✅ Learn How to Identify and Understand Your Target Customer
(Know Your Customer Before You Sell)
✅ Introduction
Many new entrepreneurs fail not because their product is bad, but because they sell it to the wrong people.
A business grows faster when it clearly understands:
✅ Who is the customer?
✅ What do they need?
✅ What problems do they face?
✅ Why will they buy from you?
This topic teaches students how to identify and understand their target customer, which is one of the most important steps in entrepreneurship.
✅ In simple words:
Target customer means “the right people for your product or service.”
✅ 1. Meaning
✅ What is a Target Customer?
A target customer is the specific group of people who are most likely to buy your product or service because they:
- have a need or problem
- can afford your price
- are interested in your solution
- have the authority to decide or purchase
✅ Target customer is not “everyone.”
A business becomes strong when it focuses on a clear type of customer.
📌 Example:
If you provide poster designing, your target customer can be:
- shops
- coaching centers
- restaurants
- gyms
not everyone in the city.
✅ What does “Understand Your Target Customer” mean?
Understanding your target customer means learning about:
✅ their needs
✅ their problems
✅ their behaviour
✅ their budget
✅ their buying decisions
✅ what they like and dislike
This helps you design better products, pricing, and marketing.
✅ 2. Why Target Customer Identification is Important?
✅ 1. Saves marketing time and money
When you know your customer clearly, you do not waste time selling to people who are not interested.
📌 Example:
Offering website services to people who don’t run businesses is wasteful.
But offering to business owners gives better results.
✅ 2. Improves sales and response
Correct targeting increases chances of:
✅ replies
✅ interest
✅ conversions (sales)
✅ 3. Helps create better product/service
When you understand customer needs, you can improve your solution accordingly.
📌 Example:
A business may need “quick delivery” more than “low price.”
✅ 4. Helps decide correct pricing
Different customers have different budgets. Knowing your target customer helps you price correctly.
✅ 5. Builds long-term relationships
When you solve the right customer’s problem, customers return again and again.
✅ 3. How to Identify Your Target Customer?
To identify your target customer, students can follow simple steps:
✅ Step 1: Write What You Are Offering
First, clearly write your product or service.
Examples:
- poster and social media content
- website development
- online promotion and marketing
- resume and presentation making
- technical support services
- food delivery/tiffin
- coaching and training
✅ Without clear offer, you cannot find the right customer.
✅ Step 2: Find Who Needs It the Most
Ask this question:
✅ “Who has the biggest need for my service?”
Examples:
- Promotion service → shop owners, coaching institutes
- Website service → businesses, professionals
- Tiffin service → working people, hostels
- Training service → students, beginners
✅ Step 3: Choose a Narrow Customer Group First
In the beginning, students should not target everyone. They should start with 1 category.
📌 Example:
Instead of targeting “all businesses,” choose:
✅ coaching institutes only
OR
✅ restaurants only
OR
✅ salons only
✅ Narrow target gives better focus and faster results.
✅ Step 4: Understand Customer’s Purchasing Power
Choose customers who can pay for your solution.
📌 Example:
Students may not pay ₹5000 for website.
But a business owner can pay because it generates business.
✅ Step 5: Understand Customer Location and Access
Decide whether your customer is:
- online customer (social media/website)
- local customer (offline/local area)
📌 Example:
Local services need nearby customers.
Digital services can work online.
✅ 4. How to Understand Your Target Customer?
After selecting customer group, next step is understanding them properly.
✅ 1. Understand Customer Needs (What they want)
Needs are the requirements of the customer.
Examples:
- more customers
- more sales
- better business branding
- time saving
- fast service
- good quality
📌 Example:
A gym owner needs daily promotion to increase memberships.
✅ 2. Understand Customer Pain Points (Problems they face)
Pain points are problems that customers are suffering from.
Examples:
- low business sales
- no online visibility
- lack of proper branding
- poor customer support system
- high cost from other providers
- shortage of time
📌 Example:
Small shops face low visibility because they don’t advertise properly.
✅ 3. Understand Customer Behaviour (How they buy)
Customer behaviour includes:
- do they buy quickly or take time?
- do they bargain?
- do they need proof?
- do they trust reviews?
📌 Example:
Most customers ask for:
✅ sample work
✅ results
✅ previous customer reviews
✅ 4. Understand Customer Budget (How much they can pay)
Budget is important to decide pricing.
📌 Example:
Some customers prefer:
- low-cost basic package
Others prefer: - premium full service package
✅ Knowing budget helps you offer correct pricing options.
✅ 5. Understand Customer Language and Communication Style
You should communicate in a way customers understand.
📌 Example:
For a small business owner, use simple words like:
✅ “more customers”, “more sales”, “more leads”
instead of technical terms.
✅ 5. Best Methods to Understand Target Customers
Students can use two easy methods:
✅ Customer Interviews (Talk to people)
✅ Customer Observation (Watch behaviour)
✅ Method 1: Customer Interview
Students should talk to at least 2 potential customers and ask questions like:
✅ Customer Interview Questions
- What problem are you facing currently?
- What solution are you using right now?
- What do you dislike about current solution?
- What result do you want?
- How much do you usually spend on this problem?
- Would you pay for a better solution?
✅ Interviews give real data directly from customers.
✅ Method 2: Observation
Observation means studying customers without directly asking them.
Students can observe:
- what customers buy frequently
- what services are most demanded
- what complaints are common
- what competitors are doing
📌 Example:
If many shops have no proper signboard or posters, it shows a branding opportunity.
✅ 6. Measurable Outcome (Student Task)
✅ Each student must do at least one:
✅ Task Option A: Talk to 2 customers
Students talk to 2 customers and record insights.
✅ Task Option B: Observe market
Students observe customer needs and competitor work.
✅ Students must write 3 insights like:
- Customer’s biggest need is _________
- Customer’s biggest problem is _________
- Customer’s buying decision depends on _________
✅ 7. Practical Examples (Management + Computer)
✅ Example 1 (Promotion Service)
🎯 Target customer: local shop owners
✅ Insights:
- They want more daily customers
- They don’t know how to post on social media
- They prefer affordable monthly package
✅ Example 2 (Website Setup Service)
🎯 Target customer: coaching centers
✅ Insights:
- They want online inquiries
- They need trust-building through website
- They want easy WhatsApp inquiry button
✅ Example 3 (Design & Branding)
🎯 Target customer: restaurants
✅ Insights:
- They want attractive menu posters
- They need festival offers promotions
- They want quick delivery of designs
✅ 8. Conclusion
Identifying and understanding the target customer is one of the most important parts of entrepreneurship. A business grows faster when it focuses on the right customers and solves their real needs. By talking to customers and observing market behaviour, students can collect insights and improve their product, pricing, and marketing approach. When the right solution meets the right customer, the business becomes successful.