Understanding the Nuances of Target Market vs Target Audience

Understanding the distinction between target market and target audience is crucial for effective Direct Mail marketing, impacting ROI. While often used interchangeably, these terms are different. This blog explains their nuances, helping you craft better strategies.

Target Audience vs. Target Market:

• Scope: Broad market vs. specific audience.
• Segmentation: General characteristics vs. detailed attributes.
• Approach: Knowing who vs. how to communicate.

Understanding the distinction between your target market and target audience can be the difference between a successful campaign and a missed opportunity. This is especially true for Direct Mail marketing, where precision and personalization can significantly impact your return on investment.

Though target market and audience are often used interchangeably, they are different. Read on to learn more about the nuances between your target market vs audience. 

Defining Target Market

The experts at Investopedia define a target market as “A group of people that have been identified as the most likely potential customers for a product because of their shared characteristics, such as age, income, and lifestyle.”

Understanding your target market helps you tailor your marketing to address the general preferences of a large group. A target market is often segmented by characteristics such as:

• Age: Different age groups have varied preferences and buying behaviors. 
• Gender: Marketing messages can be tailored to resonate more with one gender over another, depending on the product.
• Location: Urban, suburban, or rural settings can significantly impact consumer behavior. Products might be marketed differently in different regions.
• Income Level: Higher income levels might allow for premium pricing strategies, whereas lower income segments might focus on affordability and value.

Defining Target Audience

A target audience is a more specific group within your broader target market. This group is characterized by the finer details of their market characteristics. In other words, while the target market represents everyone who might be interested in your product, the target audience consists of those most likely to make a purchase.

Examples of a target audience could be:

• Age: Narrowing down to a specific age range within your broader target market. For example, targeting young adults aged 25-34 within the broader market of all adults.
• Specific Locations: Targeting specific cities, neighborhoods, or even zip codes where your audience lives.
• Gender: Focusing on a specific gender if your product or service appeals more to men or women.
• Income Level: Targeting a specific income bracket that aligns with the pricing of your product.

Identifying a target audience allows you to create tailored mailing lists that are highly targeted directly to individual people. 

Target Audience vs Target Market

It’s easy to see how the terms target market and audience are used interchangeably. Though similar, keep in mind these key differences:

1. Scope: The target market encompasses a broad group, while the audience includes more specific characteristics of these groups. 
2. Segmentation: A target market identifies general characteristics of a population, while the audience identifies detailed attributes.
3. Approach: Identifying a target market is ideal for knowing who will be interested in your product or service, while understanding your audience is ideal for knowing how to communicate with them. 

Market Segment vs Target Audience in Direct Mail

Identifying your target market and audience is the first step of any Direct Mail campaign. If acquisition is your goal, appealing to a broader market is ideal for attracting new customers and growing your lists. For retention, focusing on specific audiences and creating distinct customer profiles helps improve engagement and conversions.

One new online tool to take advantage of is Modern Postcard’s Clarity Dashboard, which allows you to upload your own customer data and see over 30+ graphs and charts detailing the demographic profile and audience segments of your own customers.

By distinguishing between your target market and target audience, you can optimize your Direct Mail efforts, enhancing both your outreach and your return on investment. Learn more about how Modern Postcard can help you reach your target audience with our Direct Mail retargeting!