bplans Diner noted that we plan to operate in an urban area near a university with heavy foot traffic and expect a fair amount of late-night diners.

A key reason for examining the geographic makeup of your businesses is to size up your competition. If there’s already a popular diner in the area you plan to target, getting customers could be a major challenge. But if there’s a lack of dining options or no one is serving diner-style food, you’re more likely to be successful. Determining the size of your market will help you create reasonable revenue projections. 

We also mentioned the plan for Bplans Diner to cater to a late-night crowd. Examining the geographic makeup of the neighborhood will help you determine if there are the kinds of businesses – bars, music venues, or businesses such as hospitals where people are working all hours – to justify targeting this group.

• Psychographic

You know the demographics and geographic characteristics of your market. Now it’s time to consider the attitudes and values of your potential customers.

The psychographic analysis helps to understand the lifestyle of potential customers and how that might affect their preferences as consumers. If many of your potential customers are health-conscious, for instance, you’ll want to ensure your diner provides options like salads or gluten-free menu items. But if most customers are families looking for a place to bring their children, it may be important to keep classic items like hamburgers and french fries on the menu.

The best way to understand your potential customers’ attitudes is to get out and talk to them. Customer interviews are among the most powerful methods of validating a business idea , since you’ll get honest, real-time feedback from the kinds of people your business would depend on.

Finally, the behavioral analysis expands on customer psychographics by examining what customers do, given their values. This is another place where it’s worth considering the broad demographics of the diner’s target market – 18 to 65 years old, split among students, workers, and seniors.

They may all want the diner’s food, but their behaviors will vary widely. College students might be looking for a late-night study spot, or a place to meet up with friends for dinner before a concert or sporting event. But workers and seniors might be more interested in breakfast or lunch specials. 

Each of these behaviors gives a business owner valuable information to target individual segments of their target audience. For instance, you might want to play popular music in the evenings to get young diners ready for a night out on the town. But you’ll want a quieter ambiance at the time of day when seniors are most likely to come in. The environment can be adjusted based on when certain customers frequent the business.

Addressing behavioral aspects like buying motivations and concerns of your potential customers will also help you effectively market your diner. For example, you could create marketing campaigns based on student discounts, late-night specials, or a family-friendly atmosphere, depending on your customers’ behaviors.

• Connecting a target market analysis to business strategy

So far, we’ve touched on each of the components of a target market analysis for a diner: customer demographics, geographics, psychographics, and behaviors. (It’s also important to conduct an industry analysis to understand competitive and macroeconomic forces affecting your planning.)

With the target market analysis complete, you’re better equipped to demonstrate a thorough understanding of your customers to a lender.

Here are a few insights a business owner could use for the Bplans Diner, developed through the above analysis.

• Bplans Diner Competitive Analysis

Market Trends: Growing demand for late-night food options, increasing preference for healthy dining options.

Competitor Strengths and Weaknesses:

Competitor A: Strong brand but limited menu options.

Competitor B: Wide variety of options but lacking in ambiance.

• Bplans Diner Marketing Strategy

Product Differentiation: Offering a diverse menu that caters to various preferences, including healthy options.

Positioning: Establishing Bplans Diner as a reliable, quality, 24-hour dining option in the region.

Promotion: Utilizing social media to announce special night-time deals and promotions.

• Get started with your business plan template

A target market analysis is a key part of any business plan. But it’s just one piece. At Bplans, we take some of the pain out of business planning. We’ve developed a free business planning template to help reduce entrepreneurs’ time to create a full, lender-ready business plan. Bplans has also collected over 550 free sample business plans across numerous industries. Find a plan in your industry to get inspiration for your plan.

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Elon is a marketing specialist at Palo Alto Software, working with consultants, accountants, business instructors and others who use LivePlan at scale. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism and an MBA from the University of Oregon.

Table of Contents

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Top 10 Target Market Business Plan Examples with Templates and Samples

Lakshya Khurana

When you optimize your business operations to your target market, your company does better. You become better at resource planning, and you tailor your products and services to your clients, which means better customer relationships and maximizing your return on investment (RoI). To implement your effective business plan, you will find our Target Market Business Plan Templates to be very helpful.

Our readymade PowerPoint presentations help you collect qualitative and quantitative data for your target audience using tools like surveys, interviews, focus groups, etc. Additionally, you can analyze the data collected and draw and deliver insights, such as market segmentation, for your business.

As you focus on your target audience, you need the best strategies for your sales team to bring the customer to the company. Click here for a blog replete with ready-to-use sales business plan templates!

Market Focus Plan PPT Templates

SlideTeam created these slides, which we have curated in this blog post for you. These templates are composed of content-ready and 100% editable slides. With their help, you will save yourself a ton of time and energy. No more worrying about a hundred different design features and hours spent online researching the right technical terminology.

You can grab the template(s) you like and add your own information, and you will be ready for the next meeting with the stakeholders, aka the management, the investors, the team, etc.

Streamline your target market with our pre-made target market templates with samples and examples with a click here !

Let’s review these templates and select the one(s) that best suits your needs!

Template 1: Target Market For Business Plan Template Bundles

This PPT Deck enables you to focus on your target market and create a business plan suited to their needs. This 17-slide PPT Set illustrates the tools you need to develop and execute this plan and uses the example of several business use cases to showcase this strategy. This includes a restaurant business, a beverage business, and a coffee shop target market. Furthermore, it includes the resources to conduct activities like market segmentation, employing key statistics, creating brand awareness, and more. Download this template from the link below.  

Template 2: Demographic Profile of Target Market Business Plan

Use this PPT tabular slide to categorize and lay out the demographic information of your target information in differing locations. Add aspects like the total population, share of population by age group and income in percent, classification by gender, and more. There is ample space to detail the insights derived from the table at the top of the layout. Grab this template right away!

Template 3: Target Market Assessment Chart In Business Plan

This assessment chart helps you analyze your target market through several lenses. The information is presented in a table for aspects such as the size of the market, market segment, target segment, competitor characteristics, etc. The necessary data gives insights into each one of these aspects. Get this slide today!

Make It Yours Today

Template 4: Demographic Target Market Plan for Restaurant Business

This PPT Slide uses a restaurant business as an example to showcase the place of demographic research in the target market business plan. The layout shows a distribution first by age, then by income, and finally by location. The chart gives an excellent and easy-to-read classification of your target market that will help you make better-informed decisions for your own business plan. Download the template now.

Grab It Here

Template 5: Targeting Market Segmentation for Effective Business Plan

This slide showcases how to conduct market segmentation, how it works, and why. The information given in this readymade table is classified into demographic, geography, psychographics, and behavior. This is done for the verticals of the market segmentation, target audiences, and positioning in the plan. Download this template from the link below to deliver an effective market segmentation. 

Click Here to Download

Template 6: Target Market to Effectively Develop Business Plan

This template showcases how you can create your target market business plan by dividing customers by their life-stage stats. This editable sample slide classifies the target market into couples, families, and students. Information on these groups, such as age group, gender, preferences, and more, is provided. Get this slide now to understand your customers better. 

Download Now

Template 7: Key Statistics Showing Target Market for Beverage Business

Statistics work very well in showcasing the behaviors of a given demographic. This slide presents the data for a beverage business's target market. It details how much they receive from each generation (baby boomers, millennials, etc.) and delivers insights using a pie chart and simple text. Download this template and deliver your own numerical data on your target market to stakeholders. 

Template 8: Strategic Business Plan to Create Awareness Among Target Audience

This is a critical slide that lays out the roadmap to actually creating the business plan. Beginning with market research and industry evaluation, it goes on to the second step of client taste evaluation and preferences. The third step involves product pricing evaluation and market competition. Finally, you can establish market strategies. Follow this template plan and alter it to meet your business and target market needs. Grab it right away.

Template 9: Planning Target Market for Beverage Industry

Segment your target market in the beverage industry until you know a lot about them. Know their age range, gender, occupation, religion, lifestyle, and more, and put it all in one place for easy reference. Download this template from the link below.

Template 10: Target Market Persona to Create Effective Business Plan

Create a buyer persona of your target market customers and deliver it to stakeholders with this PPT Layout. This persona will be key to your plan. This slide presents this data in terms of the technology they own, challenges they face, needs and goals they have, and more. Make this template yours today and know your customers intimately to mold your products and services to make them happy.

Our templates will help you alter your strategies and plans to suit your clientele. They will make for an excellent, convincing pitch to get everyone on board with your ideas and vision. These visually appealing slides will keep the attention of your audience with you as you lay out how you will gather your target audience for your business.

Take a choice from our curated list of Target Market Business Plan Templates and get selling!

Click here for the blog to access more target market templates that help you determine your customer’s profile.

Related posts:

• Top 10 Target Templates with Samples and Examples
• Top 10 Product Launching and Marketing Playbook Templates with Samples and Examples
• Top 7 Business Plan Templates with Samples and Examples
• Top 10 Repair Shop Business Plan Templates with Samples and Examples (Editable Word Doc, Excel, and PDF Included)

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Target audience examples: a complete guide to understanding your customers

You can’t market effectively if you don’t know who you’re speaking to. Defining your target audience isn’t just a step in your strategy—it’s the cornerstone of your success. Whether you’re crafting campaigns, developing products, or planning your next big launch, a well-defined target audience will steer you in the right direction. Let’s explore what a target audience is, how to define one, and target audience examples to inspire your next project.

What’s a target audience?

Your target audience is the group of people most likely to engage with your product, service, or content. They’re the people you want to reach because their needs, goals, and behaviors align closely with what you offer.

But a target audience is more than a general category—it’s a dynamic, multi-layered profile made up of several key components:

Demographics: These are the basics, like age, gender, location, education, and occupation. Think of this as the foundation for understanding who your audience is on paper.

Psychographics: Go beyond the surface by considering values, lifestyles, hobbies, and beliefs. Psychographics tell you why your audience behaves the way they do.

Behavioral traits: What actions does your audience take? This could include their buying habits, preferred shopping methods, or the kind of content they engage with online.

Pain points: What challenges or problems does your audience face? These frustrations are opportunities for your product or service to shine.

Goals and aspirations: What does your audience want to achieve? These insights help you connect emotionally and position your product as a stepping stone toward their ambitions.

Understanding all these elements creates a vivid, actionable picture of your ideal audience—and helps you craft messaging, products, and experiences that resonate on a deeper level.

How do you define your target audience?

Defining your target audience doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By following a clear, step-by-step process, you can gather the insights needed to zero in on the people who matter most to your business.

1. Start with your product or service

Begin by identifying what your product or service does and the problems it solves. Ask yourself: Who benefits most from what we’re offering?

For example, if you’re offering time-management software, your ideal audience might include professionals juggling deadlines, project managers coordinating teams, or freelancers looking for better workflows.

Pro tip: Split your audience into primary and secondary groups. Your primary audience is the direct user, while secondary audiences might influence the purchasing decision (like managers or procurement teams).

2. Dig into your data

Your existing data is a goldmine for audience insights. Use analytics tools to uncover patterns and trends among your current customers and followers.

Website analytics: What demographics visit your site? Which pages and content resonate most?

Social media engagement: Which platforms drive the most interaction, and what type of content sparks conversations?

Purchase data: What products or services are your customers gravitating toward?

Pair these quantitative insights with qualitative methods like surveys and customer interviews to uncover the “why” behind the numbers.

Pro tip: Use open-ended questions in surveys to capture unique perspectives that data alone can’t provide.

3. Research your market

Your audience exists within a broader market context. Researching competitors, trends, and gaps can help you position your product uniquely.

Study your competitors: Who are they targeting, and how? Look for opportunities to serve audiences they might be missing.

Track trends: Industry shifts can reveal new needs or highlight underserved niches.

Pro tip: Explore communities like forums, social media groups, or industry events to see what’s top-of-mind for your potential audience.

4. Build personas

Personas bring your audience to life. A strong persona includes:

- Demographics

- Motivations and goals

- Pain points

- Decision-making factors

- Communication preferences

Personas make your audience tangible, helping your team focus on real people rather than abstract numbers. With clear personas, you’ll find it easier to craft messages, campaigns, and products that hit the mark.

When do you need a target audience?

A defined target audience is critical at nearly every stage of your business strategy. Let’s look at how it can guide you:

Creating personalized marketing campaigns: Knowing your audience allows you to speak their language. Whether you’re running social ads or sending emails, targeting the right people with the right message leads to higher engagement and better results.

Prioritizing product features or updates: Not all features resonate equally. By understanding your audience’s needs, you can focus on creating solutions that add the most value, saving time and resources.

Choosing the right distribution channels: Your target audience determines where you invest your energy. For example, B2B audiences may prefer LinkedIn, while younger consumers might spend more time on TikTok or Instagram.

Developing impactful messaging: A generic message might reach many, but it rarely connects. Tailored messaging based on your target audience’s values, pain points, and goals creates a lasting impression.

In every scenario, your target audience acts as a guide, ensuring your efforts are focused and effective.

Target audience examples in Miro

Now let’s put theory into practice. In this section, we’ll explore different ways to define your audience and how Miro can help bring it to life.

Target audience

Start with the basics with this target audience template . Define your audience by demographics, behaviors, and interests. This is your high-level overview—great for ensuring you’re aligned on who you’re targeting.

Audience persona

These are more detailed profiles that humanize your audience. An audience persona includes demographics, behaviors, motivations, and challenges. They’re excellent for refining your messaging or creating specific campaigns.

Proto persona

When time is tight, proto personas give you a quick snapshot of your audience. They’re not as detailed as full personas but still help your team stay aligned.

User persona

If you’re building a digital product or service, user personas go beyond general traits and dive into specific user behaviors and needs. They’re especially helpful for UX and product design teams.

Other frameworks to help you shape your strategy

Once you’ve defined your target audience, these frameworks can help you sharpen your approach:

Brand positioning

Where does your product sit in the market? Understanding your brand positioning can help you refine your messaging to connect with your audience.

Go-to-market plan

This GTM framework ensures you’re targeting the right audience with the right strategy when launching a product or service.

Empathy map

Step into your audience’s shoes. An empathy map helps you understand what your audience thinks, feels, says, and does—giving you deeper insight into their motivations.

Tips on how to build your target audience according to your project’s needs

Building your target audience is a skill that improves with time and practice. Here’s how to approach it thoughtfully:

Start with small, actionable steps

Focus on one audience segment at a time. By targeting a specific group, you can test strategies, gather insights, and refine your approach before expanding.

Balance data and intuition

Quantitative data provides clarity, but don’t underestimate the power of intuition. Real-world observations and market experience can help fill gaps in your understanding.

Adapt as you learn

Audiences evolve. Regularly revisit your personas and data to stay aligned with their changing needs and preferences.

Collaborate for a 360° view

Involve teams across your organization—sales, product, customer support. Each brings unique insights that enrich your understanding of the target audience.

Visualize your insights

Bring your audience to life visually with Miro. Map out personas, behaviors, and pain points to create a shared understanding across teams.

With these tips, you’ll build a robust foundation for your projects and campaigns.

Create unique user experiences with Miro

When you deeply understand your audience, you can deliver experiences that feel personal, relevant, and impactful. A well-defined target audience allows you to craft meaningful connections, build products that solve real problems, and deliver campaigns that drive results. These insights not only foster stronger relationships but also lead to better business outcomes.

Miro’s ready-made templates, powerful collaboration features, and intuitive Miro AI make it the perfect tool for helping you define and visualize your audience. From brainstorming personas to refining strategies, Miro ensures your team stays aligned, whether you’re collaborating in real time or asynchronously.

Ready to start building strategies that resonate? Explore Miro’s target audience templates today and take the first step toward creating products and campaigns that truly connect.

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