Author name: Vivek Haridas

How to Find Your Target Audiences. Ready to find your targeted audience? Here are the real tools and methods to research them — plus what to do if you’re a brand-new business. In Part 1, we talked about why your targeted audience has to come before branding. In Part 2, we broke down the 4 types of targeted audience you can define. So now comes the practical question: how do you actually go out and find yours? The good news is you don’t need a big budget or a research team. Most of what you need is already sitting in tools you may already have access to — you just need to know where to look and what to look for. 1. Data Analytics Tools How to Find Your Target Audience Using Free Tools? If you already have a website, app, or online store, you’re likely sitting on more customer data than you realize. A few tools that help how to find your target audience: Google Analytics (GA4) and Google Search Console — to see who’s visiting and how they’re finding you Microsoft Clarity or Hotjar — to watch how people actually behave on your site Amazon Brand Analytics or Shopify Analytics — if you sell through those platforms Meta Business Suite and Ads Manager — for social and ad performance Google Trends and Google Tag Manager — to track interest and behavior over time HubSpot’s free CRM — to organize what you learn about individual customers You don’t need to use all of these at once. Pick two or three that match where your business actually operates, and let the data guide your strategy — not the other way around. It’s worth sharing what you learn with your product and promotion teams too, since the same data helps them serve customers better. 2. Talk to Your Customers Directly This is the most underrated method, and often the most accurate. Data tools tell you what people did — a direct conversation tells you why. Ask your existing customers what made them buy, what almost stopped them, and what they’d change. Don’t wait too long to ask — customers are far more likely to give honest, detailed feedback when the experience is still fresh, and reaching out promptly also makes them feel genuinely supported.  3. Study Social Media Analytics Your social platforms already hold a lot of audience insight if you look past the like count. Pay attention to: Engagement rates and peak activity times Audience demographics (most platforms show you this directly) Sentiment in comments — what people are praising or frustrated about Which influencers or accounts your audience already follows This data helps you create content that actually lands, because you’re building around real behavior instead of assumptions. 4. Stay Agile and Keep Watching Audience research isn’t a one-time task. Trends shift, platforms change, and your audience’s habits move with them. Make it a habit to stay current on what’s happening in your space and adjust your content accordingly, rather than relying on research you did once and never revisited. How to Find Your Target Audience When You’re a Brand-New Business? This is the question I get asked most — and it’s a fair one. If you don’t have an existing customer base to study, you’re not stuck. Here’s what to do instead: Study your competitors’ platforms. Look at their websites and social media to see what they’re offering and how they’re promoting it. This alone tells you a lot about who they’re targeting. Read their comment sections. Look for the people actively engaging — commenting, asking questions, showing real interest. These people may not be your exact audience, but they’re often close enough to give you a genuine starting signal, sometimes even people with a similar need looking for an alternative. This won’t replace real customer data forever, but it’s more than enough to get your first campaign pointed in the right direction. What Comes Next Once you’ve gathered this research — whether from your own data or from studying competitors — you’ll have a clear picture of who your audience actually is. But research alone isn’t quite usable yet. The next step is turning it into something your whole team can act on: a customer persona. That’s exactly what we’ll build, step by step, in the next series.

The 4 Types of Targeted Audience (and How to Spot Yours). Not all targeted audiences are found the same way. Here are the 4 core types — with real examples — so you know exactly where to look. In Part 1, we talked about why finding your targeted audience has to come before branding. But “find your audience” is a big, vague instruction on its own. The truth is, there isn’t just one way to define an audience — there are four types of targeted audience you can work from, and each one tells you something different about your customer. Understanding these types of targeted audience isn’t just theory. Once you know which one actually fits your product, you know exactly where to point your research — instead of guessing. Let’s break down each of the four types of targeted audience, one by one, starting with the most familiar. 1. Demographic Targeting This is the most familiar type — targeting based on measurable traits like age, gender, income, occupation, or family status. Example: A maternity wear brand naturally targets women in a specific age and life-stage range — it’s built into the product itself. Demographic targeting is usually your starting point because it’s the easiest to define and the easiest to find data on (from tools like Google Analytics or your own sales records). But on its own, it only tells you who someone is — not why they buy. 2. Psychographic Targeting This is about understanding your customer’s interests, values, and lifestyle choices — the “why” behind their decisions. Example: A ready-to-cook food brand isn’t just targeting “working professionals” as a demographic — it’s targeting people with a specific lifestyle: busy schedules, limited time to cook, and a preference for convenience without giving up quality. That’s psychographic, not demographic. This is where your messaging gets sharp. Two people can share the exact same age and income and still buy for completely different reasons — psychographics is how you find that reason. 3. Geographic Targeting Where your customer physically lives — country, state, city, or even a postal code — can matter just as much as who they are. Example: A water filter brand solving hard-water problems didn’t launch everywhere at once. The marketing team found that Bangalore had a particularly high concentration of the exact issue their product solved, so that’s where they focused first. A strategy that works in one city might completely miss the mark in another — geography changes what problems people actually have. If your product solves a location-specific problem, this is often the most overlooked but highest-impact of the four types of targeted audience. 4. Retargeting This one’s different from the first three — it’s not about finding a new audience, it’s about following up with people who already showed interest. Example: Someone visits your website or engages with your social post but doesn’t purchase. They’re not a stranger — they’re already your audience, they just haven’t converted yet. A gentle reminder (an ad, an email, a retargeted post) is often what brings them back, especially if they simply forgot about you rather than decided against you. Retargeting tends to have some of the highest conversion rates of any strategy, precisely because you’re not starting from zero — you’re re-engaging someone who’s already shown intent. Which Type Should You Focus On? Most businesses end up using a mix of all four types of targeted audience — but usually one does the heavy lifting depending on your product. A location-specific product (like the water filter) leans geographic. A lifestyle-driven product (like ready-to-cook meals) leans psychographic. The key is knowing which lens actually explains why your best customers buy — not just applying all four because they exist. Once you’ve identified which types of targeted audience apply to your business, the next step is turning that understanding into a research process — which is exactly what we’ll cover in Part 3.

Why Your Branding Is Just Guessing Without a Targeted Audience. I always tell business owners the same thing: if you’re planning to start a business, don’t start with the branding stuff — the name, the logo, the things that just “look good.” People don’t buy things because your branding looks polished. They buy things because those things solve a problem they have. Your customer needs to feel like you understand their problem. Like this brand actually looked at what they’re struggling with, and built something to help. That feeling doesn’t come from a nice logo. It comes from knowing exactly who you’re talking to. So here’s the real question: how can you connect with your audience if you don’t even know who they are? If you build your name, logo, and messaging before you know your targeted audience, how is that audience supposed to feel like this brand is “one of them”? A name only creates connection when it’s chosen for the people you’re trying to reach — not before you know who they are. Find Your Audience First. Brand Second. Here’s the conclusion I always come back to: find your targeted audience first. Build a customer persona around them. Then choose a name and logo that actually connects with that persona. If you’ve already branded your business without doing this, it’s not the end of the world — but you may need to rebrand once you understand your audience properly. And this isn’t just about looking right. Knowing your audience also helps you set the right price point, because you’ll understand what they value and what they’re willing to pay for it. So before you touch your branding: find your audience segments, build your personas, and only then take the next step. A Quick Example Say you’re launching a maternity wear brand. If you brand it like a general women’s fashion label — a trendy, Gen Z-style name — you might feel like you’re on the right track, since both target women. But think about it: Gen Z is mostly in their studying years, not their pregnancy years. Your name and tone might appeal to a Gen Z audience that isn’t actually your buyer, while missing the tone that would resonate with someone who is expecting. This is what happens when you brand before you research: you can end up speaking clearly to the wrong room. Branded for everyone Branded for her What’s the Difference Between Targeted Audience and Targeted Market? Let me explain it simply. Imagine you’re building a house. The house is your targeted market — the whole landscape your business operates in. The bricks and stones you choose are your targeted audience — the specific people you’re building for. Each room in the house is a marketing strategy. You build your house room by room (strategy by strategy), using the right stones (your best-fit customers) for each one. That’s targeted audience and targeted market working together. In plain definitions: Targeted audience = the specific individuals your business needs to reach. Targeted market = the broader landscape your business operates within. The more real knowledge you have about your targeted audience, the less effort it takes to actually reach them. You’re not guessing anymore — you’re building with the right materials from the start. Why Defining Your Targeted Audience Actually Matters Once you clearly define your targeted audience, a few real benefits show up: You create content that connects. When you know who you’re speaking to, your content speaks directly to their pain points — not in general terms. This raises engagement, conversion rate, and your return on investment (ROI). You build trust, not just sales. When customers see that you’re actually listening — that you understand their problem and are working to solve it — that’s the real game-changer. You’re not just selling a product. You’re showing up as someone who gets them. That’s what makes people come back. There are plenty of ways to research and find your targeted audience, and the important part isn’t the tool you use — it’s how you approach the people you find. Click here to get your free target audience audit