Who is Your Target Market for Members?

Why you should have a defined target market

Defining a target market is important for any organization because it means the difference between selling a product or service or watching its competition gain market share. Not knowing its target can be a big mistake for an organization.

Identifying your target market helps your organization develop effective marketing strategies. A target market refers to a group of potential customers to whom a company or organization wants to sell its products and services. This group also includes specific customers to whom an organization directs its marketing efforts. A target market is one part of the total market for goods or services.

Streamlining your efforts to be focused on a specific audience enables you to market to individuals that are most likely to engage with your brand. Targeting your marketing can save your organization both time and money. Don’t try selling ice cubes to eskimos.

Defining your target market

When it comes time to determining your target market, begin by clearly defining your product and service offerings, and then the type of person or business that would most likely want what you are offering.

Who are your current customers? Most likely the persona of your current customer is that of your potential customers. What is their income bracket, are they predominantly male or female, what is their age, and where are they located in relation to you?

Private Club Demographics

As a private club, it should be very easy to identify the key demographics of your current membership.

The reality is, being a member at a private club is a luxury and a privilege. Very few low-income earners are ever likely to join a social, golf or country club. Members of private clubs usually have a more than adequate amount of disposable income that they will annually spend on sports, recreation, entertainment and travel.

Location is also a key factor. Most of your customers will reside or work within a twenty minute drive, and not drive past two or three of your competing clubs everyday.

Spending habits are usually very different between the various age groups of members at a club. Even though an elderly member may actually have a larger bank account, younger members, such as millennials, are more likely to spend more at your club outside of the mandated fees. Millennials entertain more, and want the latest technology and equipment. But they also look on-line for deals on merchandise.

For marketing purposes, the average age of your member is important, but as a private club, the age that a member joins your club is much more significant. Your new customer will most likely join your club when they are in their 30s vs someone who has been retired for five years and is well into their 60s.

Public Facility Demographics

Customer’s demographics of public or semi-private facilities can be quite different than those of private clubs.

Public facilities have a wide customer base. The age of a customer is less significant. A first time customer could be a person that is young and just starting a new career, a middle aged individual, or perhaps a senior citizen that now has some time to enjoy life.

Location is always a factor, but a public facility customer may come from a further distance, since their frequency is often much less than a permanent private member. Or, they are willing to travel for a special occasion.

There is a wide range of financial situations of customers of public facilities. They are still middle-upper class, and have discretionary income to spend, but not that of a person who joins a private club. Customers are more likely to be looking for deals and specials, and are willing to travel if it means saving a few dollars.

The demographics of your current customer is exactly where you should be targeting your marketing efforts. Your market will be wider, but the customer base is also that much larger.

Reaching Your Target Market

Now that you have defined your target market, it is now much easier to determine what strategies and tools you should use to reach your audience. Instead of trying to reach every customer who might use your product or service, you can now focus on the customer who is most likely to connect with your brand.

If you are targeting young families as your new customers, rather than advertising in magazines or radio ads that cast a wide net, you might choose to focus your efforts marketing dollars on targeted digital ads on social media, where it is much more likely be seen by your desired audience. Your marketing will be more efficient and not wasted on an audience that is much less likely to even want your product.

Contact Graphic Structure about reaching your target market.