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Introduction
Marketers need to understand the profile of their customers. This helps them to plan suitable marketing strategies that respond effectively to the needs of customers they are targeting. Marketers need to focus their activities towards satisfying customer needs and expectations. Firms need to identify their customers to profile their attitudes, behaviour and background.
Lamb, Hair and McDaniel (2008, p. 77) reveal that customer profiling is an effective way through which firms are able to understand the likes and dislikes of their customers. This information helps marketers to plan effective marketing campaigns. Firms need to establish strong relationships with their customers. This is vital in improving the performance of their brands in the market.
The society is dynamic and marketers need to understand the lifestyle changes which their customers are experiencing. It is necessary for marketers to understand the backgrounds of their customers by gathering crucial data and information about them. This enables firms to know their customers well.
As a result firms are able to produce goods or services that satisfy each individual client’s expectations. Successful customer analysis is a valuable tool helps a firm to come up with products that appeal to customers effectively (Moore 2008, p. 47). This makes a customer to be loyal to a firm and its brands.
Effective customer profiling gives a firm an advantage over its competitors within the market in which it operates (Tyalgi &Kumar 2004, p. 67). This essay discusses the benefits a firm can get by analysing customers through the use of mosaic.
Analysis of the Mosaic Profiling System
The mosaic consumer profiling system provides marketers with a dependable analysis of the specific customer segments they are targeting. Firms are able to get insights into different demographic groups of customers and how they behave. The mosaic system makes it possible for firms to structure their marketing campaigns to meet the needs of their customers.
The analysis makes it possible for a firm to segment its customers according to their specific interests, background, age, income, ethnicity and social status (Experian 2009). Firms are able to understand the specific attributes of each segment. Afterwards firms formulate effective marketing programs which satisfy customers in these segments.
Profiling and segmenting customers gives firms an opportunity to structure their sales operations to suit customer behaviour. Gould (2012, p. 116) argues that customers react well to marketing drives that understand and respond to their needs and feelings. A firm that understands its customers well comes up with marketing initiatives which improve the experiences of its customers when they are using their products.
A firm needs to invest more in research to understand the best marketing approach it can use to have a competitive edge in its market. A firm can plan ahead to come up with strategic forecasts to help it achieve dominance in the market it serves.
The mosaic profiling system uses specific data obtained from multiple demographics. Demographic profiling through mosaic is effective because it helps firms understand the behaviour of customers from different racial, ethnic and social backgrounds. Firms are able to spot prospects in different markets and take advantage of them.
Firms that have proper customer profiles are able to invest properly by channelling funds to investments that guarantee positive returns (Gould 2012, p. 118). Firms are able to understand specific trends in market segments which they are targeting. Business managers are able to predict accurately the impact their products are likely to have in such markets.
The mosaic system helps business firms to make important decisions about the impacts their products are going to have in the market. It also helps firms to maintain credit databases which minimise credit risks. Big shopping stores that use mosaic are able to know the location of their customers and the types of customers who live in such locations.
Gibson (2011, p. 103) reveals that firms are able to know the identity of their customers, their attitudes and lifestyle preferences. The system gives retail and telecommunication companies crucial data which helps them improve services they offer their clients. These firms are able to choose appropriate media and platforms through which they can sustain positive relationships with their customers.
Mosaic makes it possible for firms to understand the lifestyles and attitudes of households from different locations in the UK. It is important for firms to get this data for them to maintain positive relationships with their customers.
Firms that have strong relationships with their clients are able to make their customers to have strong loyalty to their products (Cochran 2006, p.61). Mosaic offers firms effective tools which help them to penetrate markets.
The data they gain helps them to understand ways in which they can increase the value of their products to their customers. This tool makes it possible for firms to understand the specific factors that drive a customer to prefer one product over the other.
Firms that use it are able to understand the best approaches they can use when transacting with different customer segments.
Data and Information Reports
John Lewis
Table 1: Mosaic Data for John Lewis.
The mosaic data for John Lewis shows that a majority of its clients are drawn from the Ex-Council Community and Suburban Mindsets. However, the firm has loyal consumers in other segments as well who purchase its products. The firm has a diverse clientele but still needs to attract more customers from other segments (Mosaic 2009).
According to the data, 0.01 of the UK population shop at John Lewis. John Lewis’ clientele comprises of the Alpha territory with 174 of the total 1,023, 717, Professional Rewards with 334 of the total 3,673,198, Rural Solitude with 64 of the total 1, 193,889, Small Town Diversity with 236 of the total 4,891,575 and Active Retirement with 149 out of a total 1,746,657.
These five groups together with clients from the Liberal opinions, Ex council community and suburban mindsets represent a diverse client profile for John and Lewis (Mosaic 2009). The Ex-Council Community and Suburban Mindsets are drawn from big demographic sections in the UK with more than 15 million customers.
The company needs to take advantage of the large numbers of people in these segments. It needs to improve its visibility to them to increase its market share. Customers from the Liberal Opinions segment are enlightened on market choices that can serve them better. These clients have an open mind and are likely to be captivated by exotic trends which bring out positive attributes in them.
The firm’s total number of clients is 2,650 when compared to M&S which has 13, 343 and Primark with 11,800 clients. The firm needs to take advantage of its strengths by expanding opening retail outlets which are close to the Ex-Council Community and Suburban Mindsets segments.
The two segments represent its largest target market. The firm needs to establish close customer relationships with clients from these segments to ensure that it expands its market share.
M&S
Table 2: Mosaic data for M&S.
The mosaic data for M&S shows that most of its clients are drawn from the Suburban Mindsets segment (Mosaic 2009). The firm needs to encourage more customers from the Liberal Opinions Segment to consume its products. This segment has open minded clients who are not very conservative. The firm is represented well in its other target markets.
Its main target segments are: Suburban Mindsets are 2,279 out of a population of 6,964,546, Small Town Diversity with 1,654 out of 4,891,575, Ex-Council Community with 1,203 out of 5,819,027, Industrial Heritage with 1,174 out of 4,554,615 and Liberal Opinions with 907 out of 3,622,834. This shows that the products on offer appeal to a cross section of the population in the country.
The Ex-Council Community segment customers have the potential of staying loyal to some of the company’s brands. The company needs to be proactive in encouraging them to try out new products being offered in its stores.
These customers live in close knit societies and personalised marketing campaigns can help the firm gain their trust and loyalty (Mosaic 2009). The Terraced Melting Pot and the Industrial Heritage customers also need personalised marketing drives which respond to their individual needs
The Claimant Culture, Upper Floor Living and Elderly Needs customer segments are price sensitive. The firm should focus on selling large volumes of products at reduced prices on specific occasions.
The Upper Floor Living segment consists mainly of students who have active social lives at school or in their neighbourhoods (Mosaic 2009). These customers are well informed on the latest changes in fashion and design though they are limited by their low spending power.
The firm has the largest market share at 0.03. It has a total of 13, 343 dedicated customers compared to Primark with 11, 800 and John Lewis with 2,650. Since the firm is represented well in most market segments, it needs to offer niche products that appeal to specific clients.
The firm needs to offer personalised and exclusive services to clients in the Alpha category for it to enlarge its market share in the segment.
Primark
Table 3: Mosaic Data for Primark.
The mosaic data for Primark shows most of its clients are from Suburban Mindsets, Ex Council Community and Terraced Melting Pot segments. These customers are interested in products that guarantee a high level of comfort because they are very active.
The firm’s main segments consist of Suburban Mindsets with 1,630 out of 6,964,546, Ex-Council Community with 1,627 out of 5,819,027, Terraced Melting Pot with 1,449 out of 4,345,157, Claimant Culture with 961 out of 2,837,820 and Industrial Heritage with 907 out of 4,554,615.
The Professional Rewards and Careers and Kids segments have customers who are sensitive about their image. The firm needs to introduce products which respond their image sensitivity. These consumers seek products which make them stand out in the crowd and radiate their self confidence.
The firm also needs to make an effort in attracting more customers in the Alpha Territory segment. These customers are valued in the society and whenever they consume a brand, its prestige increases. This will reduce the firm’s dependence on revenues from the lower market segments.
A significant share of its clientele is drawn from the Claimant Culture; a segment with very low incomes. Other segments that show sensitivity to prices are the Small Town Diversity, Upper Floor Living and the New Homemakers.
This shows that the firm applies price as its main attraction because it has many clients from lower income segments (Mosaic 2009). The firm needs to maintain its price reduction strategy in its transactions with clients from these segments.
The firm has 11,800 customers compared to M&S with 13, 343 and John Lewis with 2,650 customers. The firm needs to target the middle and high income market segments to increase its market share. These clients have higher incomes which can improve the performance of the firm.
Importance of Segmentation
Customer segmentation helps firms to understand their clients better by a thorough analysis of their likes and dislikes. Customers have different preferences, needs and perceptions. Epetimehin (2011, p. 63) states that companies need to understand all aspects of their target markets before they launch their products and marketing campaigns.
The modern business environment has become complex and requires firms to know profiles of their clients so as to serve them better. Firms need data, statistics and other vital information about their clients in order to formulate market plans that adequately respond to their needs.
Customer segmentation helps firms to know the behaviour of their clients according to their location, age, income and social status. This information helps business organisations to understand the likely reactions clients in particular market segments will have on their products. Firms are in a better position to offer products which can easily penetrate the targeted market segments (Dunne & Lusch 2007, p. 51).
Firms that carry out segmentation have an advantage of overcoming negative perceptions and attitudes in their target markets than firms which do not. The products offered by a firm are likely to have a larger appeal to customers in the chosen target markets. This helps to build the reputation and the power of a firm’s brands.
The modern marketing environment makes it difficult for firms to get new clients. It is vital for firms to build strong relationships with their existing clients to save on costs they are likely to incur in searching for new clients. Market segmentation helps firms to create these relationships.
Hunt and Arnett (2004, pp. 8-11) reveal that firms need to understand the true nature of market segments they target for them to achieve positive growth in their operations.
A company should be able to classify the needs, wants and preferences of customers within different market segments it targets accurately. The firm can afterwards plan on the best approaches to use to come up with products that satisfy the expectations of these clients.
Segmentation helps a firm to focus on an appropriate market for a particular product or service. The firm creates an analysis of customers by evaluating data and information that identifies various attributes about them. The firm gets to understand the psychological as well as the emotional reactions of customers in a specific segment on various products and services.
Segmentation helps a firm to plan strategies to develop products which can have big impacts in their specific target markets (Weinstein 2004, p. 97). Firms can easily understand the locations of their customers and their expectations.
Segmentation helps firms to recognize customers with similar interests and spending patterns. Firms are able to understand the different personalities, lifestyles and occupations of customers they are targeting. Segmentation also helps companies to carry out effective differentiation of their target markets.
A firm can be able to come up with focused communication programs which adequately respond to the situation and the needs of its target market (Sun 2009, p. 66).
Segmentation offers firms a better approach for expansion. Firms are able to take advantage of economies of scale in markets which they serve. A company is able to target a specific niche of the market by offering its products to users who value it. This improves the performance of a firm.
Business Case Study
The Upper Floor Living Mosaic Group customers are young but energetic. These customers have strong social networks. The majority though still live at home and have low spending power. However, this category is stylish and gets attracted to popular trends in fashion quickly. Fashion retailers need to stock trendy apparel and accessories which invoke strong emotions in these customers.
They need to offer them products which appeal to their youthful instincts and give them positive self esteem. Retailers need to use reduced pricing strategies on specific occasions to attract these customers to their outlets (Mintel 2012). A strategy that focuses on selling large volumes of goods to these customers is likely to be successful.
Customers in this segment have very active social lives. Marketers need to reach out to these individuals in social events which have a high number of potential customers from this segment. The public events that marketers need to target are concerts, festivals, school ceremonies and fashion events.
Marketers can use banners, fliers and other materials to pass information about their products to potential clients. Direct marketing approaches by staff to potential customers to explain more information about the products and services offered can be effective (Experian 2012). Reward schemes can be introduced for clients who refer their friends and other people to shop in the retail outlets (Mintel 2012).
Marketers need to engage their clients constantly by providing them with constant information about new products and services being offered. This can be done through internet based social networks which are popular with customers from this segment.
Summary
Market segmentation enables firms to understand the true identities of their customers. This helps firms to profile their customers according to their attitudes, interests, needs and preferences. Segmentation makes firms to understand the marketing initiatives that are suitable for each targeted group of customers.
The mosaic is a valuable tool which enables firms to understand the different profiles of its customers. The data that is obtained through mosaic helps firms identify prospects in different markets and the means they can use to take advantage of them. The data and information reports show accurate profiles of clients that shop in the surveyed retail companies.
Market segmentation helps firms to focus on the targeted market segments which are likely to earn them high revenues. Segmentation also helps firms to structure effective marketing programs which help them to penetrate their target markets. Marketers need to reach out to their clients more often to build and sustain positive relationships.
References
Cochran, C 2006, Becoming a customer focused organisation, Paton Professional, London.
Dunne, PM & Lusch, RF 2007, Retailing, Cengage Learning, Mason.
Epetimehin, FM 2011, ‘Market segmentation: a tool for improving customer satisfaction and retention in insurance service delivery’, Journal of Emerging Trends and Management Sciences, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 62-67.
Experian 2012, Location insight for customer understanding. Web.
Experian 2009, Unique consumer classification based on in depth demographic data. Web.
Gibson, P 2011, The world of customer service, Cengage Learning, Mason.
Gould, R 2012, Creating the strategy, winning and keeping customers in b2b markets, Kogan Page Publishers, New York.
Hunt, SD & Arnett, DB 2004, ‘Market segmentation strategy, competitive advantage and public policy: grounding segmentation strategy in resource- advantage theory ’, Australasian Marketing Journal, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 7- 25.
Lamb, CW, Hair, JF & McDaniel, C 2008, Marketing, Cengage Learning, Mason.
Mintel 2012, Clothing retailing-UK-October 2012 Report. Web.
Moore, CW 2008, Managing small business, Cengage Learning, Mason.
Mosaic 2009, Mosaic UK interactive guide. Web.
Sun, S 2009, ‘An analysis on the conditions and methods of market segmentation’, International Journal of Business and Management, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 63-69.
Tyagi, CL & Kumar, A 2004, Consumer behaviour, Wiley, Hoboken.
Weinstein, A 2004, Handbook of market segmentation, The Haworth Press, New York.
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