Segmentation, Targeting and Consumer Behavior Factors - Essay Example

? Marketing Contents Task 3 Segmentation and Targeting 3 Task 2 5 Consumer Behaviour Factors 5 Task 3 8 Positioning Strategy 8 Reference 9 Task Segmentation and Targeting Segmentation is a process of dividing a large segment into various small units as per similar need or even related characteristics. Segmentation is mainly done based on demographic, geographic, product usage along with benefits (Cant, Strydom & Jooste, 2009, p. 105). The product to be discussed here is Sleep Bug which is an application for windows Phone 7 and iOS which has been designed to produce ambient scene sounds along with music in order to help one fall asleep quickly and soundly (Sleep Bug, 2011). Thus based on the product the segmentation is decided. Here segmentation will be done based on demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioural variables. Demographic segmentation tends to divide the market in segments based on factors such as gender, age, income and others (Ferrell & Hartline, 2010, p.117). Based on demographic segmentation, Sleep Bug application will be made available to both the genders male and female as the application which is designed for windows phone 7 and iOS are used by both the segments and thus the segmentation are done keeping in mind the female market and the male market segment. The sound and the music along with feature installed in the application have also been developed according to the segments likes and dislikes. Age is the next factor in demographic segmentation, and the sleep bug pro will be segmented to the age group 16 years and above. The reason behind selecting the age bar to 16 years is that since everyone in today’s generation has an access to iPhone, iPad and iPod therefore the application is made available for all the people within the particular age group so that they can enjoy the application and have a sound and proper sleep. Based on the income level, the application are targeted to those having iPhones, iPod and iPads dividing the segment into middle to higher level of income group who has the capacity to afford an iPhone and related product. Geographic segmentation is the process of segmenting the market by region, market size, climate and also market density (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2008, p. 234). Based on geographic segmentation, Sleep Bug will be segmented on population density to the urban people who have problem while sleeping due to heavy work pressure, and other related problems. Behavioural segmentation segments the market based on the usage of the product. Sleep Bug will segment it for those who are conscious about their health and improve memory as proper sleep will boost up health, people who are fascinated towards new applications , who would use it on regular basis and status conscious that is the segment who are not price sensitive. Based on the above segmentation a detailed customer profile has been developed, Sleep Bug is an application which can be used in Windows Phone 7 and iOS and focus mainly on the customer segment. The target market for Sleep Bug is those segments that suffers from poor sleep, secondly the working group who demands peaceful and sound sleep, thirdly for those who like handling new application and show it as a status symbol. The third target market also includes students apart from the college goers. Analysing the growth of mobile application which is expected to grow from $6.8billion to about $25billion in the next four years (App Muse, 2012), there seems to exists potential customer base helping Sleep Bug to generate revenue and profit in the long run. Task 2 Consumer Behaviour Factors Consumers are the centre for the marketers and without satisfying the customer the marketing manager cannot be termed to be successful in his given task. The behaviour of consumers tends to differ from person to person as each of them behaves in respect to their inner motives. As per the definitions given by Philip Kotler, “Consumer buying behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of final consumers who buy goods and services for personal consumption.” Some of the important elements of consumer behaviour are to determine who the buyers are, who makes the decision, who actually purchase it and who ultimately uses the product. Secondly to determine when the target consumer buys, how the consumer does purchases, from where and why does the consumer purchase the product. Thus the factors which tend to affect the consumer behaviour are economic factors, socio culture factors, psychological factors and personal factors (Trehan & Trehan, 2010, p. 200). In case of Sleep Bug, a consumer behaviour factor which tends to affect the purchasing decision of the application includes psychological needs and economic factors. When the personal income of a consumer is high the demand automatically tends to be high and will demand more and buy more of products. At the same time when personal income is less the consumer will purchase product which are only necessary. The application, Sleep Bug cannot be regarded as necessity but a form of luxury which the consumer will purchase only and if the disposable income is high. A person with high personal income will be willing to spend on such luxury which helps consumers to fall asleep by generating high-quality and realistic sounds and music in order to help one sleep. Disposable income is also essential as higher the disposable income of a consumer higher he is willing to spend. Thus economic factors play an important factor in influencing consumer’s decisions. Psychological factors can be categorised as individual’s needs, image, attitude, learning and lifestyle and personality. It is said that the starting point of buying process is recognition of need and it can be well interpreted with the “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.” According to Maslow individual tries to satisfy five forms of needs which includes, physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self actualisation needs (Koli & Koli, 2010, p. 49). In case of Sleep Bug, individual tends to satisfy the esteem needs which means the individual is seeking for recognition and status. Sleep Bug which is made available in iPhones, iPod and iPad indicates consumer esteem need and owning an iPhone or related products adds on to the esteem needs. Therefore Sleep Bug’s application can also be regarded as a self esteem need. In addition to the individual needs, attitude of a consumer also influences the purchases decision. It is necessary for the brand to develop a positive and favourable attitude towards the application. Consumers who are concerned with the benefits of proper sleep and removal of certain illness are surely to build in a positive attitude towards Sleep Bug and Sleep Bug Pro apps. When the positive attitude is developed Sleep Bug should try to maintain it. Lifestyle and personality also influences the decision making process. When a consumer lives with a high lifestyle he will want all the luxury and Sleep Bug with its application to provide high quality sound as well as music to make one fall asleep faster and more relaxed sleep. In addition to the above factors which influence the decision making factor of a consumers, personal factors and social cultural factors also plays an important role in influencing the consumers. Personal factor like occupation tends to influence the decision making process. As the consumers who are involved with pressurised work format, busy lives are very much likely to use the app which would make them relax and fall sleep faster. With regards to socio cultural factors social class of an individual also determines the purchasing decision along with reference group who tend to influence the consumer to buy the product. Task 3 Positioning Strategy After segmentation process and selecting the target market, deciding on the positioning strategy comes into picture. Advertisement plays an essential role in positioning strategy. It tends to include a specific themes or ideas that are communicated effectively if the product is to become a success. A sound and effective positioning strategy includes various essential elements. All effective positioning strategy is thus based on commitments in order to produce value for the target market segment (O'Guinn, Allen & Semenik, 2011, p. 225). Similarly Sleep Bug also needs to create a positioning strategy in relation to its target market. Sleep bug being an application which can be used by those owning an iPhone, iPad, iPod and Windows phone 7 so the positioning strategy needs to be formulated accordingly. The app says that it will help an individual to fall asleep in a much relaxed way and faster thus as first step the Sleep Bug should deliver what it promises and remain committed in creating substantive value for its customers. It is believed that magic lies in consistency and therefore positioning strategy also needs to be consistent both internally and with time. When consistency is maintained, customers are bound to get attracted towards the product generating more awareness about the product and create a brand image in the app market. Next step in creating positioning strategy is to be different but yet keep it simple. Distinctiveness and simplicity are two essentials in advertisements and contributes in building perception about the product in the market place. But at the same time the positioning strategy needs to be simple as well as distinctive in order to effectively communicate to the target market. Therefore Sleep Bug positioning strategy can be “Sleep Bug: A new Way to fall asleep.” The positioning line is simple yet different and has the potential to capture the consumers and generate awareness. Sleep bug can go for benefit positioning as in the app a distinctive customer benefit is attached. The single benefit feature should be the first and foremost option which needs to be considered in the formulation of strategy. Sleep bug aims to benefit the customers by providing them with sound sleep through its app and other supported feature like beach fire, classical, jungle, forest, music box, weather, river and also zen garden. In the process of creating positioning strategy, Sleep Bug can formulate some of its features as a part of its positioning strategy and this way the target market will also know about some of the futures which the app plans to incur. In addition to the above strategies, Sleep Bug can tie up with Apple and Windows phone 7 and share its application which will improve the brand name and generate more sales and revenue. Therefore with fundamental positioning themes and positioning the app as unique yet simple, Sleep Bug will be able to generate awareness about its app and help the target market fall asleep is a much faster and relaxed way. Reference App Muse, 2012. How big is the app market? [Online]. Available at: < http://appmuse.com/appmusing/how-big-is-the-app-market/> [Accessed 27 November 2012]. Cant, M. C. Strydom, J. W. & Jooste, C. J., 2009. Marketing Management. South Africa: Juta and Company Ltd. Ferrell, O. C. & Hartline, M. D., 2010. Marketing Strategy. USA: Cengage Learning. Koli, L. N. And Koli, P., 2010. Marketing Knowledge. Upkar Prakashan. Lamb, C. W. Hair, C. F. & McDaniel, C. D., Essentials of Marketing. USA: Cengage Learning. O'Guinn, T. C. Allen, C. T. & Semenik, R. J., 2011. Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion. USA: Cengage Learning. Sleep Bug, 2011. Home. [Online]. Available at: < http://www.sleepbug.net/> [Accessed 27 Nov. 12]. Trehan, M. And Trehan, R., 2010. Advertising and Sales Management. FK Publications. Read More