Consumer Behaviour Marketing Product and Target Market - Coursework Example

Consumer Behaviour Marketing Product/Service and Target Market Student’s Name: Grade Course: Tutor’s Name Date: Word Count: 3117 Consumer Behaviour Marketing Product/Service and Target Market Product Description “On the Move” is a lifestyle magazine published by Populist Publishers and circulated in major urban areas in Australia. The magazine targets the young ambitious woman aged between 17 years and 25 years of age. Unlike other lifestyle magazines targeting young women in the Australian market, this magazine will address the need of all women regardless of their body sizes or looks. This is informed by the fact that many magazines currently in the market stresses the importance of physical appeal and beauty while failing to address the wholesome needs as presented by the modern young woman, who not only needs to look good, but also needs to go up the career ladder and lead a healthy life. Through a combination of product, price, promotion and placement, the magazine is intended to appeal to the young woman who is passionate about making herself a better person socially, economically and career-wise. Using the marketing mix The tri-component attitude model in marketing suggests that consumers use the cognitive component; the affective component; and the intention component when purchasing a product (Malhotra, 2005). In the cognitive component, this concept suggest that a consumer’s beliefs about a product, brand, purchase outlet or actions are based on their personal knowledge, perception, first-hand experience or simply experience passed to them by other consumers. The Affective component on the other hand proposes that a consumer’s beliefs about the product, retail outlet, purchase action of brand affects feelings like likes or dislikes that the consumer develops towards a product. The conative component proposes that the consumer’s intention towards a product, brand, action or retail outlet (whether neutral, positive or negative) is influenced by the beliefs he or she holds towards it. It is thus a three-part model with a knowledge component, a feeling component and a behavioural component (Malhotra, 2005). Appealing to the cognitive component According to Schwarz & Hunter (2008), the cognitive component of consumer behaviour focuses on the perceptions and knowledge that the consumer has towards the product. The perceptions can be acquired from a direct experience with the consumer, or indirectly through other people’s experiences, which are passed on to the consumer through narrations or other forms of information sharing. Using the marketing mix to appeal to the cognitive component of the “On the Move” magazine, the product would have to contain feature articles that satisfy the quest for knowledge presented by the target audience. The writing style used by the writers also needs to capture the attention of the readers because as Just (2010) found out, young people hate reading boring literature. This means that the writers would need to fuse entertainment in all the educative and informative articles they write. The price is set at 5 Australian dollars with the view of attracting more readers because of affordability concerns raised by the target market, most of who are not yet working. With the valuable content inside however, most readers will probably find the magazine a good value for their money. To address product placement, the magazine will be circulated in all major urban centres in Australia and stocked in all major bookstores and newsstands. In addition, the magazine will be stocked in stores serving students mainly in university and college campuses across the country. By doing this, product will be closer to the target market thus improving the chances that it would attract people who have never read it, or stimulate discussions among the target group about the same as they spot it on the newsstands. Just like Placement, promotion is an important aspect of ensuring that the product stands out among others in newsstands and other retail outlets where it is stocked. Appealing to the affective component According to Shwarz and Hunter (2008), the affective component addresses the feelings or emotions that a consumer attaches to a product. For the “On the Move” magazine to appeal to the feelings and emotions of its readers, its content will be geared to address the issues that matter in their lives. As observed by Lowly et al (2007), young women between the ages of 17 and 25 years are concerned about careers, relationships, physical and mental wellbeing, as well as financial freedom in the future. The magazine will therefore seek to address the identified concerns comprehensively in a manner that would satisfy the target audiences’ feelings and emotions. Pricing and placement the magazine at an affordable price range and within many retail outlets will be stressed as a caring strategy that is intended to ensure that all women who would benefit from the content published in the magazine can access it easily. The promotion aspect will be done in such a way as to resonate with the feelings and emotions of the young woman. This means that any offensive promotion content will be avoided. Appealing to the conative component Schwarz & Hunter (2008) states that most consumers’ behaviour towards a product is affected by the attitude they possess towards it. This means that the magazine would need to attract preferable attitudes among its target audience. This can be attained by marketing the content as right for the target market and the price as affordable. The target market should also find the magazine easily accessible through product placement and visually appealing through proper packaging. Marketing mix to facilitate classical conditioning Schwarz & Hunter (2008) defines classical conditioning as “the process of using an existing relationship between a stimulus and a response to bring about the learning of the same response to a different stimulus” (p. 92). In marketing, classical conditioning can be attained using three approaches: 1) through repetition whereby marketers repetitively, advertise or promote the product in order to increase the consumer’s connection with the product while preventing the target consumers from overlooking the product. As a result, the target consumers are not only more exposed to the product, but are also more aware of its presence in the market; 2) through stimulus generation whereby marketers use different approaches to differentiate the product from other competing products in the market. In the magazine’s case, the differentiation revolves around the content of the magazine, whereby women within the target age are not discriminated according to their body types. Rather, their need to excel academically, in their careers, relationships and financially are addressed without laying too much emphasis on aesthetic beauty which is a niche pursued by other popular magazines in the market; 3) through stimulus discrimination whereby the target consumer is able to differentiate the “On the Move” magazine from other magazines in the market. Once this is attained, it becomes clear that the marketers have succeeded in effectively positioning the magazine in the market. Using repetition According to NetMBA (2010), the brand name, quality, packaging and functionality of a product are some of the characteristics that marketers can repetitively use in order to facilitate classical conditioning for a product. In the case of the magazine a repeat of the value of the content inside would no doubt draw more consumers to purchase it. Repetition is best used in promotions, since the message about the product will get across to the target audience much effectively through the different promotion methods used. Using stimulus generation Through differentiating the magazine from other magazines targeting the same age group, the marketers will have succeeded in stimulating curiosity among the target readers. By marketing a magazine as a product that leads women to a self-discovery journey, the marketing strategy will not only create stimulus in the target market, but may also attract women over the targeted age bracket. Since the cover price is easily affordable for many young women in the target age group, this may even encourage more target consumers to purchase the same. In regard to pricing, the magazine will introduce price flexibility whereby, those who purchase the magazine on a subscription basis will have discounts issued depending on the length of their subscription. The promotions of the magazine will specifically create an appealing perception of the magazine among the target audience hence generating a deep yearning among women in the target age group to purchase the product. Using stimulus discrimination The magazine will use pricing decisions (5 Australian Dollars & lower rates for subscribers), product decisions such as packaging and editorial content, promotion decisions, and placement (distribution) decisions in order to ensure that the target consumers have an easier time differentiating the magazine from others in the market. The editorial content will be the main marketing focus mainly because other magazines have addressed the fashion, relationships and beauty aspects of a woman’s lifestyle without specifically addressing her needs to advance in her career. Considering that most young women in Australia want to have independent lives whereby they do not have to rely on men to provide for them as was the case in the past, personal growth and development therefore is an issue that is long overdue. External Factors affecting consumer behaviour The fundamental nature of marketing is providing consumers with a product they are willing to purchase, and providing information to create awareness about the same (Leitter & Webb, 1983). This means that in order to guide product development and communication initiatives to satisfy the consumers, marketers must understand consumer behaviour portrayed in the target market. People are social beings and women in the target age group are no different. This means that the young women in the target group have common interest with other people in the society, suffer influences from others and share values and rules with their friends and family. According to the Marketing Teacher (2000), the external groups affecting consumer behaviour can be divided into primary and secondary groups. The primary groups have the most influence on a consumer and contain people who are very close to a person. Such includes family members and close friends. Secondary groups on the other hand do not have as much impact on a person, though they may influence a person’s purchase decision. Such include organisations, groups or clubs that a person belongs. The target age group in the case scenario addressed in this essay are young adults. This means that the influence that their parents had on them early in life has considerably waned. Instead, their peers have a more significant influence in their decisions especially at a time when the young women are just discovering what they would like to pursue later in life. They also revere role models, especially older women who have succeeded in the same paths they would like to pursue. This however is not to mean that the parents do not have much influence on the target market. Much of the money availed to the young women aged between 17 and 25 years is from their parents. This is mainly because most are still in colleges and are therefore yet to start earning their own incomes. According to Marketing Teacher (2000), the values instilled in the young women early in life also continue influencing their purchase decisions even in adulthood. Culture According to the Parameswaran (2003), understanding consumers is not an easy process. Nevertheless, every wise marketer understands that the purchase decision cannot be made by the consumer if they are not made aware of a product. This then creates an interest, which could be followed by desire and ultimately, the purchase action. In the purchase process however, one’s culture is always a predominant factor. In the case of the “On the Move” magazine, the editorial content would have to be within the acceptable Australian culture. In culture, people have values that though not cast in stone, most people find natural to follow. In marketing the magazine therefore, the marketers would need to identify the values in the Australian context. It is from such values that the marketers will draw ideas that will enable them to abide by the traditions, customs, material artefacts and even myths which are held dear by people in the country. Though it is easy to imagine that young women do not have deep cultural convictions as the older generation in the population, it is still important to acknowledge that irrespective of the modernity slowly creeping into the Australian culture; most young women have been brought up in homes where culture is a centric feature. This therefore means that marketers cannot afford to dismiss the cultural aspect of the target market which features things such as religion. Social class In most cases, social class of a person is determined by the level of education and one’s occupation. In the target market’s case however, the social class is not as clear cut as one would wish. However, this essay realises that the target age group mainly rely on their parents and guardians for the provision of money especially since most of them are still in school. Based on this, the pricing was placed at an affordable level to allow young women from both well-up and struggling families to enjoy reading, learning and being entertained by the contents of the magazine. Having established that the social class for the target market is not clear cut, the marketers will have to adopt a marketing approach that does not segment the target market based on the social class they hail from. Rather, the marketers will need to market to the young women as a single group of women who are intent at developing their own lives through pursuing different careers. In the product description part it was established that the magazine will be marketed to the urban population. This suggests that the only segmentation possible in marketing the magazine would be to identify the needs and challenges posed by the urban population as opposed to the rural population. Notably however, this distinction does not apply to students and young women hailing from the rural areas, who are pursuing different activities in the urban areas. As Just (2010) observes, young people easily adapt to new environments and hence even rural-born young women quickly become assimilated into the urban culture thus making marketing all the more easier. Reference group Reference groups especially among the impressionable minds of young adults are very influential (Marketing Teacher, 2000). Such groups come with a form of social power that not only affects the purchase decision of consumers, but also how they think. In most tertiary institutions, reference groups are knowledge based and people who subscribe to such groups usually do so based on the need to gain knowledge from others. If a magazine campaign is to succeed in such groups and hence the individual members, it has to satisfy the group member’s quest for knowledge, information and entertainment. As had established earlier in this essay, the magazine seeks to be content-based with feature articles that are informative, educative and entertaining. Notably, not all reference groups are the same, and a consumer can belong to more than one reference groups. An aspiration reference group is defined as a group that one admires and wishes to emulate in future. For example, Hoyer & Macinnis (2008) observes that people aged between 18 and 34 years often admire successful people based on their lifestyles, possessions and traits (p. 393). Young people targeted by the “On the Move” magazine are also likely to belong to associative reference groups, which are defined as the group of friends, school group, club, workgroup or extended family that one tends to associate with regularly. It is also possible for the young readers targeted by the magazine to form brand communities as suggested by Hoyer and Macinnis (2008), whereby a structured relationship among readers of the magazine is established. In addition to buying the magazine, members of the brand community discuss information raised by the magazine and this encourages and influences loyalty towards the magazine. To capture the attention of consumers who belong to reference groups, Hoyer & Macinnis (2008) suggests that marketers need to forge relationship with people within the reference groups who accurately represent members therein. For example, in an aspiration reference group, the marketers would need to work with the person admired by people in the reference group. Marketers can also help consumers to develop brand communities. Family Most people grow up in a family environment where certain values are upheld. Such not only becomes part of a person as he or she grows up, but also influences their purchase behaviour later in life. A family that upheld hard work influences children who grow therein to believe that hard work is the only assured way to success. When such children start making their own decision, they most often abide by the lessons learnt within the family setting. In most cases, the values acquired from the family culture make a significant contribution to one’s personality. According to Keillor (2007), “consumers evaluate brands through human personality characteristics.... and in many cases will purchase brands with personalities that match their own” (p. 234). Considering the family influences that family would have on the purchase behaviour of the market targeted by the “On the Move” magazine, marketers will need to ensure that the marketing messages do not go against the sensitivities set by most families. The main focus for marketers would have to be on the promotion and product aspects of the marketing strategy. The product through its content would need to be within acceptable family values, while the promotional messages would need to adhere by the same standards. Parameswaran (2003) suggests that people from families where everything was provided may not have a strong quest for people brought up in families where daily living was a struggle. Applying that in the context of the magazine would mean that young women from less affluent families would be more willing to purchase the magazine especially seeing that it offers a promise of offering them some valuable career lessons. Conclusion The consumer behaviour for the market targeted by the “On the Move” magazine is not easy to predict. However, as observed in this essay, there are several pointers that can help marketers to successfully develop a product that appeals to the target market, create awareness, create desire and finally translate the desire to a purchase action. By carefully using the marketing mix as suggested in different works of literature, the marketers can successfully entrench the magazine in the target market. Notably however, the content of the magazine must be satisfying to the target audience because as observed herein, a product that disappoints consumers cannot succeed in any market regardless of the marketing strategies employed to promote it. Through a combination of product, price, promotion and placement, the magazine should make good its promise of informing, educating and entertaining the young woman who is passionate about making herself a better person socially, economically and in her career. References Hoyer, W.D & Macinnis, D. J 2008 Consumer Behaviour, Cengage Learning, Mason, OH. Just, J 2010, The parent problem in young adult lit, Sunday Book Review: The New York Times, viewed 2 July 2010, Keillor, B.D 2007, Marketing in the 21st Century: Integrated marketing communication, Greenwood publishing, New York. Leiter, M, P. & Webb, M 1983, Developing Human Service Networks, Ardent Media, New Jersey Lowry, R., Kremer, J.& Trew, K 2007 Young people: Physical health, Exercise and recreation, viewed 2 July 2010, Malhotra, N. K 2005 ‘Attitude and affect: New frontiers of research in the 21st century,’ Journal of Business Research, vol.58, no.4, pp. 477-482. Marketing Teacher 2000, Consumer behavior: External influences- introduction, viewed 2 July 2010, NetMBA, 2010, The Marketing Mix: the 4P’s of marketing. viewed 2 July 2010, Parameswaran, I 2003, Understanding Consumers: Building powerful brands using consumer research, Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi. Schwarz, E. & Hunter, J 2008, Advanced theory and practice in sport marketing, Butterworth-Heinemann, Jordan Hill Oxford, UK. Read More