A target market is a narrowly defined group of willing buyers of a product/service. For example, the target market for your organic beef product may be high-income housewives. So, the search for your target market is the search for the type of buyer most willing to buy your product/service. Marketing research is often needed to identify your target market.

The target market is the group of buyers on which you will focus your marketing efforts. Your Promotion plans will also be directed toward your target market. Your product distribution plan needs to provide your product/service in a convenient location for the targeted buyers to purchase.

There are several new and emerging potential Marketing Targets for value-added groups to consider.

A specialty or niche market is a unique set of willing buyers. For example, a specialty market may be defined by the ethnic background of the group of willing buyers. Or it may be defined as willing buyers who are conscious of the health benefits of the products they buy. A specialty market may be the target market for your product/service. Once again, Market Research may be needed.

Collective Marketing Arrangements for Geographically Differentiated Agricultural Products examines the incentive of agricultural producers within a specific geographic region to differentiate and collectively market products.

Ethnic Marketing is an important marketing specialty or segment.

For more information on this topic, see the links listed below of articles posted on related Web sites.

• Niche Marketing – Texas A & M University Extension – Niche marketing is targeting a product to a small portion of a market.
• Target Market – Small Business Notes -- The focus of marketing effort is people. The goal is to reach a subset of the population who may be interested in your particular product. That group of people is your target market.
• Market Segmentation – Businessplans.org -- The purpose for segmenting a market is to allow your marketing/sales program to focus on the subset of prospects that are "most likely" to purchase your offering.
• Finding Customers: Market Segmentation – Ohio State University – A business that targets specialty markets will promote its products more effectively than a business aiming at the "average" customer.