How to define your target group when conducting academic market research

One of the most crucial steps in the process of conducting market research is defining your target group. Without a clearly defined target audience, your research efforts can become unfocused, inefficient, and costly. Here is a guideline on how to identify, segment, and analyze your target group effectively to maximize the impact of your market research projects.

What is a target group?

A target group, often referred to as a target audience, is the specific segment of the market that a study aims to understand.

Hitting the target reduces the cost

The effect of only collecting data from the defined consumer group will open for use in screening when conducting the fieldwork. Screening makes data collection far more efficient, reducing the field costs and thus (usually) an increase of the number of useful respondents in the database.

Why is defining a target group important?

Defining the correct target group ensures that the strategies and actions derived from your research are relevant and effective. If the wrong target group was measured, the strategy, actions later taken are less likely to be successful.

An example here could be that if a strategy to introduce a new type of coffee drink to pregnant women in Northern Ireland market is deemed favorable, but the analysis on usage and attitudes towards the new type of coffee drink was actually done with all ages, genders of the North Irish population – the risk of adopting the incorrect strategy is high.

Steps to Define Your Target Group

Identify Market Segments

Market segmentation involves dividing the population base into smaller, more manageable groups based on specific characteristics. Four primary types of market segmentation:

• Demographic Segmentation: Age, gender, income, education, occupation, marital status, etc.
• Geographic Segmentation: Location, climate, urban vs. rural, regional preferences.
• Psychographic Segmentation: Lifestyle, values, interests, personality traits.
• Behavioral Segmentation: Purchase habits, brand loyalty, product usage, decision-making patterns.

Develop Personas

A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal target group. A buyer persona includes:

• Name (e.g., "Traditional-Coffee-Margaret ")
• Demographics (e.g., 35-year-old single woman, lives in a rural area)
• Goals & Challenges (e.g., looking for low-cost options to solve everyday problems)
• Buying Motivation & Pain Points (e.g., prefers local cafes, dislikes larger coffee chains)
• Preferred Communication Channels (e.g., word of mouth)

A key reason for defining personas is to understand how to segment the market based on a more personal approach. When seeing a respondent as a person (persona), it is easier to spot the target group you are really after and understand if questions to define that target group need to be adjusted or new questions added in the questionnaire.

Adapt to Limitations & Choose Methodology

Market research projects often have limitations, such as budget constraints. If the available budget is limited, adjustments to the target group may be necessary.

For example, instead of measuring the coffee consumption among women in Northern Ireland who are currently pregnant, it might be suitable to conduct the survey with mothers of younger children.

Different research methodologies may be considered based on the research objectives and budget. Common academic research methods include:

• Surveys & Questionnaires: Direct feedback from the population about their preferences and behavior.
• Focus Groups: Small groups of target consumers providing in-depth opinions.
• In-depth interview: One-on-one discussions to gain deep insights.
• Observation: Monitoring consumers’ behavior in real-world settings.

While Syno mainly conducts surveys and questionnaires, we can connect researchers with partners for alternative methods.

Validate Your Target Group

Once you've identified the target group, validate it by testing your questionnaire or chosen method with a limited number of respondents. The results will confirm whether the assumptions about the target group are correct. If necessary, adjustments can be made before proceeding with full-scale research.

Conclusion

Defining a target group is a fundamental step in market research that enables academicians to draw the right conclusions from their research projects. By segmenting the market, developing personas, and choosing the right methodology, academicians can maximize their chances of success with their research projects.