Bringing a product to market isn’t easy, especially in a sector as saturated as tech.
With more companies comes more competition and a greater need to set yourself apart. If tech companies are to make it in their market, they must know who they’re going to target and develop a strategy to do so in a unique way.
Is your strategy to go full throttle into the mainstream, or will your marketing focus on smaller, more niche segments?
Both approaches yield different results, and the business’ choice at this stage will set the tone for their subsequent marketing campaigns and positioning. It is important to know all the possible approaches, and their pros and cons, before choosing which strategy you will stick with.
What are the targeting strategies you can use?
There are four main targeting strategies that technology businesses must be aware of.
It’s worth noting here that picking a targeting strategy is different from identifying your target market. Targeting strategy focuses more on how you target your audience rather than who your target audience is. To find out more about how to identify your target market, read our blog post here.
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Undifferentiated marketing (or mass marketing)
Undifferentiated targeting occurs when the business views the target market as a homogenous group. This leads to a mass marketing strategy that is intended to appeal to as many people as possible without many differences.
In theory, this would yield a larger number of sales for the business, as they are reaching the largest audience and exposing as many people to the product as possible. While this works well for products with a universal appeal such as food or toiletries, for technology businesses with a more nuanced target market, such a widespread approach isn’t likely to pay dividends.
Tech audiences usually have a specific problem that the technology promises to provide a solution for, so there are more than likely various segments. Therefore companies following this strategy are ignoring the segmentation and run the risk of being undercut by competitors with more targeted campaigns.
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Differentiated marketing (or multi-segment targeting)
A differentiated targeting approach can be effective to tackle the segmentation issue. This strategy involves the company providing separate offerings to different segments of its audience. It allows companies to create products and offerings that actually stand out and appeal to a unique need from their target segment. Apple, for example, uses a differentiated marketing strategy by continuously differentiating their products over the years through product design and new features.
The main benefit of this strategy is building a consumer base loyal to your brand and being less susceptible to competitors outperforming you. The downside, however, is that it can take a long time to form a differentiation strategy, as it requires extensive research, testing, and implementation.
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Concentrated marketing (or niche marketing)
This strategy targets only one of a few very specific segments of the target market. If done well, it can result in a huge boom in sales, boosting profitability all around.
The main and potentially crushing downside, though, is that it’s very risky. A niche marketing strategy requires demand from that small market to be robust and consistent. When demand drops off, the company doesn’t have a leg to stand on as they have focussed all their resources on that segment.
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Customised marketing
Popular in B2B markets or personal service sectors, customised marketing refers to targeting individual consumers.
Companies who practice this type of targeting strategy usually deal in high-value products or services, where there is a customer they need to serve individually. Products are designed and developed to suit each customer’s specific needs, making their experience a special one, and boosting the chance of a high return for the company.
In summary, there are four main avenues tech company founders can go down with their marketing strategy, all yielding different results and all with the potential to make a serious profit for their product.
But how do you know which route suits your business best?
This is where putting your trust in the hands of a professional can be a revelation. Here at Sales for Startups we have a whole team of experts who can analyse your startup and advise what target strategy suits you best. Book a call and let us help you begin your marketing journey!