Understanding the Customer Flashcards
What is STP?
Segment, target, position
How does marketing affect a company’s finances?
Marketing costs money, and influences revenue streams
How does marketing affect human resources?
Customer service is an extension of the product, and is a critical piece of your marketing. If your human resources behave in a way that reflects your company’s values reflected through marketing, there is consistency throughout your company
How have social trends and customer behaviours affected marketing?
They affect how companies target their customers by emphasizing different customer values or meeting changing customer needs
How has marketing affected social trends and customer behaviours?
It can affect and change people’s attitudes and what they expect from companies and from products
How have political trends affected marketing? Give some examples
It has changed what can be advertised and in what ways. Regulations change over time. For examples, regulations regarding cigarette and alcohol advertisements
How does marketing connect to the different critical success factors?
Achieving financial performance: when your marketing is effective, it will attract new customers / more frequent customers, which will improve your revenue streams
Providing value (quality products at a reasonable price): your product needs to deliver on your promises that you made through marketing
Encouraging innovation and creativity: in order for your marketing to be effective, you need to market in a way that reflects that values and technological status of the time
Gaining employee commitment: you need to make sure that the people who deliver on your promises through marketing are delivering the same message as you. You need to make sure the people you employ have the right talents/skills to deliver your product
What is marketing?
An integrated system of activities designed to plan, price, promote and distribute, want-satisfying goods and services to present and potential customers
What are the two keys that are essential to successful marketing?
- Provide a unique benefit
2. Convince the customer that they want your product
Describe key #1
Make sure that you are providing a unique benefit that is different from your competition. You do this by understanding your customer, and understanding your target market. You must provide something the customer wants or needs: your solution must FIT with their problem
What two elements of the business model canvas are connected by creating a problem-solution fit?
Value proposition and customer segments
Describe the target market
The group of customers/customer segments to whom you wish to direct your product towards. This group of customers is people whose wants and needs have NOT been met sufficiently by the competition. You need to identify a niche that is not currently being served
What are the three steps you can use to define your target market?
- Market segmentation
- Perceptual mapping
- Preference analysis
What are the four bases for target market segmentation?
- State-of-being
- State-of-mind
- Product usage
- Benefits sought
What are the five forms of consumer market segmentation?
- Demographic
- Geographic
- Psychographic
- Benefit
- Usage-rate
Describe the state-of-being basis for target market segmentation
Who are they, how old are they, where do they live?
Describe the state-of-mind basis for target market segmentation
How the customer thinks, attitudes, interests, opinions
Describe the product usage basis for target market segmentation
The amount of use, how they use it (as a gift, for example), what way do they use it
Describe the benefits sought basis for target market segmentation
Why would they use this product, what do they gain from using this product
Describe how similar products can have different benefits sought by using an example
The New Honda Odyssey is a mini van. It is bought by people who want a big vehicle for all their kids
The Honda Civic Type R is a racing car. The benefit sought for this product is a more exciting driving experience
Describe the different characteristics of demographic segmentation
Age, education, gender, income, race, social class, household size, etc.
Describe the different characteristics of geographic segmentation
Regional location, population density, city or country size, climate, etc.
Describe the different characteristics of psychographic segmentation
Lifestyle, personality, interests, values, attitudes
Describe the different characteristics of benefit segmentation
Benefits provided by the goods or service
Describe the different characteristics of usage-rate segmentation
Amount of use (light versus heavy)
What is the first target market segmentation that you ALWAYS have to start with?
Benefits sought
What are the three steps used to define your target market via market segmentation?
- Segmentation on basis of benefits
- Describe target markets using other bases
- Name the segments
How do you use perceptual mapping and preference analysis to find your target market?
You find the biggest gap between how the customer perceives how the competition is meeting their needs (perceptual map), and what they really want (preference analysis). In short, it is where their needs are not being met sufficiently by the competition
What are the steps to perceptual mapping and preference analysis to find your target market?
- Draw axes that represent the relevant dimensions/criteria by which people perceive and evaluate different product offerings
- Locate the positions of competing products on the axes/dimensions according to customer perceptions (perceptual map)
- On a separate map locate each segment’s ideal product (perception analysis)
- Bring the two maps together and determine the target market based on where the biggest gap is
What is the goal of positioning?
Finding a distinct position for your product in the customer’s mind, one that communicates that the product provides a unique benefit. The objective is to positions the product in the target’s mind as close to their ideal as possible
What are the two approaches to achieving the ideal position?
- Consumer approach
2. Competitive approach
Describe the consumer approach in marketing
Focus on the benefit (preference) that is provided by the product