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If you don't know the type of customer you are selling to with your online business, the chances of success are very slim. How can you sell to someone you don't know or understand?

Unfortunately, that's pretty darned difficult until you have determined who your target market is and what they want and need from you. So, how do you find out what type of person readily buys your products or services? Keep reading for tips to aid in growing your online business by getting to know your target customer.

Talk to Your Current Customers

The first thing you can do, if you already have paying customers, is find out what they really are all about. Determine what they want and need from you. There are many ways to do this. A few of which include:

- Creating surveys and asking for their thoughts and opinions on your product or service after they make a purchase.
- Another way is to utilize your mailing list and ask them what they would like to see more of from you in an email.

You Can Still Research Even if You Don't Have Any Customers'YET.

So, what happens if you haven't sold your first product yet or you want to additional exploration? A great way to determine who your target customer is to make a list of your product or service's benefits. Find out what your product or service does for a person. Some examples of this include saving them time, getting them in shape, etc. (i.e. helping them fix a particular problem or fulfill a burning desire) and more. Figure out what you can do for your future customers to make their lives easier, better, longer, etc.

When your list is complete, evaluate it. Let's say for instance you sold beauty products that reduced wrinkles and made your customer look younger. Your target market would probably be women in their 40s or older. By listing even more benefits you can go even more specific with your market and really zone in on the perfect customer for your beauty products. You might even realize you can have more than one target market and that's ok, especially since you are doing business online. This makes advertising and creating more than one site for each of your markets easy and inexpensive.

Finding Out What's Already Out There

You can also conduct keyword and/or market research. There are many ways to do this including keyword research, reading magazines, reading reviews and visiting forums, social networking sites and other discussion groups. Browse around and see what it is people are looking for by visiting other websites. Even your competitors can give you great insight.

No matter how you come up with your target market, remember to take the time to put yourself in your potential customer's shoes. Whether you're just starting out with a new product or are making changes to your existing service, don't be afraid to talk to people out there to find out just exactly who the target market for your online business really is.