Category: Target Market

The problem of targeting the right market is often faced by developing companies which need to choose the effective marketing strategy in order to gain more profits, address the mission, and work for the potential growth. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the options available for SparkPlace, a two-year-old company producing software, regarding the target market to choose and to propose the strategy to follow.

Background

SparkPlace promotes the permission-based marketing and proposes software which is used to organise marketing activities in different organisations. The company’s slogan is “Marketing is broken” (Avery and Steenburgh 119). Currently, SparkPlace orients to two markets representing small businesses with fewer than 20 employees known as ‘small Sams’ and larger businesses with 20-100 employees known as ‘medium Marys’ (Avery and Steenburgh 119). These customer segments are rather different, and they are characterised by such details:

1. Sales costs regarding Sams are $1,000, when sales costs related to Marys are $5,000.
2. Sams use the company’s services during three months, Marys stay with SparkPlace longer.
3. Sams are associated with potential profits, when Marys are profitable today.
4. There are 1.3 million Sams and half a million Marys.
5. Sams guarantee $10K of profit, when Marys guarantee $50K of profit.
6. Sams guarantee the high return on investment, when Marys can pay higher for products (Avery and Steenburgh 119-120).

Problem Identification

Both customer segments demonstrate significant advantages and potential for gaining profits. However, it is rather challenging for SparkPlace to address both the markets simultaneously. The problem is in the necessity to choose the target market to orient in order to contribute to the business’s value and follow the company’s mission. Numbers related to Sams and Marys cannot point directly at the right solution.

Issue Analysis

To provide the solution to the issue, it is necessary to conduct the SWOT analysis of the SparkPlace’s business.

1. Strengths:
   1. SparkPlace uses the unique marketing strategy oriented to using social media and principles of the permission-based marketing.
   2. SparkPlace offers software developed according to the principle of easiness attractive for Sams.
2. Weaknesses:
   1. Significant dependence on customers because of the weaknesses of contracts and terms related to working with Sams.
3. Opportunities:
   1. Increase in the market share.
   2. Development of more competitive products.
4. Threats:
   1. Failure to compete within the actively developing industry.

Conclusion

Both Sams and Marys provide SparkPlace with the opportunity to gain more profits and grow within the market while focusing on the company’s specific mission. Sams are more interesting while focusing on the perspectives and future potentials. However, Marys provide significant profits today and can stay with the company longer. Furthermore, Marys are more challenging customers, and they contribute to developing the company’s competitive advantage. Nevertheless, Sams are cost-saving and correlated with the company’s mission. Thus, it is impossible to choose one right variant without losing many benefits providing by the other customer.

Recommendations

1. SparkPlace should not choose only one market to target because of the threat to lose significant benefits proposed by both markets.
2. It is necessary to orient to Sams as the segment which addresses the company’s mission and easy to work with. Sams can guarantee significant potential profits in short terms.
3. However, it is also necessary to work for Marys while following the strategy similar to differentiation strategy. Marys are the reputable clients which can pay higher prices and guarantee more profits. Furthermore, many Sams are potential Marys, and SparkPlace should have the opportunity to work with these companies at all stages of their development.
4. Two marketing teams should work with these segments because of the necessity to address the unique needs of both markets.

Works Cited

Avery, Jill, and Thomas Steenburgh. “Target the Right Market”. Harvard Business Review 90.10 (2012): 119-123. Print.

Target Market

Defining the target market is one of the most important steps on the way to creating a clear and effective marketing plan. It is not possible to target everyone, and, that is why the identification of target customers is crucial to saving the company’s revenues and efforts and finding the most appropriate marketing strategy.

Market segmentation is an important step to defining the target market, as it enables us to group the customers into segments and have a clearer vision of the potential marketing plan. Several criteria help to conduct market segmentation.

Demographic criterion

• Male/female (gender),
• Children/teenagers/adults/elderly people (age),
• Low income/moderate income/high income (income bracket),
• Primary-/secondary/higher education degree (education),
• Employed/unemployed (job).

By applying this criterion to the TJX, it is possible to see that the target customers of the company include employed female adults with moderate income and a secondary or higher degree of education.

Behavioral criterion

• Brand aware/not brand aware (brand preference),
• Online/offline shoppers,
• Customers with previous purchases in the company’s stores or without such experience.

By applying this criterion to the TJX, we see that the target customers of the company include brand-aware offline shoppers with previous purchases in the company’s stores.

Psychographic criterion

• Fashion-conscious/fashion unconscious,
• Value conscious/ value unconscious,
• Low/working/lower middle/upper middle/ upper class.

By applying this criterion to the TJX, we see that the target customers of the company include fashion and value-conscious customers from the lower middle class.

Geographic criterion

• City/rural population,
• North American/European/Asian/Arab population.

By applying this criterion to the TJX, we see that the target customers of the company include the North American city population.

The application of market segmentation criteria reveals that the primary target market of the TJX Company includes adult females with moderate-income living in the U.S. and Canada. Such analysis helps to define which group of customers the company should target their main marketing activities.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is a crucial step to creating the effective marketing plan of a company, as such analysis helps to identify the drawbacks and advantages of the methods and strategies previously employed by the company and serves as an effective tool for the stimulation of strategic thinking (Chermack, 2011).

Internal strengths

• High sale rates (Wahlen, Baginski, & Bradshaw, 2015)
• Strong financial position
• Strong workforce
• Extensive range of products
• A well-developed network of stores
• Dominating position in the U.S. market
• High-quality products and services
• Moderate prices

Internal weaknesses

• Law global presence
• Strong dependence on the U.S. market
• Lawsuits caused by unauthorized computer systems intrusion that harmed the reputation of the company (Weiss, 2009)

External opportunities

• Expansion to the countries with emerging economies
• Development of effective online retailing
• Growing disposable income of the population
• Diversification of products and services

External threats

• New retailers offering low prices
• Strong competition in the market
• Possibilities of product substitution
• The fickle nature of the fashion industry requiring constant adjustment to fashion trends

The SWOT analysis of the TJX Company reveals that though he company has managed to gain a dominant position in the U.S. market, it needs to put more efforts in expansion to other countries, as strong dependence on American market decreases the company’s chances of survival in case of facing significant external threats. Besides, the company needs to search for innovative ways of offering appealing prices for customers, as the competition in the retailing market is constantly growing.

References

Chermack, T. (2011). Scenario planning in organizations. San Francisco, California: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Wahlen, J., Baginski, S., & Bradshaw, M. (2015). Financial reporting, financial statement analysis, and valuation (8th ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning.

Weiss, J. (2009). Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach (5th ed.). Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Introduction

This is a research essay on the marketing technique of Blu-Ray DVDs. Blue-Ray DVDs have grasped the attention of the recent recreational area. Thus, this essay would cover the marketing goals of Blu-Ray; along with the technique through they are successfully marketed in the marketplace, with the product reviews, website design, target markets, values, offers, and the website design taken into consideration for the right marketing of Blu-Ray DVDs with their SWOT analysis.

Blu-Ray DVDs

(About Blu-Ray, 2008) Often known as BD or Blu-ray Disc; Blu-ray is used for the purpose of storing large bulks of data and for recording, rewriting and playing high-definition video (HD). It is an optical disc storage medium which is just like a simply DVD or CD from the outside appearance. This type of storage disc is known as Blu-ray Disc because it is operate through blue laser and is capable of storing more quality and high definition data as compared to an ordinary DVD because this technology makes use of ultra-violet rays for the rationale to read and write the disc. The recorded shortest wavelength beam for Blu-ray Disc is calculated to be 405 nanometers. An ordinary double layered/two-layered Blu-ray Disc is capable of storing 50 gigabytes of high-definition video or data which is equivalent to 10 ½ times of a single layered DVD or six times of a two-layered/double-layered DVD at usual recording pace.

Blu-ray Disc, the next generation optical disc format was first developed in the year 2006 by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), which is a well-known group for developing electronics goods, motion pictures, media manufacturers and computer related hardware. Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) group’s manufacturing circle involves many multinational world famous brands; such as, HP, JVC, Mitsubishi, LG, Hitachi, Dell, Apple, Philips, Sharp, Sony, Samsung, Pioneer, TDK, Panasonic, and Thomson. Since the time of establishment, Blu-ray is now being developed by almost 200 electronic companies around the globe, as the format of Blu-ray Disc has been approved and considered by the famous Hollywood studios and several other recording companies.

Blu-Ray Marketing and Target Market

Since now, the high-definition (HD) videos have seen tremendously welcoming gesture from all sides of the consumers and the sellers and the year 2008 is considered to be the year of Blu-ray technology. This includes all versions of video recording mediums, CDs, and DVDs. Blu-ray Disc is expected to beat all these records because it has the capacity to store large amount of data into single disc format. The marketing of Blu-ray Disc has been aggressively carried by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), which proves that consumers prefer to adopt Blu-ray as their sole video entertainment and data storing in the near future. BDA has taken care that not only electronic goods manufacturing companies develop Blu-ray decoders, but now, many IT companies are also in this field who have developed successful Blu-ray enabled PCs and software so that it PCs could also make use of Blu-ray Discs’ storage capacity electronically. (Kefauver and Patschke 72)

The entire marketing techniques projected by the BDA are appreciable. It is due to their marketing processes and procedures that more than 180 of the world’s leading companies associated to consumer electronics, video games, recording media, personal computer and several other music related organizations are supporting the use of Blu-ray and also manufacturing it successfully over the globe.

One of the major reasons behind the success of Blu-ray marketing is that Blu-ray products are capable to be made backwards compatible with ordinary CDs or DVDs by the help of CD/DVD/BD compatible optical pickup unit. Apart from that, many of the movie studios in Hollywood have agreed and shown their interest in releasing their recent movies in Blu-ray Disc formats along with the DVD versions. This includes seven of the eight movie studios present in Hollywood that are considered to be most important for the entertainment sector around the globe. These famous movie studios are Paramount Pictures, MGM, Lionsgate Pictures, Sony, Warner Brothers, Disney Movies, DreamWorks Studios, HBO, New Line Cinema, Universal Studios, Weinstein Company and Fox Studios.

The Blu-ray Disc Association has used the marketing strategies of capturing the main giant and central acting force in the marketplace which includes consumer electronics manufacturers, video games companies, video recording companies, personal computer developers and the companies related to the music industry. This strategy helped in grasping the attention of all the consumers around the world within a very short time period. This proves that the marketing strategy adopted by the Blu-ray Disc Association is very strong which this product successful since the time of its establishment in the year 2006.

The only issue faced by the Blu-ray Disc Association was that normal consumers and individuals were not aware of the product name of “Blue-Ray Hi-def”, which gave rise to some misunderstandings in accepting the new technology introduced by the authority because it does not imply with the High-Definition. Previously, it was very confusing for the early technology adopters as compared to the HD-DVD which is always easy to understand by the simple individual. This is because everybody around knows what HD is and what DVD stands for, so HD-DVD was a perfect tag for the product to be introduced. However, the well marketing techniques of the company made it clear to the public that Blu-ray Disc is much higher than the usual DVD or CD device and the marketing goals set by the company ahead for Blu-ray have been achieved successfully.

Blu-Ray Technology & Product Reviews

The technology used in the Blu-ray Disc is very advanced and productive not only for the manufacturing company, but also for the consumers as well. It has the most advanced next-generation optical disc format which differentiates it from other recording and video devices. Blu-ray makes use of the lens with a larger Numerical Aperture (NA) and shorter wavelength of 405 nanometers through which the laser spot could be focused with greater intensity and capacity to store large amount of data on the same size of disc. This technology and advancement with the help ultra-violet rays enables the Blu-ray disc to store data ranging from 25 gigabytes to 50 gigabytes. Usually, 25 gigabytes are stored on the single layered Blu-ray and 50 gigabytes of data can easily be stored on the dual-layered disc. Apart from that, Blu-ray also uses the higher data transfer rate for the purpose of recording audio and video with the capacity of approximately 54Mbps. This technology has been introduced by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) so that video recording companies could save their videos using higher quality of audio and video quality. This would also enabled the electronic goods and personal computer manufacturing companies to store very large amount of data on a single disc, while the video games organizations would be encourage to release video games with higher quality of audio sounds and video graphics.

Many multinational electronic goods manufacturing companies have agreed to support and manufacture the Blu-ray Disc products and they are successfully developing these kinds of products for the consumers. The best part and advantage of a Blu-ray Disc is that it can be made backward compatible to the normal CD or DVD by using some kind of coder/decoder compatible software or product. This has encouraged the use of Blu-ray Discs and devices among the consumers because it is not only easier to be used, but also is compatible with the other high-definition mediums. However, when newly introduced, Blu-ray faced a hesitant response form its consumer side because the technology is somewhat advanced and the name of the product does not reflect that it is related to the high-definition video and data storage family.

The parameters for a normal Blu-ray Disc can be seen as under:

Table 1. Parameters of Blu-ray (Blu-ray FAQ).

Blu-ray SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis is the strategic planned structure of any product to evaluate its different parameters and future developments. It stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats associated with the product. The SWOT Analysis for Blu-ray is presented in the following:

Table 2. SWOT Analysis.

Works Cited

1. Blu-ray FAQ, Blu-ray.com, Web.
2. About Blu-Ray, Blu-ray.com, Web.
3. Alan P. Kefauver, David Patschke; Fundamentals of Digital Audio: Control And Interaction Beyond the Keyboard, Published by A-R Editions, Inc., p72.

This project presents an example of a marketing strategy of real fruit juice. It aims to examine the features of fruit juice market, aspects of a promotional mix, and target market of fruit juice.

Juice Marketing Strategy: Product

The product to be promoted is fresh fruit juice, extracted directly from fresh fruits through a blender. It can be taken either as a mixture of different fresh fruits extracts or from a single fruit. Different fruits have got different flavours, for example, mango, orange, pineapple, apple, water melon, peach and so on. A mixture of different flavours is normally referred to as juice cocktail. In the society today, fresh juice is a product seen by many people as healthy and one that has the capability of boosting one’s immunity.

Different customers will opt for different flavours and it is up to the seller to make them available. This necessitates product diversity and hence renders the products a longer product life circle. It is best taken when chilled. Since it is perishable, it is best to keep it refrigerated so as to maintain its natural flavour and also to preserve it. A glass of fresh juice is recommended especially for breakfast.

Target Market of Fruit Juice

A target market that the business intends to sell its products to the customers. This refers to the individuals that are using the products. The suitable target market of the products includes children, teenagers and older persons. It is intended for use by the entire population.

As statistics shows that young children especially between the ages of 6 months and 8 years are very vulnerable to different diseases. Since fresh juice is an immune booster, this age bracket will find it inevitable to have a glass of the product daily as a part of their diet. The older generation will use the product as a refreshing drink.

Marketing Strategy of Real Fruit Juice: Promotional Mix

Promotional mix involves a combination of promotional methods used for a product or service. According to Harrell (2008), the five main aspects of a promotional mix are:

Advertising – This involves the use of an identified sponsored medium to promote and present goods and services to potential buyers. This is mainly done so as to convince potential customers to buy the product or service. It is done through print, radio, catalogues, billboard, and online advertisement. For example, one can put up a billboard with a family enjoying delicious fresh juice.

Personal selling – This is the oral presentation of a product or service to a potential buyer with the aim of persuading him/her to buying the product or service. It takes place either through face-to-face selling or telephone. For example, sales agents can be used to promote the product on a door to door basis from one house to another.

Sales promotion – This is a short term promotional strategy that is intended to increase the demand of a product or service within the shortest time possible. Examples: price reductions, coupons, sweepstakes, contests, free product samples, and demonstrations. A strategy such as demonstration of the health benefits of the product can be used to boost the sales of the product.

Public relations – This involves the efforts to maintain an appreciative image between the organisation and its stakeholders, in this case, the customer. The organisation usually tries to maintain a positive image in the eyes of its customers, hence encouraging them to buy more of the products or services through newspapers, magazines, articles, charitable contributions, seminarsand speeches.

Direct Marketing – This is where businesses communicate directly to the customers using techniques such as email, postal correspondence and online web displays.

Reference

Harrell, G. D. (2008). Marketing: Connecting with Customers. Chicago Education Press. p. 286. ISBN 9780979830402.

The market segmentation is an important strategy in order to identify the areas in the market that can be targeted with the focus on different customers’ needs and interests. In this context, the market segmentation analysis conducted for Marriott Hotels & Resorts is important to state how the managers of the multinational company can address their customers’ needs in different world regions and under various circumstances, depending on the market and hotel industry development in the concrete state (Kotler & Keller 2006, 137). The market segmentation analysis for Marriott should include the focus on geographic segmentation, demographic segmentation, psychographic segmentation, and behavioural segmentation as well as on the segmentation according to the Marriott brands’ status.

Segmentation According to Status

Marriott Hotels & Resorts can be discussed in relation to four segments such as luxury hotels, upper upscale hotels, upscale hotels, and upper middle-scale hotels (Garrido 2012). According to this classification, 143 hotels belonging to brands Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, and Bulgari Hotels & Resorts are luxury hotels. 776 hotels belonging to such brands as Marriott, Renaissance, Autograph Collection, and Marriott Vacation Club are upper upscale hotels. More than 1,900 hotels belonging to Courtyard, Residence Inn, and AC Hotels are upscale hotels.

Finally, 894 hotels of Fairfield Inn and TownePlace Suites can be discussed as upper middle-scale hotels (Garrido 2012). Managers of the company also propose the alternative market segmentation, determining the following categories: luxury (Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts); lifestyle collection (Edition, Autograph Collection, Renaissance, AC Hotels); signature (Marriott); select service (Courtyard, Fairfield Inn); extended stay (Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites); and destination entertainment (Gaylord Hotels) (Marriot hotel brands 2015).

Geographic Segmentation

Marriot addresses the necessity of the geographic segmentation while opening hotels representing different brands in various world regions and cities because Marriot hotels operate in 72 countries. Thus, luxury hotels like Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott are usually located in cities that are characterised by high tourist rates and high levels of the household income.

Upper upscale hotels and upscale hotels serve the customer needs in most countries where Marriott is present, including Canada, China, Egypt, Germany, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. AC Hotels are mostly represented in Spain (Garrido 2012; Marriot hotel brands 2015). Upper midscale hotels are opened primarily in Turkey, India, and Pakistan.

Demographic Segmentation

The factors that are taken into account while proposing the demographic segmentation for Marriot are income, marital status, and occupation rather than age and gender (Reid & Bojanic 2009, p. 112). The reason is that Marriot hotels are strictly categorised according to their status. From this point, different segments serve the needs of such categories of customers as high-income persons and businessmen; seasoned travellers and singles; married couples; families and employees working in foreign countries (Garrido 2012).

Thus, Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, and Renaissance propose their services for high-income persons and businessmen. Seasoned travellers and married couples prefer Marriott Vacation Club, Courtyard, and Residence Inn. Families and employees working in foreign countries prefer to stay in Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn, and TownePlace Suites (Marriot hotel brands 2015).

Psychographic Segmentation

The criteria addressed in relation to the psychographic segmentation of Marriott Hotels & Resorts are interests, opinions, and attitudes. Segmenting the market, Marriott accentuates both the role of the hotel or resort’s status and its ability to respond to the customer’s needs and interests. These aspects are the grounds for the classification proposed by the company that includes six segments, from the luxury hotels to destination ones.

These brands aim to address different customers’ needs with the focus on the purpose of their travelling or visit and with the focus on the customers’ expectations (Reid & Bojanic 2009, p. 54). Therefore, if the customer expects to stay in the hotel with the exceptional services, it is important to refer to such brands as JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, and Bulgari Hotels & Resorts (Garrido 2012). If customers plan to organise special occasions like weddings or important business meetings, it is also expected that they visit the hotels of the luxury category because of the highest level of comfort proposed for the clients.

Lifestyle collection of hotels aims to address the specific customers’ interests and needs. Edition, Autograph Collection, Renaissance, and AC Hotels are unique in terms of their design and proposed services. Therefore, these hotels usually attract businessmen, single travellers, and married couples. The unique services are proposed to customers in such hotels as Courtyard and Fairfield Inn in spite of the appropriate prices (Garrido 2012).

The hotels that are oriented to attract the customers for the extended stay, like Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites, are important for business travellers and employees working in the foreign country because of the opportunity to live in the hotel during a long period of time (Marriot hotel brands 2015). Finally, the focus on the customers’ interest is accentuated with references to the development of the destination entertainment segment that includes such hotels with the large entertainment sector like Gaylord Hotels and Marriott Vacation Club. It is appropriate for clients of organise business meetings and other types of group meetings in the hotels belonging to these brands.

Behavioural Segmentation

The behavioural segmentation is usually realised with references to such factors as the proposed promotions, rewards, and benefits along with the loyalty programmes and proposed schemes of services provision. Marriott pays much attention to focusing on exceptional services, unique designs, and remarkable experiences. Marriott hotels proposed discount and loyalty programmes for different categories of customers in order to address their needs and improve their attitude to the provided services (Garrido 2012).

As a result, the potential and targeted customers are divided into the groups according to their use of proposed services (Kotler & Keller 2006, p. 82). Those business travellers who choose luxury Marriott hotels for their meetings receive the extended scheme of discounts (Marriot hotel brands 2015).

Much attention is paid to attracting those customers who represent the group of businessmen staying in the hotel during a long period of time. These customers also receive special offers according to the followed loyalty programme. Customers using the hotels services for organising different occasions are also proposed with a range of rewards in order to improve reputation and attract the other potential customers.

From this point, the positioning of Marriott Hotels & Resorts in the global hospitality market significantly depends on the effective segmentation strategy that is followed by the company’s managers. In this context, all the aspects of the geographic segmentation, demographic segmentation, psychographic segmentation, and behavioural segmentation are addressed in detail in order to analyse the industry and market success of Marriott Hotels & Resorts as the prominent hotel chain.

Reference List

Garrido, R 2012, Hilton, Marriott and IHG Hotel brand market segments. Web.

Kotler, P & Keller, K 2006, Marketing management, Prentice Hall, New York.

Marriot hotel brands 2015.

Reid, R & Bojanic, D 2009, Hospitality marketing management, John Wiley & Sons, New York.

The case study on this page describes H&M demographics and psychographics, as well as its target audience profiles.

Demographics

Demographic market segmentation is the process of categorizing the market according to the variables that range from age to nationality. Within the continuum are variables including gender, family size, and income. Also, occupation, education, religious affiliation, and racial orientation are used to categorize the market. Demographic attributes aid firms in understanding the precise needs of the customers. The reason is that the customer needs are normally based on the variables. Age, gender, and income are the most commonly applied demographic variables in market segmentation.

Psychographics

Psychographic market segmentation is the process of grouping the customers according to personal attributes that include status, lifestyle, and disposition (Levy, Weitz, and Grewal 53). The assumption is that the products and services offered normally reflect the individual characteristics as well as the living patterns. In this case, the psychographic variable used in segmenting the market includes lifestyle, interest, and opinions as well as personal activities.

Demographic profiles

Age

The needs of consumers differ with age. As such, firms always tend to offer a variety of products that tend to meet the needs of a particular age bracket. The consumers are aggregated according to age, depending on the manner in which they exhibit similar requirements and responding in the same way to the market actions. Based on this analysis, H&M will be targeting the younger generation, particularly between the ages of seventeen and forty years. The age bracket represents over 75% off the fashion apparel market.

Gender

In terms of gender, the firm will be targeting females between the ages of seventeen to twenty-five years. The firm will also focus on younger males between the ages of eighteen and thirty years. Essentially the firm targets younger generations belonging to both genders. The reason is that the younger generations make about 63% of the total apparel market.

Income

Market segmentation, according to income, is common among the firms. Most firms target customers within the high-income category, particularly firms dealing in fashionable and luxury products. However, H&M is targeting both low and high-income customers. In other words, the firm’s products directly appeal to low and high-income consumers.

Ethnicity mix

Even though ethnicity and racial factors are used to segment the market, the demographic variable is rarely applied. The reason is that most consumers perceive the marketing strategy as discriminatory (Levy, Weitz, and Grewal 53). Essentially, H&M does not segment its market depending on ethnicity, race, or nationality variables.

An overview of the firm’s clientele

The firm’s clientele consists majorly of the young females that constantly purchase the firm’s products. Females are more stylish and like fashionable products. As such, they find the firm’s products to be more appealing and satisfying. The firm’s emphasis on quality and aesthetic value make most of the products appealing directly to the young female clientele and enabling them to have repeat business (Walter 52).

Psychographic profiling

Lifestyle

Lifestyle incorporates the classification of clientele in terms of collective principles, ideas, beliefs, and interests. However, no standard lifestyle customer profiling exists. The type of psychographic profiling remains critical to H&M due to the type of products offered. The firm is applying the 4C’s model in customer classification (Walter 52).

Interests

Profiling, according to interests, is the grouping of clientele in terms of their common interests. Firms dealing in fashionable and luxury products such as H&M commonly apply psychographic profiling (Walter 23). Certain products directly appeal to a certain group of customers that have similar interest. For instance, customers with an interest in sports will be placed under the same category.

Activity

In this case, firms categorize clients according to accomplishments and actions. For instance, clients with high positions, such as managers, are grouped. Similarly, customers with low positions, such as ordinary employees are categorized into one group.

Works Cited

Levy, Michael, Barton A. Weitz and Dhruv Grewal. Retailing Management. New Delhi, India: McGraw-Hill Education (India) Pvt Limited, 2013. Print.

Walter, Sebastian. Expansion Opportunities for H&M – Market Analysis. Munich, Germany: GRIN Verlag, 2010. Print.

Introduction

For the over 60 years that it has been in existence, M&M’s has created a market share that is yet to be matched by the company’s close competitors. In 2004, the company was on record for realizing an impressive $201 million in candy sales in the United States alone, a feat that propelled it into the top spot in the market for boxed and bagged chocolates in the country (Wax, 2010).

The success of M&M’s has been attributed to many factors, including eye-catching and distinctive advertisements and promotions, effective consumer participation and feedback, extensive marketing strategies, affordable pricing, and a broad assortment of customized product possibilities. One of the foremost factors that have led to the unparalleled growth of M&M’s in the candy industry is the effective application of its marketing strategy.

According to Nash (2000), for contemporary businesses to remain competitive and be profitable, they must develop the right tools, especially in terms of understanding the products or services that their target market is looking for.

Indeed, businesses need not only concentrate on understanding what products should be introduced into the market, but they must ensure that objective data about the success of their current products within the selected target markets is available. This section aims to critically evaluate how M&M’s have so far managed to maintain a cutting-edge marketing strategy through careful selection of its target markets.

M&M’s Target Markets & Theoretical Backing

According to M&M’s official website, the company is currently engaged in producing a wide range of candies to not only cater for a broad market, but also satisfy individual tastes and preferences. The candies, which include peanut, almont, pretzel, baking bits, and dark chocolate, among others, comes in different colors and shapes aimed at satisfying the wants and needs of diverse target markets in the U.S. and beyond.

Virtual Advisor (2009) suggests that any effort towards developing an effective marketing strategy must first and foremost realize that existing and potential customers fall into specific segments that are largely characterized by their own unique needs and expectations. From the wide range of products going under the M&M’s brand name, the company has been able to successfully anchor its position as one of the best candy makers in the world (Rehoboth, 2004; Brown, 2004).

It is evidently clear that M&M’s company utilizes differentiated marketing to target unique market segments and make distinct offers for each product it produces depending on the needs of the target markets. Differentiated marketing, according to Kurtz et al (2010), occurs when a company endeavors to appeal to two or more noticeably defined market segments with a particular product and distinctive marketing mix customized to each separate market segment.

M&M’s company was quick to understand that the market for candies includes customers with diverse lifestyles, preferences, backgrounds, and incomes levels (Brown, 2004). As such, the company produces a multiplicity of candy products in addition to pricing, promoting, and distributing them using diverse marketing approaches ostensibly designed to satisfy the wants and needs of smaller target markets, which includes children, teenagers, adults, and people with specialized needs (M&M’s Website, 2010).

The practice of differentiated marketing, though costly to effectively run, has made it possible for the company to achieve higher than satisfactory sales in all of its target markets. Kurtz et al (2010) are of the opinion that, “…by providing increased satisfaction for each of many target markets, a company can produce more sales by following differentiated strategy than undifferentiated market would generate” (p. 280).

It is a well known fact that through the identification, evaluation, and selection of a particular target market to pursue, companies are better placed to come up with more efficient and effective marketing approaches. Kurtz et al (2010) suggests that, “…to identify these markets, marketers must determine useful ways of segmenting different populations and communicating with them successfully” (p. 260).

For M&M’s company, this has partly been achieved through catchy brand names, use of color to differentiate target markets based on age, and the use of cartoon imagery on the packages of candies to symbolize the company (M&M’s Website, 2010).

Indeed, the employment of cartoon characters as M&M’s marketing strategy for its candies has a long history dating back to 1954, when the cartoon characters Red and Yellow came into the fore, bringing with them the slogan, “The milk chocolate melts in your mouth not in your hand” (M&M’s Website, 2010).

To date, the carton characters and humorous TV commercials successfully illustrate the fun, color, and friendliness that are attached to M&M’s candies, and the company has effectively used this marketing strategy to appeal to various target markets, including children and teenagers. According to Elliot (2005), “…colors of Mega M&M’s are meant to appeal to more mature audiences; the regular hues like red, green, yellow and blue are being supplanted by shades like maroon, gold, beige and teal” (para. 8).

Appropriateness of Target Market Selection

It is evidently clear that M&M’s differentiated marketing strategy has been successful in terms of meeting and satisfying the needs and preferences of its target markets. Buy targeting and segmenting its customers along their unique needs and age, M&M’s has been able to offer exactly what each target market wants in its candy products.

This has led to sales increases over the years not mentioning the fact that the company still maintains its number one position in the business of candy selling according to industry figures (M&M’s Website, 2010). What’s more, the company’s unique advertising strategies based on comprehensive differentiation of its target markets continue to endear many customers to its ever increasing product list.

According to one of the company directors, customers are always on the lookout for extra excitement, and M&M’s is only too happy to respond to customer requests through the development of new products and packaging that are intended to target particular markets so that the image of M&M’s candies remains with the customers for a very long time – if not forever (Elliot, 2005).

Recommendations

The first recommendation is that M&M’s should utilize the convergence of technology witnessed in the 21^st century to expand its target markets in countries that it is yet to set base (Wax, 2010).

Although expansion is costly at the short-term, the company’s strong sales performance and a wide range of candies for customers to choose from puts at a distinct advantage to benefit on long-term basis from expanding its target markets. Such a strategy would be aimed at enhancing the market performance of the company within its target markets.

It could also serve the company well to increasingly diversify its products range and introduce other products into the market that are associated with candies.

Such products may include chocolate sweets, health drinks, fresheners, and other lifestyle products. According to Voss & Voss (2008), increased product diversification serves to entrench a company’s products or services into its target markets. Furthermore, such an intervention will not only assist in improving market perception, but will also increase sales and market performance

Lastly, although the cartoon characters and the use of color have served well to market M&M’s candies to the various target markets, the company should work on other marketing strategies that appeal to unique target markets that may not particularly be attracted to cartoons or the various colors used. Still, a customer may today readily identify with a cartoon but identify with something else tomorrow. As such, continuous market research should be done to identify the trends of contemporary market segments (Voss & Voss, 2008).

List of References

Brown, S (2004). Tapping into New Fans. Retail Merchandiser, 44(7), 10-12.

Elliot, S (2005 ). Calories? Hah! Munch some Mega M&M’s. The New York Times. Web.

Kurtz, D. L., Mackenzie, H. F., & Snow, K (2010). Contemporary Marketing, 2^nd Ed. Toronto, Ontario: Nelson Education Ltd.

M&M Website (2010). History. Web.

Nash, E. L (2000). Direct Marketing: Strategy, Planning & Execution, 4^th ED. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Rehoboth, W. G (2004). Dandy Candy. Convenience Store News, 40(13), 28-31.

Wax, B (2010). Target Marketing Thrives on the Web. Property & Causality Risk & Benefit Management, Vol. 114, Issue 14, p. 32-36.

Virtual Advisor, Inc (2009). Targeting your Market. Web.

Voss, G. B., & Voss, Z. G (2008). Competitive Density and the Customer Acquisition-Retention Trade-Off. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 78, Issue 6, p. 3-18.

Victoria’s Secret is a retail company specializing in women’s lingerie, loungewear, and beauty products. The company’s target market is fashion-conscious women interested in high-quality lingerie and beauty products. Victoria’s Secret uses various forms of market segmentation to target its consumers. One form of segmentation is demographic segmentation, which involves targeting specific age groups and people with certain incomes. Victoria’s Secret primarily targets young women in their 20s and 30s and people with higher incomes who are willing to pay for premium products.

When marketing a product, it is safe to imagine that one is making a sales pitch to each potential customer. Therefore, a marketer has to seek ways of getting through to individuals. This consideration makes marketing segmentation very important. Segmentation acts as a breakdown of potential customers. Through segmentation, customers can be classified in terms of age, race, lifestyle, level of income among other factors (Kurtz, 2010). Therefore, marketers can engineer marketing strategies that are specific to each category. This essay investigates the criteria of segmentation that affects market selection. The Victoria’s secret United States business model will be used as an example in this case.

Victoria’s Secret enjoys a huge customer base across the United States. These customers are mostly women but men are also targeted. Victoria’s Secret mostly targets women of between age eighteen and thirty five. The targeted women are mostly the ones living in major cities across the United States. The main marketing strategy for Victoria’s Secret is to appeal to the women’s sex appeal. This means most of their products are meant to showcase a woman’s sexuality. The targeted clientele is mostly from the middle income group. The potential customers include women of all races and ethnicities. In addition, women who are in touch with their sexuality make up the biggest client base. Men who purchase Victoria’s Secret merchandise for their partners also form a significant customer block.

The above customer base can be segmented even further. The first segment includes single women who are of between eighteen to thirty five years. This segment consists of women who are mostly seeking to enter the dating scene. The segment also consists of women in short term relationships. These young women have not yet indentified stable partners and their image means a lot to them. Therefore, they are very conscious of how they present themselves. The other segment consists of women of ages eighteen to thirty five who are in relationships. This group is made up of women who are either married or in long term committed relationships. This group enjoys a healthy sex life and is characterized by its choice of specifics. This is because those in this group already know what they want. However, they may still be interested in experimental products every once in a while.

The other segment includes women who are over thirty five years but may still be interested in Victoria Secret’s Products. This group is characterized by new age ideologies and views. The other two segments include those women who are comfortable with their body image irrespective of their physical attributes and those women who are insecure about their body image. The fist group consists of women who often feel desirable and who will find it worthwhile to own Victoria’s Secret products. The other segment consists of women struggling with body image issues and their purchasing patterns are mostly erratic.

All the above segments have the potential to generate revenue for the franchise. However, the segment with the most potential is the one that consists of those women with body image issues. This segment is easy to understand and appeal to. The marketing campaign would focus on self esteem and promote products that are suitable for all types of body images. For instance, the campaign can include products for women of all body sizes and shapes. If successful, this marketing strategy has the potential to bring in a new market share thereby boosting the sales revenue (Aaker, Brumbaugh & Grier, 2000). In addition, if these new customers are retained, they can lead to the expansion of the franchise.

References

Aaker, J., Brumbaugh, A. & Grier, S. (2000). Non-target markets and viewer distinctiveness: the impact of target marketing on advertising. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 9(3), 127-132.

Kurtz, D. (2010). Contemporary Marketing. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.