Focus Flashcards
Developing Trends that influence consumer behaviour
- Green Marketing
- Cause Related Marketing
- Marketing to Gay and Lesbian Consumers
- Gender-based Marketing
- Black Diamonds
Green Marketing
Owing to our growing concern for the environment, marketers established green marketing.
This involves:
- Developing and manufacturing products whose production use or disposal is less harmful to the environment than the traditional versions of the products.
- Producing products that have a more favourable impact on the environment.
- Linking the purchase of a product to a environmental organisation or event.
Cause Related Marketing
Is the activity whereby a company links the sale of its products to an issue or a cause. Companies encage in Cause Related Marketing to improve their sales and corporate image, while providing benefits for the cause. This can also be an effort to create long term relationships with their customers, thereby building greater corporate and brand equity with the intention of obtaining more sales. Through Cause Related Marketing companies aim to address consumers value and aims to encourage consumers to take action that will help solve the cause. Benefits are purely and primarily emotional in nature, marketers strive to encourage individuals to change their beliefs or behaviour, or buy products and services because “its the right thing to do” causing them to “feel better about themselves”
Marketing to Gay and Lesbian Consumers
There is a trend in society to valuing diversity. Gays and lesbians belongs to different ethnic groups, live in different regions, different occupations and age. These factors amongst others influence what they buy and when and where they make their purchase, and have a far greater impact on their consumption patterns than their sexual orientation. - Is it necessary that we modify our products to meet their needs? Should we use the standard advertisement in gay orientated media or should the advertisements be adapted to incorporate lesbian guy theme? To what degree should we participate in gay and lesbian related activities? Should our major media advertisements include advertisements with gay themes?
Gender-based Marketing
Gender roles have changed dramatically over the last few years. More women are participating the working environment and are experiencing increase wealth and purchasing power. Today women have a variety of role options and display a range of attitudes concerning their gender. when advertising to women companies are faced with marketing related aspects to keep in mind: Market segmentation the female market can be segmented into 4 groups- traditional housewife, trapped housewife, trapped working women, career driven working women Regarding the product strategy, many products are losing their gender typecasting and as a result, many typical male products are designed with women in mind. Consider Marketing communications, male and female users respond differently to marketing communication messages and consume different types of media. In terms of retail strategy, it is evident males and females respond differently to the retail environment and today more males are doing the shopping.
Black Diamonds
A uniquely South african development influencing the consumer behaviour is the rise of the black diamond. As SA’s fastest growing affluent black community, the Black Diamonds are exciting, savvy, influential and up-and-coming individuals who are driven to success. Includes: Mzansi youth who are still living at home and studying Start me ups who are just entering the market place Young families with children Established older, wealthier families Recognising the potential that the Black Diamonds hold as a target market, more and more companies are exploring possible opportunities to capture this segment.
According to the ABC model of attitude, attitude consists of the following three main components:
Cognitive component (c) Affective component (a) Behavioural component (B
Cognitive component (c)
The total configuration of beliefs about any product or retail store. Customers’ beliefs about a brand are, therefore, the characteristics they ascribe to it. for example, represents the cognitive component of the consumer’s attitude towards the particular product or store.
Affective component (a)
The affective component of an attitude involves a consumer’s emotions or feelings about a particular product, brand or retail store. The statement, “Coffee X is overpriced”, therefore, implies a negative affective reaction to a specific aspect of the product, which combined with feelings about other attributes, will determine the overall reaction to this brand of coffee.
Behavioural component (b)
This represents the outcome of the cognitive and affective components – to buy or not to buy a product or patronise a particular store. What consumers do with their knowledge of, and feelings towards, a product is very important to a company. The customer may have positive information about a product and may like it, but may not actually buy it for a variety of reasons. (Habit in respect of another brand may be strong, there may be other brands that the customer likes better or the preferred brand may be unaffordable.)
Targeting
A target market is a group of consumers for whom businesses design, implement and maintain a marketing mix in order to satisfy the target market’s needs. Consumers in this group have the ability, willingness and authority to purchase the product or service offering.
Criteria for evaluating market segments:
• Measurability • Substance • Accessibility • Differentiability • Actionable
Strategies for selecting target markets
Undifferentiated targeting Concentrated targeting Multisegment targeting
Undifferentiated targeting
This strategy views the market as one big market in which consumers have similar needs, and the business uses a single marketing mix for the entire market. This entails: one pricing strategy and promotional programme a single product with little or no variation one distribution system aimed at the entire market. Examples include staple foods such as sugar and salt. The original Coca-Cola soft drink was marketed to everyone and the focus was on what consumers have in common rather than how they differ.
Concentrated targeting
This strategy focuses on the needs of a single segment and develops a highly specialised marketing mix. This allows a business to specialise and focus all its energy on satisfying one particular group’s needs. One example is Rolex watches, which aims its product at a single-market segment, more specifically consumers in the upper social class category. Rolex male watch
Multisegment targeting
This strategy serves two or more well-defined segments and develops a distinct marketing mix for each. This approach combines the best attributes of undifferentiated marketing and concentrated marketing For example Marriott International is a company in the leisure industry that offers the following to its customers: Marriott Suites for permanent vacationers, Fairfield Inn for economy lodging, Residence Inn for extended stay and Courtyard hotels for business travellers. The core product is the same but the company uses different brand names, pricing and advertising to differentiate between the target groups.
The following is a seven-step approach that can be used by an organisation to position its products or services:
Step 1: Identify a relevant set of competitive products or services Step 2: Identify differentiation variables Step 3: Determine consumers’ perceptions Step 4: Analyse the awareness level of a product or service Step 5: Analyse a product’s or service’s current positioning Step 6: Determine the most preferred combination of attributes Step 7: Select a positioning strategy
Step 1: Identify a relevant set of competitive products or services
Constantly review marketing strategies to determine if consumer needs are being met by analysing: sales trends consumer comments the number of returns requests for unavailable merchandise repeat customers. This will assist a business in deciding whether to offer new products, seek new markets or penetrate current markets.
