When do you know you have the right target audience?
I recently "launched" Geeks and Experts which is a reconfiguration of my previous site (the audience was way too broad and the product was too complicated and clunky).
Should I wait for more "validation" and customer feedback before I declare this is the niche? I have already started doing cold outreach via Twitter DMs to people who I think would be interested in the supply/demand side of G&E.
But, talking about the niche of indie business owners on social, podcasts, newsletters and so on is very new for me as I almost didn't do this for the earlier audience. Just curious how others navigate this chicken & egg issue.
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In my opinion, you have interested in your target like me. All $50 basketball shoes https://basketballshoesplus.com/basketball-shoes-under-50-dollars/ are my target and I am interested in that. In starting no one guide me about that. I work on that alone a great success.
That makes sense to have a personal interest and create for that group.
I follow the approach of my bootstrappers guide. I first identify my audience and where they hang out, then I try to find out their problems and come up with a solution. Doing all of these steps serve as validation so once I have the MVP I have already collected a lot of feedback and know where to get traffic
Thanks for sharing, Tiago. I'll definitely check out the guide. And so true, collection of feedback is key when you are starting out.
Have you defined (yes, this means written down in detail) your ideal customer profile(s)? I did this for my product and then compared what I thought was the ideal customer with who actually was responsive to the product (trial signups) and who actually ended up using the product (conversion to paid).
I started with several different customer profiles (e.g. depending on company size, industry, education, role in company, available budget, etc.) and then was able to further narrow this down and even remove a few profiles that turned out to be wrong assumptions on my side.
I am not saying I have nailed my target group(s) so far, but I am getting closer and closer and I know that because I can now detail my target group much much better and I get much more signups from those target groups (because I, well, know now much better how to target them).
Yes, Jan, this is definitely a great way to filter out the audience. I have got a few potential customers who I am talking to you and iterating based on the feedback and responses that I get.
I am only slightly conscious of speaking about this target group as my niche on public domains, media outlets, and so on. I am trying to navigate how to share my story as a founder and talk about my product while still defining a niche.
It's something I struggle with myself. I honestly don't think you ever have the perfect static niche: People, markets, and products change, and you'll have to adapt to this. I try to ask myself "Does this niche fit my purpose?" The answer is yes if I can create value for people in that niche.
Once you have a good enough niche, you can move forward with it for a while. You'll probably find different niches along the way, which might make you change directions (or not).
Just get started with a niche you think is good, and then improve as you go along. You got this.
Appreciate the kind words, Basil. It is indeed a work in progress and full of trial and error - exciting but also overwhelming at times :) Good luck to you as well!
When you are trying to determine your target audience, it's important to consider a few different factors. First, think about what your product or service is and who would benefit from it the most. Then, consider your target audience's demographics, such as their age, gender, income, and location. Finally, think about what your target audience's interests are and what type of messaging they would respond to. By taking all of these factors into consideration, you can make sure that you are targeting the right audience for your business.
Thanks, Sandhiya. This is definitely helpful. I am trying to talk more about the audience on channels they are active on to see if the product resonates with them.
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I think you need to prove some traction with that audience. Early on it's transactional ie sales then over time it's usage & retention based.
That makes sense. Yes, since we are in the early stages I am looking at more sign-ups from both sides as a sign of traction.