primary goal

A target audience is the specific group of consumers most likely to want or need your product or service, making them the primary focus of your marketing campaigns and messaging. Instead of trying to appeal to everyone—which dilutes your message and wastes your budget—defining a target audience allows you to focus your resources on the people who are most likely to convert. Target Audience vs. Target Market

While closely related, these two terms operate at different scales:

Target Market: The broad group of consumers a business intends to sell to (e.g., all marathon runners).

Target Audience: A narrower, more specific subset within that target market being served a distinct advertisement or message (e.g., runners participating specifically in the Boston Marathon). The Pillars of Audience Segmentation

To build an accurate profile, marketers group audiences using three main pillars: Understanding Your Target Audience (Marketing Tutorial)