How do you define your market?
Outlining your product market definition takes some effort but is extremely important to every other product marketing decision you’ll make, so it’s best to take your time and do it right. Here are five key steps to defining your market:
Establish intentions
The first step to developing your product market definition is to ask yourself why you’re doing so now. Are you trying to grow sales of an existing product? Are you trying to identify a new market segment for your product? Or is your product still in research and development, and you’re attempting to nail down the market’s pain points? Knowing the goal for defining your market will help inform the rest of the process.
Talk to people

After you figure out exactly what it is you’re trying to learn, it’s time to get out there and talk to people. This can be done in a variety of ways, depending on your market. Trade shows and other industry events are rife with opportunities to interact with your market. You can also reach out to people via LinkedIn to schedule phone calls to ask your questions. On the consumer side, you can contact special interest groups (i.e. running clubs, writer communities, mommy groups, etc.). Just be sure not to misrepresent yourself.
When you’re talking to people, ask open-ended questions and listen, listen, listen. This is a fact-finding mission, not an opportunity to try to make a sale or change perceptions. Learn more about how to conduct interviews to better understand your market’s needs.
Conduct research
Once you’ve had conversations with enough people and patterns are beginning to form, it’s time to validate your hypotheses through research. You can purchase market research or commission custom research, but both of these options are extremely expensive (or should be, if they’re to be credible). You can also conduct your research through online surveys or with the help of a partner like UserTesting.
Narrow your target
By now, you should have a pretty good idea of whether there is a market for your product. So, it’s time to narrow down your target market. Keeping in mind that you can’t be all things to all people, ask yourself who your most likely customers are as well as who you want your customers to be. Include those who:
- Have a problem for which they need a solution.
- Are legally permitted to purchase your product.
- Have the means to purchase your product.
- Would best be served by your company/product.
If there is, or you can create, a niche for your product, all the better. Remember, you can always expand your market later on or add other market segments. You don’t want to attempt to penetrate too many markets from the start, or you’ll risk wasting time and resources on markets that may not be ready for your product. You might also end up with confusing or nonspecific messaging and disorganization that potential buyers undoubtedly will notice.
Share, share, share
Once you’ve nailed down your product market definition, you’ll need to get buy-in from executives and key stakeholders. It’s crucial that everyone on the team be on the same page when it comes to defining the market. So host meetings, produce written summaries and discuss your product market definition often. Establish a habit that every team member refers to your market definition when making any business decision.