Target Markets

Understanding Targeting and Target Markets

The evaluation and selection of target markets is a cornerstone of marketing. Virtually all successful firms will have defined target markets. This section of the segmentation study guide provides a review of target markets, their evaluation and selection process, a review of different target market approaches, along with relevant examples.

What is a target market?

A target market is a market segment that has been deliberately selected by an organization, in order to focus their marketing efforts. Organizations may have several target markets and will typically have distinct market offerings each of them.

The concept of a target market is an important aspect of modern day marketing, especially as the vast majority of firms focus on the needs of a particular market segment/s, rather than the overall market (which is known as mass marketing). The starting point of the marketing concept, which is the foundation of most marketing textbooks, is the selection of a target market.


What to review for a better understanding of target markets: