Why is defining my target audience so important?

It is not feasible for your target audience to be every man, woman and child on the planet because that’s not a target.  That’s a wild prayer that you might catch a few customers in your net.

A lot of businesses owners hate the idea of narrowing down their target audience because they think they are going to miss out on sales, but the reality is that if you can’t speak directly to the few who are most likely to buy from you, (i.e. the low hanging fruit), your marketing message is going to blend into the over-saturated chaos of everyone else.  And then you reach no one.

Instead, you need to figure out if they are more likely to be male or female?  Do they have income brackets or location in common?  Are there certain age groups that your product or service appeals to more?  What pain points is the customer trying to overcome with your product or service?  Are there certain events that would make them want to buy your product or service?  What does their customer journey look like?  What are they feeling when inquiring about your product or service?  Where do they hang out?  What do they like to do?  Do they have other factors in common?  You need to know your average customer better than they know themselves

At the end of the day, if someone wants to buy from you that is not your specific target, you aren’t going to turn them away, but if you can’t speak directly and specifically to the one person who is most likely to buy your product or service, you aren’t really going to reach anyone at all.