Geographical segmentation

Incomes, buying habits, and consumption patterns vary across regions of the country, and segmentation by region is a useful means of identifying target audiences. Consumers within different regions can have very different levels of purchasing power, depending on regional levels of unemployment and the kinds of jobs available. Using this knowledge of broad geographical patterns, market analysts can identify market segments in particular regions and create tailor-made marketing and advertising promotions to stimulate sales.

TV regions are often used as a way of identifying regional boundaries and of creating regional segments. Television advertisements can then be designed to appeal to particular regional markets.

Lifestyle segmentation

In recent years researchers have found that there is a less reliable link between social-economic status and buying habits. For example, a builder may drive an expensive sports car while a barrister may drive a Mini.

Lifestyle segmentation involves identifying how groups of people choose to express their personality. Using market research into consumer lifestyles, firms build up profiles which provide information about potential customers. These profiles provide information on day-to-day habits, age, religion, aspirations, leisure pursuits, politics, and many other features of customers. Firms can use this information to develop promotional strategies aimed at different target audiences.

Conscience spending

Increasingly consumer spending decisions are linked to the moral views of consumers. Nowhere is this more evident than in the market for ‘green’ or environment friendly products. For example, sales of roll-on and pump-action deodorant have increased in recent years, while sales of spray cans have fallen due to wider awareness of the effects of chemicals released into the atmosphere.

This growing ‘conscience’ market segment has been carefully targeted by firms, and appropriate marketing and advertising campaigns have been designed to encourage people to purchase. For example, The Body Shop has built a large chain of stores around Britain by providing a range of cosmetic products which are advertised as untested on animals.

How to Reach a Target Audience

Marketing communications methods

Marketing communication involves providing information, through a variety of media, about a product to target audiences of consumers, and attempting to influence their buying decisions by stressing certain features of the product. ‘Influence’ may become ‘persuasion’ when firms attempt to stress product features which may be more imaginary than real. The key methods of marketing communication which is also called promotional mix are: advertising, sales promotions, direct marketing, Public Relations (PR), and publicity.

Advertising

Newspapers and magazines. There are hundreds of different newspapers and magazines ranging from national daily newspapers to free local newspapers and specialist magazines of limited circulation. Advertising is an important source of revenue for these publications.

Television. Television is an ideal means of advertising to reach mass markets, offering the benefits of movement and sound to promote products and services. Advertisements can be broadcast to reach the whole population, or targeted at particular TV regions. Due to increasing sales of satellite and cable systems, there are now an increasing number of commercial TV stations everywhere. Because their market is still relatively small, the cost of advertising on these channels tends to be much lower than on regular TV channels.

Radio. Radio listening has also increased in recent years. There has been a significant growth in the number of local commercial radio stations, whose main source of funding is revenue from adverts. Local radio provides a relatively cheap and effective means of advertising for many medium-sized and even smaller firms.

Posters. Large posters placed in highly visible sites can be a relatively cheap and effective means of grabbing peoples' attention. Smaller posters placed on the side of buses and taxis, on railway stations, and in airports can be seen by large numbers of people. Sports venues are also popular sites to place posters on hoarding Adverts for products can also be placed on the packages of other products – for example, on matchboxes, carrier bags, and T-shirts – and even on hot-air balloons.

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