Comments on: Your target market cannot be everyone

By: xian

xian — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:39:31 +0000

that's similar to the “potemkin village” anti-pattern you see with community sites or message boards: it's better to start a single group and grow it organically, forking or calving-off as needed, than to set up a huge empty honeycomb and try to popualte it.

By: PatrickCourtney

PatrickCourtney — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:02:10 +0000

Yea, totally, thanks for the explanation. Would love to see this Happy Cog app when it's public. Thanks, Whitney!

By: Whitney Hess

Whitney Hess — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:34:09 +0000

Next time ask them to name a book, newspaper or magazine that appeals to everyone and see what they come up with! Sometimes I think companies are under the impression that the web is a different beast simply because it's about reaching people sitting behind their computers and all it takes to move them to and through their site is a click. If only they understood how much negotiation is required just to earn a click!

By: Whitney Hess

Whitney Hess — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:33:51 +0000

Ha! If you asked me who my target audience is for my business I'd say, “Clients with a lot of money who like to spend freely.” :)

Of course, I'd probably narrow the target by also saying, “Who want to change the world.”

By: Whitney Hess

Whitney Hess — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:33:46 +0000

Jason, that's an awesome analogy and I just might steal it sometime. You're right that using an example to clarify how these choices matter might just focus everyone around the table.

As for how I like the do research: I'm a firm believer in the good old fashioned one-on-one conversation. If we identify a few potential target audiences, I'll talk to 3-4 people within each one to find themes in their backgrounds, behaviors, attitudes, motivations, frustrations and tech savviness. Then I can go back to the client and say: “Here are our opportunities. Now you get to pick what the business wants to pursue.” That approach has always worked for me.

By: Whitney Hess

Whitney Hess — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:33:31 +0000

“Alienating” is a really strong word that I think rarely if ever happens in the online space. Short of doing something offensive to a particular group, you're simply making choices that would more effectively appeal to a certain type of audience. It doesn't have to be dramatic as in color scheme, imagery, or language. Instead it's about understanding the needs of your target and guiding them through the experience, while still accommodating other user types.
A good example of this is an environmental web app I recently designed with Happy Cog (that hopefully will be launching soon so I can discuss in more detail). Our target audience is casual environmentalists so we dedicated most of the site to the needs of someone who cares enough to be there, but isn't devoting their life to the cause. But meanwhile, there are still a few key features to appeal to “deep greens” or treehugger types that will allow them to be the site's power users, without detracting from the experience had by the casuals.

Does that make sense?

By: Whitney Hess

Whitney Hess — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:33:17 +0000

Says a 3x successful entrepreneur. Thanks for posting your sentiments here.

By: spencerfry

spencerfry — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:26:30 +0000

I agree. To use a silly analogy: You need to plant the seed and then grow from there. You can't expect to be a huge tree without water and proper care. It's smart to keep focused on something attainable early on, but that also leaves you enough room to grow. You don't want to too narrowly define your brand.

By: PatrickCourtney

PatrickCourtney — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:12:41 +0000

Good stuff really dug this post. Do you find it an issue as UX person appealing to a target market without alienating other markets?

By: Aaron Irizarry

Aaron Irizarry — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:08:35 +0000

Whitney,
Nice post, I see this very consistently in the company I work for (a search marketing start up) , there is a general idea of who the target audience is, but within a short amount of time if goals aren't being meant they tweak the audience (small business to corporate and then back to small business), or focus, instead of a consistent dedicated focus to one product, or set of products for it's meant audience.

I think this could be caused by lots of start up's being driven by investment, if they are not careful they end up chasing dollars

It is a lot like watching a hyperactive child with a laser pointer.

Again another informative, and useful post

~ Aaron I