Business student

I. Introduction

I was open-minded as a freshman in my business major and anticipated learning some new things. I did not, however, expect that one of those new things would be as simple as figuring out what the meaning of a term like "target" meant. The professor introduced numerous phrases in the first lesson of "Principles of Marketing" that he went on to say were essential to our success in the course. One of these words was "target," and after writing them down, he asked us to determine their context-specific business meaning. Despite the fact that I have used and heard of this word it was difficult to contextualize it in this field was tricky. In my family, this was one of the words that were used every morning and every evening before we retired. My dad believes in the saying ‘Failing to plan, is, planning to fail,' and so, he makes us plan what we want to achieve in a day in the morning and makes us evaluate whether was achieved in the evening. Here, we call whatever we are planning to achieve to as "today's target."

II. Contextualizing "Target" in Marketing

With this in my mind, I reasoned that business owners also have to plan what they want to achieve in order to succeed; otherwise, their businesses will fail. Thus far, I had contextualized it to business; the trick was to contextualize it in marketing. Very fast I thought, well, what about if it is about the business owner setting a ‘target sale.' Before I could jot this down, I remembered that this would be more of finance than marketing. After all, an entrepreneur sets a ‘target sale' to determine how much (revenue/profit) he can realize from the business. I remembered my uncle showing me how to play darts; he would emphasize that to score the highest, I had to aim the dart at the inner bull. He called that the target. I related the dartboard to the market where an entrepreneur sells his products. As a marketer, the business owner must decide the ring that can purchase his products. So I wrote, ‘Target, used with 'market' as in, target market, is the specific area with customers for a particular product.' Later, during the course, I realized that although I had not written the exact definition provided in the textbook, I had the clearest idea about a "target" market.

III. "Target" as a Noun and a Verb

The word "target" may be used as a noun as well as a verb, in some cases, it is even used as an adjective. A "target" is the object of aim or purpose. The word is mainly used during a shooting lesson. The person learning to shoot is provided with an object to shoot. Therefore, when setting the gun to make a shot, he has to aim at the object. To make sure that he fires at the object, he must purpose to hit it or otherwise he misses. Also, often, the tutor will mark concentric circles on the object so that there are outer, middle and inner circles. There is even the innermost circle which, if the shooter hit it severally, then his skills are incomparable. In the same context, "target" is a synonym for a goal. When people make goals they intend to achieve, they refer to the goals as their targets. However, unlike goals, a "target" is more precise in that it is a 'smart goal.' When setting a "target," sets the time to which he must have attained say a certain amount of income, grade or a piece work.

IV. "Target" in Business Objectives

In the business context, the word objective is often used to refer to the organization's "target." That is, the entrepreneur sets a "target" profit, revenue, sale, new customers, returns, etc. Organizations operate within certain constraints that include time, labor, cost, skills and demand. The objectives are therefore constrained, and therefore they make a "target." As a verb, the word "target" refers to the act of secluding an object and directing all the efforts, knowledge and entry towards the object. It is an act of setting a goal or an objective.

V. "Target" as an Adjective in Business

As an adjective, "target" is the word used to indicate that the object it is describing is secluded and specific. In the businesses, it is used with business objectives such as target sales, target market, target income, etc. The phrase "target market" is the most often used the business filed. A target market is formed by a collection of customers that a business decides to aim its marketing resources and efforts. Every business is started with a business plan, a document that details the various components of business including the type of product it will produce, the market it aims to satisfy, the business's structure, location, mission, and environments. More importantly, an organization needs to make profits or at least breakeven to remain operational. The only way it can attain this goal is by ensuring that it is realizing more revenue that the cost it incurs in its operations by making adequate sales.

VI. Importance of Targeting in Business

Selling haphazardly, any product to any customer available can be expensive and unrewarding (Entrepreneur Press, 2014). Notably, a business organization runs with limited resources, and this compares to a shooter with one bullet. Such a shooter must aim and hit the target with the first shot. Likewise, a business must have a target group of customers to sell to or else it will have used its resources in vain. A group of customers forms a target market with similar consuming characteristics. For example, age, lifestyle, income, and location. This group compares to the inner bull of a dartboard; it is secluded, specific and confined. Identifying a target market requires that the business owner understands its product so well that can describe the type of customers who will likely buy from them. The next step is to locate where such customers are in large numbers.

VII. The Role of "Target Market" in the 4Ps Concept

Notably, when an organization is marketing its products, it employs the 4Ps concept. The third P refers to the place/location where the customers are (Entrepreneur Press, 2012). A scantly populated market is expensive to supply in terms of transporting the goods and services. Therefore, a "target" market is the one that has similar customers confined within a certain geographical area. A target market should be as narrow as possible and must be characterized with the finest details to ensure that your business hits directly. Whoever the word "target" is used, it means a direct point where all the energy and effort is directed to earn a satisfying result. In the business context, setting a "target" allows an organization to only invest resources in projects that have a guaranteed return.

Work Cited

Coaching Business: Everything You Need to Start a Successful Business!Irvine, Calif.: Entrepreneur Press, 2012. Internet resource. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1209114.

Top of Form

Wholesale Distribution Business: Step-by-step Startup Guide. New York: Entrepreneur Press, 2014. Internet resource. http://public.eblib.com/choice/PublicFullRecord.aspx?p=1811341.