5: Who is your Target Audience?

Research your target audience and your competitors

Before you start making any decisions about your brand, you need to understand the current market, i.e., who your potential clients and current competitors are.

There are many ways to do this:

• Google your product or service category and analyze the direct and indirect competitors that come up.
• Check subreddits that relate to your customers and eavesdrop on their conversations and product recommendations.
• Talk to people who are part of your target market and ask them what brands they buy from in your space.
• Look at the relevant social media accounts or pages your target audience follows and are receptive to.
• Go shopping online or offline and get a feel for how your customers would browse and buy products.

As you go about your research, make a note of:

1. Who your “lowest hanging fruit” customers are—the ones you could most easily sell to.
2. Who your top-of-mind competitors are—the brands that are established and known in the market.
3. How your customers speak and what they talk about—the interests they have and the language they express them in.

It’s important to have a handle on this before moving forward, as it will inform what your brand should focus on and how it can position itself apart from competitors.