“The seed fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted”
~ Matthew 13:23 (NLT)
You have to sell to the right people to make money. It is it, and you have to follow it blindly.
This was the lesson I learned from Alex Hormozis’ Book $100 M Offer & $100 M Leads on selling to the right people.
Look, There was this guy named Jake who launched a startup with high hopes. He believed he got a winning product in the productivity space that promised to change lives.
He was trying to sell a time management app to students, The truth, which he only realized too late, was that he wasn’t selling to the right people.
Students don’t have purchasing power and most of them don’t require it. By the time Jake started narrowing his focus and identifying ideal customers It was too late. (Made up Story)
If Jake had sold to corporate employees, writers, or social media managers, he could have seen success.
Now the big question comes,
Where do you get these right people?
Read this article till the end to find your ideal customers,
Right people are always available in market, you must find them wisely.
What to look for in a market?
- Type (Need, Desire, Want)
- Pain (health, wealth, relationship)
- Purchasing Power
- Easy To Target
- Growing Market with example
1) What type of market is it?
Basically, we need to find out if there is a need, desire, or want.
i. Need-Based
A need is something essential for survival or basic functioning.
Need – Food, Medicine, House.
ii. Want-Based
A want is something that enhances the quality of life but is not strictly necessary. These are products people choose based on their preferences, lifestyles, and comfort.
Want – Mobile phones, Clothing, Home Appliances.
Do read, Reality of Print-on-Demand.
iii. Desire-Based
A desire is driven by emotional or aspirational motives, often going beyond practicality. Consumers here are drawn to luxury, status, or self-expression.
Desire – Luxury products, High – End Vacation
2) Find for pain in the market,
It is effortless to sell to starving customers. You won’t require much effort.
Three markets with lots of pain –
- Health
- Wealth
- Relationship
3) Look for purchasing power,
Don’t be like Jake (selling products to students).
Target people who have good purchasing power.
4) Make sure that you can find these people easily,
or else you’ll be wasting your time.
Go to Google, and search for “your market” + “community/group“, If you get enough results and there are few competitors around. Then you’re going good.
“remember focus on a broad market with less competition”
5) At last market must be growing,
For example, AI is a growing market, and CD/DVD is a declining market.
If you target a bearish market, you’ll be making a big loss inspite of doing everything perfectly.
Before going to types of market,
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Types of Market
- Good Market
- Normal Market
- Bad Market
A good market, is one where there are lots of starving customers, It is the money-making market with the least effort.
A normal market, is where the market is like OK OK, you just have to be creative with marketing and offers to make a profit.
A bad market (declining market), be away from them as this will make you bankrupt.
Do Read, how to research like a PRO to skyrocket print on Demand sale.
Importance Niching Down
Remember Riches are in Niches,
Benefits of niching down –
- Less Competition
- More trust-ability
- Better customer relationship
- High-Profit Margin
- Clarity in your work
By niching down, businesses can concentrate their efforts, streamline operations, and carve out a unique space in the market that’s easier to defend and grow.
How to Niche Down
Look for the following points,
- What do I know about niche
- Do I have any Experience with Niche
- Is it broad enough (are their competitors)
If you can answer the above points easily, you have a good niche.
Now that you have clarity on your niche, It’s time to define your target customers.
Create a Customer Persona with an example,
Before I thought creating a customer persona was useless,
But recently after reading and learning a lot about market research, I came down to the conclusion of how important it is.
Here is an example –
Customer Persona: Sarah, The Efficient Gym Owner
- Name: Sarah Thompson
- Age: 38
- Occupation: Owner of a mid-sized gym
- Location: Suburban area in California
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration
- Gym Size: 200-300 active members
- Experience: 10 years in the fitness industry
- Annual Revenue: $500,000
- Technology Comfort Level: Intermediate (familiar with basic business software, comfortable with learning new tools)
Goals:
- To streamline gym operations with easy-to-understand analytics
- To increase member retention and engagement by tracking fitness goals and attendance patterns
Pain Points:
- Struggles with managing the increasing volume of gym data (memberships, class attendance, equipment usage)
- Lacks a comprehensive view of how different aspects of her business are performing
Motivations:
- Wants to scale her business and open a second location, but needs better operational insights to do so
- Interested in improving her members’ experience through personalized recommendations and progress tracking
Barriers to Purchase:
- Concerned about the cost of a new dashboard system and its ROI
- Worried about how much time it will take to train staff on the new tool
- Needs assurance that the dashboard will integrate seamlessly with her current CRM and booking systems
How Your Gym Dashboard Helps:
- Comprehensive Overview: This provides Sarah with real-time data on memberships, class bookings, and gym equipment usage in a single, easy-to-understand dashboard.
- Automation: Automatically generates weekly performance reports and tracks member attendance trends to help Sarah create targeted engagement campaigns.
- Member Insights: Allows Sarah to track individual member goals, workout patterns, and engagement, enabling her to offer personalized services and increase retention.
- Integration: Seamlessly integrates with the existing systems she’s already using, saving her time and reducing the manual effort of switching between tools.
Download my free buyer persona for pod sellers, provided below.
Click Here! to download,
Segmentation of target customers
This is done to divide your target market into smaller more defined groups on specific characteristics.
This can help you with effective marketing.
Demographic
This segmentation focuses on defining customers based on personal characteristics such as:
- Age
- Gender
- Income
- Education level
- Occupation
- Marital status
- Family size
Example: A gym targeting customers aged 25-40 with disposable income might focus on promoting premium memberships and personal training packages.
Geographical
This type of segmentation divides customers based on their physical location, including:
- Region (country, state, city)
- Climate (hot, cold, tropical, etc.)
- Population density (urban, suburban, rural)
- Cultural differences in specific locations
Example: A gym in a coastal region may offer more outdoor fitness classes, while one in a colder climate could emphasize indoor training.
Pshycographical
Psychographic segmentation categorizes customers based on their lifestyle, personality traits, values, attitudes, and interests. This helps businesses understand the motivations behind customer behaviors.
- Lifestyle: Fitness enthusiasts, professionals with busy schedules, eco-conscious consumers.
- Values and Beliefs: Health-conscious individuals, those who value sustainability or community involvement.
- Interests and Hobbies: People interested in sports, wellness, or personal development.
Example: A gym may target eco-conscious individuals by offering green or eco-friendly fitness equipment and emphasizing sustainability in their marketing.
Behavioral
Behavioral segmentation looks at customers based on their actions, purchase behaviors, and how they interact with a brand. This includes:
- Purchase behavior: First-time buyers, repeat customers, or loyal clients.
- Usage rate: Light, medium, or heavy users of a product or service.
- Benefits sought: Convenience, quality, price sensitivity, or specific features.
- Loyalty: How loyal the customer is to a brand or service.
Example: A gym could segment members who are highly engaged in group fitness classes and offer exclusive class packages or VIP experiences to reward their loyalty.
How do we use this in print-on-demand?
Now let’s see how we can apply these market research principles to the print-on-demand business.
- Know Your Market Type, Is your POD product a need, want, or desire? Let’s be real, most POD stuff falls into the “want” or “desire” category. Nobody needs a t-shirt with a sassy slogan, but they want it!
- Find the Pain What problem are you solving? Maybe it’s the pain of boring gym wear or the agony of not finding the perfect gift for a cat-loving aunt. Whatever it is, dig into that pain point like a dentist with a sweet tooth.
- Focus on people with disposable income. Think middle-aged professionals, passionate hobbyists, or anyone who is not surviving on instant noodles.
- Make ‘Em Easy to Find, If you can’t find your target audience easier than a needle in a haystack, you’re in trouble. Try this: Google “your niche + community”. If you find active forums, Facebook groups, or subreddits, you’re golden.
- Ride the Wave, Hop on growing trends faster than a surfer on a tsunami. Right now, AI-themed merch is hotter than a laptop running Crysis. Meanwhile, selling VHS-themed t-shirts is about as smart as opening a Blockbuster in 2023.
Now, let’s talk niching down.
In POD, this is crucial. Instead of “funny t-shirts”, try “sarcastic cat pun t-shirts for introverted book lovers”.
Sounds oddly specific? Good! That’s your ticket to standing out in the crowded POD marketplace.
Final Thoughts
Remember, in the world of POD, your designs are your hook, but knowing your audience is the sinker.
So go forth and find the right people for your print-on-demand niche.
Some of my Popular reads,
- Top 39 print-on-demand companies for custom clothing and apparel
- How to ask Leonardo AI to design patterns for you?
- Start selling candles on Etsy as a side hustle
- Don’t miss these 15 print on demand trends
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