Identifying the market you’re in (or going to be in) is an important startup activity. This is where you ask, “who is my customer?”.
Identifying the market is not marketing or market research. Identifying the market comes before those activities.
For some businesses, it might seem that the market is obvious. For example, if your business is a coffee shop, you might think that your market is anyone in that area or passing through who wants a coffee. But it can be more than that — it can be people who need an energy boost, or people who need a place to do remote work because they have too many distractions at home, or it could be a place where people go to meet friends. You might cater to these different audiences by offering some high-caffeine menu items, free wifi, and comfortable places for people to sit together. A single business can serve multiple markets, but you need to know who they are so you can start thinking about and asking about their needs.
Compass
After you identify the market, continue to define an ideal customer profile.
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