What is a target audience?
The specific group of people or organisations you want to reach with your marketing and communication.
More details
A target audience is not "everyone". The more specific your audience, the more relevant your message and the more efficient your budget. You define an audience based on demographics (age, location, income), behavioural signals (what they buy, how they search) and psychographic factors (values, interests, motivations). A well-defined target audience is the foundation for every marketing decision.
For example…
Patagonia deliberately defined its primary audience narrowly: serious outdoor enthusiasts who are willing to pay more for sustainable quality and who share its environmental values. Not "people who spend time outdoors". That specific definition shapes everything: which media it uses (no mainstream TV), how it communicates (activist, direct) and which partnerships it enters into (environmental organisations, not sports brands).
Where it goes wrong
Target audiences are often described in demographics: age, gender, place of residence. That is measurable but rarely explains anything. Two 35-year-olds from Amstelveen can have completely different reasons to buy. What does predict behaviour is the situation someone is in and the problem they want to solve.
Also watch out for the tendency to define your audience too broadly for fear of excluding someone. A message for everyone reaches no one. Choosing sharply almost always pays off more than aiming wide.
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