"Many times when I ask "who is your target market?" they will throw their arms real wide exclaiming "Well EVERYONE!" But this just is not smart business." This is a quote from Rudy Ortiz of the Small Business Development Center in Sandy,Utah, which is a non-profit organization which assists with startup help for small businesses. Rudy and myself were having a conversation concerning targeting demographics and marketing strategies. What he means, and what many business professionals know, is that even if your product has a broad appeal to many different market groups, you cannot design a singular logo, branding scheme and advertising campaign for all of these different segments. Targeting “everyone” is a great way to include “no one” and alienating “most.” Everyone is NOT your target market.

When thinking about your product branding and advertising, you must keep in mind your goal. This is to convey the products function, meaning and benefits to your target consumer and affect a sale. Your target customer can be a full range of different backgrounds and income levels, but to garner the most sales you need to be able to target your “core” segment. By “core” I mean those who will give your product the most exposure, purchase the most of your product and become loyal longtime customers.

Take an example with Apples highly successful iPod. The iPod has a very broad appeal to many age groups and demographics, but does not design its ad campaigns around all the potential markets, but rather chose a specific “young” or “hip” demographic for its early campaign. You may recall the original TV and web ads which featured dancing silhouettes.

These iPod ads conveyed a number of adjectives for the target audience to “feel.” Energy, excitement, enjoyment, youth, motion, fun, trendy, popular. Contrast the ads for the early (not the later) iPhone ads, which targeted demographic of men in their 30’s with $70,000+ annual income