Targeting Guide #11

Don’t think that you are typical of your target customer.

You know far more about your product category than does your target customer.  You have become immersed in your product category.  You may look at three products in your category, and you see great differences between them.  Your target consumer may see those three products as being identical.  As a demonstration, shown below are three washing machines that are the top, middle, and bottom of a manufacturer’s front loading product line.

The Manufacturers Suggested Retail Prices for the three models are $1,600, $1,300, and $850.  You may be able to identify the low priced model as it appears to have fewer control buttons and a different door color.  Identifying the high priced model from the remaining two, however, is almost impossible.  The marketers in this category can probably see a great deal of difference in the three models because they are immersed in the product category, but it’s doubtful that the same is true for their target customers.

Also don’t believe that you know any “typical” buyers of your product category.  Your friends, relatives, and acquaintances probably all know for whom you work.  They too have heightened awareness of your product category because they know you.  Don’t ask for their opinions because they are not typical of your target customer.  The only person typical of your target customer is your target customer, and the only way to accurately assess the opinions of your target customers is through marketing research.