Steve Jobs Knows His Target Market

Can you answer the question, how does your target market find what they need and want online? It's worth answering accurately.

The importance of knowing your target market was never more obvious than in the June 10th, 2007 unveiling of the beta Safari Browser for Windows by Steve Jobs at Apple's WorldWide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

There are a whole list of reasons why, once again, Jobs and Apple are spot-on with their latest promotion. First of all, they know that the owners of Apple products are like groupies, or maybe cult members. Apple product users flock to conferences and conventions so that they can maybe be the first to let their text buddies, RSS subscribers, DIGG diggers or whoever, hear about the latest and greatest from Apple. They pride themselves on being cutting edge.

Secondly, capturing disgruntled Windows users has got to be Jobs' favorite hobby, just for purely emotional reasons, but he's not stupid. That market is huge. So developing Apple-anything for Windows is a smart move. Jobs knows Apple users, but he also knows Windows users.

Thirdly, he knows where his target market hang out, get their news, get their information, how they browse, where they shop, and how they think. It's scary, thinking that these guys know how I think. Has the concept of 'sacred space' gone entirely out the window? I mean, excuse me but I have boundaries...

No matter. Jobs knows that half of the 1 million iTunes downloads a day are made by Windows users, so he's going to market his Safari for Windows version via iTunes.

Sure, his new browser for Windows is just one more bridge for Windows users to cross. Before you know it, they'll be buying Macs. Or maybe not. The point is, not only is he building bridges, he's using the ones that Windows owners already use to sell his new ones. He created iTunes, not knowing how wildly popular it would be with Windows users.

He made it his business to find out once it was popular, however, and to leverage that usage into the marketing of yet another Apple product to Windows users.

As marketers, this lesson is huge. If you're new to internet marketing, it's easy to get discouraged because "anything worth doing has already been done". Hogwash. Sure, there are big boys in every business. It's up to you to discover the niche that can use the success of others to your own business's advantage. Find your target market's hangouts.

It's one thing to know your market and what they want, anyone can do that. It takes a bit more time and skill to know how to get to the most people fast.

Know your target market, inside and out, and use every resource at your fingertips to draw them to your product or service.

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