The following represents the Success Doctor™'s Market Targeting Model (a format to follow when targeting an audience, or while engaged in any targeting activity). It's in the form of three concentric circles, like a bull's-eye, as follows:

Applying the targeting model is simple. Each circle represents a different level in the targeting process -- the center being the first and so on. The bull's-eye, the center, which is your "perfect customer" or "core product" (actual benefits or results your product delivers), should be your main aim at all times.

The second level are things that are related to your perfect customer or core product. The third level, while not related, are things that are oriented towards your perfect customer or core product. As the adage goes, "fish where the fish swim." Find places, events or publications that meet any of the three.

Here's a real-life example. Let's say you're in the computer sales business. Your perfect customer is a person aged between 20 and 35, earning around $30,000, living in the eastern part of the United States and working in the information field (e.g., accounting, high tech, engineering, architecture, etc).

The center or bull's-eye would be to target that perfect customer as specifically as possible. Computer-related magazines, shows, websites, tradeshows, ezines and directories, among other types of media, should be first on the agenda -- wherever your perfect customer is targeted, based on the qualities and characteristics of your product or customer, should be your first goal.

The second tier are areas that are indirectly related to your perfect customer or product. Your goal would then be to target markets that are similar to your own or somehow logically fit into your target market as well -- in short, other related publications, businesses or areas that target your perfect customer too.

Areas include software magazines, trade publications, technology websites, industry associations, non-competing businesses, etc. An example would be other websites selling computer peripherals or software your perfect customer would need or enjoy, such as an accounting software package.

The third and final tier consist of totally unrelated areas that target your perfect customer (or any one of its characteristics). Let's say, through some research, you found that a large percentage of your target market are coffee drinkers. Then areas you would seek are, for example, coffee-related websites, specialty coffee magazines, coffee product stores (e.g., coffee maker companies, mugs, espresso machines, etc), restaurants, books on coffee and so on.

To illustrate, let me show an actual example of using and applying the targeting model. A question was once asked of me from web designer and marketer Linda Caroll. She asked:

I know that Linda was asking me for specific site suggestions. Personally, I didn't know of any off the top of my head, as this process requires some thinking, research and analysis on my part. But I decided to share with her some of my thoughts using the targeting model. Here's what I answered ...

It is only my guess but people that would be interested would be peace seekers, community-minded people, antiterrorist type association members and the like -- examples of the latter are Greenpeace, Amnesty International, etc). The object, as you pointed out, would be to target these people -- by targeting other vehicles that cater to this psychographic specifically.

So, the question is: Where would this type of audience congregate? What websites do they visit? To which ezines are they subscribed? What discussion lists or newsgroups do they frequent or in which do they participate?

When I help my clients target their audience's, I tell them to look at it in a form of a bulls eye, with three concentric circles. The center being the core market, the middle layer being the industry itself or other related fields, and the outside layer being extended, augmented, unrelated fields.

The center of the bulls eye represents the core. This would naturally be the core of the target market (what they are all about, want, believe in, etc, which in this case is peace). Evidently, your market can therefore be targeted through peace-oriented websites or publications.

(I'm sure you can search several search engines for the "peace" and other related words, such as "war," "antiterrorism," "peacekeeping," "United Nations," "treaties," "ceasefire," "love," "harmony," "peace accords," etc.)

The second circle, outside the core, represents the second layer. This would mean other websites or publications that cater to peace-oriented individuals or companies -- websites or publications that are not peace-specific but whose audience consists of such people. The question here is, "What other sites fall under the theme of peace? Antiterrorism? Anti-war? Would it be environmentalists? Pro-lifers? The religious?"

(For example, people involved in the recent Seattle and Washington protests, including the "Million Mom March" for gun control, may fall in this category. Other groups like veteran associations, anti-capital punishment lobby groups, church groups and other types of groups of this nature may be interested. In short, other sites whose message may not necessarily revolve around peace but whose audience fit that particular psychographic characteristic are good.)

The third layer is the outside layer of the bulls eye -- to go beyond the inner circles (as in thinking "outside the box"). This third layer represents places that are not industry-specific, product-specific or topic-specific at all (i.e., beyond the peace-specific [the center of the bulls eye] or the peace-related [the second layer]) but whose audience logically falls into your target market.

Being the outside circle, this would mean to analyze your target audience, and then to clearly define all of the other common qualities and characteristics that this particular demographic possesses -- and subsequently to target websites and so on catering to people with such characteristics.

In other words, peace-seeking people or organizations are … What? What age are they? What else do they have in common? In what jobs do they work? Where are they located geographically? Are they married? With children? How many? Are they religious and heavily involved in their communities or parishes? What other types of publications do they read? What hobbies do they have? What similar interests do they possess?

For example (and please note that this is only a wild guess), if you find that the larger part of your market consisting of such peace seeking types -- by the way, we should all be peace seekers :) -- are probably generation Y'ers into New Age music who love the outdoors, then I'm sure that there are websites that cater to generation Y'ers, to New Age music and to the outdoors (e.g., camping, mountain climbing, etc), individually.

Ultimately, it means that, as long as the audiences of such websites and publications logically fit into your target market somehow, even if they have nothing to do with peace at all, then you've got it made. In essence, you're still within your "bulls eye," in other words. Anyway, I hope this helps.