Building Consumer-Brand Relationship - Case Study Example

Topic: Market Segmentation Name: Course: Instructor’s Name: Date: Executive summary A report on the market segmentation of the “Someday” perfume will be handled in relation to several factors that affect its market. In the introduction, a quick review of the product in terms of its position in the market will be outlined. The purpose of this report is to identify the ways that would assist a firm in marketing its product. This is possible by first establishing a consumer profile to determine the needs of consumers. Different consumers have different desires hence, a difference in the motivation they have to purchase certain items. “Someday” perfume is the kind of perfume that anyone who loves smelling nice around people would go for. The consumer profile that would be discussed in this report includes; the benefits sought, demographics, cultural background and personality characteristics. The three target audiences include; students in high school, colleges and individuals in their twenties. However, the primary target audience will be the students in high school. The recommendation is to use the social media to market the perfume to the learners, for instance, through social networks such as face book, twitter and blogs. Table of Contents Executive summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Consumer analysis 6 Market segmentation 7 A diagram showing consumer profile 10 Analysis of external characteristics of target audience 11 Recommendations 13 Conclusion 14 References 16 Introduction Dressing is a very important aspect that can be used to tell people’s personality. Hence, personality traits are as a result of many factors such as culture, religion, interests and family values. Since people are endorsed with different personalities, for instance, introverts and extroverts, the way these groups of people express their personalities is through the needs and wants essential in their lives (Eunju et. al 2007). People thus; use the aspect of dressing to demonstrate their personalities. Due to this reason, the “Someday” perfume would be used to identify the consumer market, draw their profile and come up with a primary target audience. Using the primary target audience, effective ways would be identified for ensuring the product reaches the consumers. This could be done through the media. Covering all these sections, the purpose of this report is to identify several market segments that would heighten the sale of the “Someday” perfume. This perfume is fruitful and full of aroma as it attracts all people of all classes. When a person wears the perfume regardless of the gender, it leads to instant attention from those around. The scope of the report is young people. This report is set to identify the characteristics of the youth that make them buy this particular perfume. Young people include; students in High school, colleges and all those individuals in their twenties that are already working. The youth have been an easy to get target as they get attracted to items that satisfy their needs. To ascertain the most precise target for the perfume, an interview would be undertaken using individuals from each category. The results would be analyzed in terms of those who “agree” and “disagree” to the benefits of the perfume. Due to the varieties of the perfume ranging from $25 to $30, both the youth who are studying and those working can easily access it (Peter & Olson 2008). Consumer analysis An analysis is like a study on the type of consumer that is identifiable with the primary target consumer. For every market there are consumers and they are defined by what it is termed as consumer needs and motivation. Many consumers are controlled by the desire to own and the motivation that a certain product offers in relation to the satisfaction of needs. Looking at the needs, product benefits, product attributes and personal values of the consumer have a relation that leads to consumer motivation. “Someday” perfume satisfies the needs of its consumers by answering the key factors that define a consumer. The three factors that define a consumer are thoughts, feelings and actions that a consumer take in order to gain satisfaction of a product. These factors are aroused by the information that comes along with product attributes (Hoyer & MacInnis 2007). The young people like to be associated with things that sale their personalities, and to ensure this, they end up associating with specific things. Since “Someday” perfume is valued by many due to the sole reason that the picture of the brand includes a celebrity, may people would like to floss with the perfume. The celebrity is a musician who is loved by almost everyone due to his singing and having a perfume with his picture satisfies the satisfaction of belonging. Another attribute of the perfume is its aroma which is certainly off the hook as it suits all people of all kind by identifying them as belonging to a high class. Then, the benefits of using such a perfume is the establishment of many relationships since many people are drawn towards you. A person who well understands the perfume would certainly form a good opinion when he comes across an individual who has worn it. Customers’ values are dependent on some groups of individuals such as the family. The family is bound by its values which are related to culture, religion and class. There are also theoretical information that explains the connection between the consumers’ needs and motivation to buy the “Someday” perfume. According to Ruvio & Shoham (2007), using the means end chain, acts a link between products attributes, product benefits, personal values and motiavtion of consumers are looked at in detail. According to the means end chain, the needs of consumers are dependent on the benefits and attributes that comes along with its purchase. The benefits of the “Someday” perfume include; the enhancement of appearance, belongingness and personal hygiene. The “Someday” perfume attributes include; nice smell, special package, celebrity’s fragrance and high quality. On another hand, the personal values that come along with the use of this perfume are beauty and boost of self-esteem. There is therefore, a close relationship between the products attributes, benefits and the personal values that are achieved from the consumption. The motivation to purchase the perfume comes from the ideas that are based on the personal value that would be met at the end of the chain. When all factors are kept constant, the consumers are motivated to buy the perfume in order to satisfy their needs. Thus, having a target audience such as high school students depicts that, the market is appropriate since the teenagers love it when they look good. Market segmentation This refers to the division of the available market for an organization’s product to facilitate its sale. To ensure a successful market segmentation, focus need to be put on the consumer behavior. That is to say that, consumer behaviour helps in segmenting the market according to specific needs for specific consumers. Knowledge about the consumer behaviour also helps in the identification of unsatisfied needs (Hawkins et al. 2007). When the needs that are not satisfied are identified by an organization, it goes ahead and establishes a product that would meet the needs, desires and aspirations of the consumers. Hence, there are goals associated with market segmentation. These goals include; the identification of specific target markets, profile and understanding the needs of the consumers in the identified markets, and lastly but not least is the production of goods that suit the market. In this case, an organisation should strive at producing the best in order to survive in the competitive market. There are several segmentation bases that are used in profiling the consumers’ market. They involve; the cultural/ sub cultural background, benefits sought, lifestyle preference, values and beliefs, perception, personality characteristics, user behavioral characteristics, needs fulfillment stages, demographics and geographic locality the consumer resides in. All these bases are used to determine the market of consumers. In this case, focus will be put on the four types of segmentation bases namely; cultural background, personality characteristics, demographics and benefits sought (Schiffman et al. 2007). Starting form the first base which is cultural, it is noted that, consumers decision making in relation to their needs is entirely dependent on his culture. Culture refers to the way of life of a certain group of individuals. There are several do’s and don’ts that are identified in every culture. For instance, among the Africans, people are supposed to be as natural as possible in order to earn respect from the society. In this case a traditional African would not buy a perfume since it violates the aspects of being natural. However, in the western world, wearing a perfume identifies one as a civilised person because of the presence of modernization. The second base is the personality characteristics. According to Horney, he identifies the three types of individuals who portray different personality characteristics. The persons include; the compliant, aggressive and detached. Thus, is in reference to Karen Horney’s three personality group different personalities are explored to explain the difference in needs in different people. A person with a compliant personality is one who loves to be associated with others for love and appreciation. The possibility of this kind of person purchasing a perfume is average because he is driven by the force to please other people. An aggressive personality desires to win over admiration by being against others. A detached personality is one that makes an individual to seek freedom from obligations. This kind of person will rarely think of purchasing a perfume since he does not want to be noticed. Depending on the kind of personality one has, it determines the chances of buying the “someday” perfume (Solomon, 2006). Most of the people who would easily buy the perfume are those endorsed with an aggressive personality. Another base includes the demographics such as age, occupation, marital status, gender and educational status. Depending on the age whether young or elderly, the needs are different hence different desires. Gender is also essential when it comes to establishing market segments for a certain product. In this case, gender would not provide clear information on the group of consumers that are likely to purchase the perfume. In relation to the needs presented in the theory of hierarchy of needs by Abraham Maslow, there are several needs that need to be satisfied in a sequence manner. Starting from the bottom, where the basic needs are featured it goes up to the self actualization stage which indicates that a consumer is completely satisfied and need not to work hard to earn a living. Thus, depending on the stage where one can be classified, it determines the chances of purchasing a product. For instance, the people who are classified under the self actualization stage would easily purchase the “Someday” perfume contrary to the people at the basic needs level who see this as a luxurious item thus, cannot purchase it (Kotler et al. 2008). For this product which is a perfume, the appropriate audience would include students in high school, colleges and those individuals who are in their twenties but have recently secured employment. When a manger is able to identify the target audience, it becomes so easier to establish the market segments that perfectly satisfy the specific needs (Putrevu 2008). A diagram showing consumer profile The above diagram, represents a summary of the consumer profiles used in this report and for specific purposes, the primary target audience would be the students in high school. In this case, a student who is 15 years old would be used to market the product by being asked to tell her fellow students about the benefits of the exceptional perfume known as “Someday” perfume with Justin Bieber brand. Since, high school students are often fascinated with simple things such the brand name and the picture, through the colorful box of the perfume, they would easily conclude that the product satisfies their needs which are; identification with certain personalities, pride and smartness. Analysis of external characteristics of target audience The target audience includes the students who are at a high school level. These students are motivated to buy the “Someday” perfume due to the variety of packages that it offers to its consumers. The most important motivator is the fact that, by buying the perfume it as a simple way of identifying with the celebrity, Justin Bieber who is loved by many people. The pride that comes along with such realization makes the students to save at least $25 in order to get the least priced perfume. It can be so hurting when you love something and you cannot access it due to financial constraints. That is why; an affordable perfume was also produced to cater for those with less money. However, there are also other packages that come along with a variety of things such as a laptop case, V.I.P card, and lotion among other things. All these items are wrapped using the brand name Justin Beiber “Someday”. However, for a student to purchase this perfume, the concise of the parents and teachers need to be put into consideration. This is because, a family is an important unit in child’s life and basing on the values of the family, one can use the perfume or not. For example, the Muslim families always adhere to very strong rules and regulations guarded by their religion (Neal et al. 2006). In this case they forbid the use of make ups and a perfume is actually a type of makeup. On the other hand, a child who is lucky to have come from a family which does not forbid the use of perfumes, would gladly get a bottle and use it to make himself smell smart. The teacher is another reference audience that determines the decisions of a student. A teacher comes in contact with students thus, with the classroom rules and regulations; one should be able to obey them accordingly. These two reference groups are important in a students’ life and failure to adhere to their rules and regulations leads to severe consequences. For instance, a student who goes against his parents rules stands a chance of suffering dearly either through abrupt stop of payment of the school fees or withdrawal of certain benefits, for example, the use of cards. It is therefore, the initiative of the student to consider the parents’ opinion on certain issues that might cause conflicts. A good example can be reflected to the reactions that emanate from the parents as a result of student’s misbehavior. The parents have a key role of ensuring every child is brought up knowing the difference between good and bad. However, a perfume is not a bad thing to most families but there are other families that do not accept the use of cosmetics. A good example can be traced back to the following story. There was a student who wanted to fit into a group that identified themselves through the use of the common “Someday perfume”. It was so hard for the student to win over the hearts of his classmates and later on, he realized that the only solution was to get the perfume. To his surprise, his friends were excited and welcomed him into the group with warm hands. Hence, the use of this perfume encourages the building of new and healthy relationships. Relationships are very important when it comes to human interactions (Chang 2006). Recommendations From the above analysis on market segmentation, it is evident that, a lot need to be put into consideration for the business to pick up. This can be achieved through so many ways such as asking people who are profound in the market to assist in the marketing of “Someday” perfume. Basing on the primary target audience, there are a lot of aspects that need to be used so as to attract many customers thus, increasing the number of sales. High school students have been identified as the most potential customers for the “Someday” perfume. This is because, they are gullible as they are easily convinced by the cover box of the perfume. However, to increase the sales by a large number of boxes sold, an enormous population needs to be addressed about the benefits of the perfume in terms of personal values. The social media is one of the most helpful sources of advertisements. The social medias include; the internet, televisions and radios. In this era, the most effective way of reaching out to the young people is through the internet (Eisend 2009). The internet consists of social networks such as; face book, twitter, blogs, yahoo and many others. Since the young people like moving with the latest trends, a show of their new dressing style would influence many other people logged in the same social network. The media thus, is a very essential part of advertisement when it comes to the marketing of the product. Putting the pictures that demonstrate the appearance of the perfume in a blog page motivates the people logged in the same page as they develop the interest of buying the perfume. Consumers are a group of individuals who love it when their interests are taken care of in the best and quickest way possible. The availability of online marketing fulfills the desires of those students who are unable to come across the perfume physically by purchasing it online. Hence, apart from the human marketing, the social media has proven to be the quickest form of advertisement though very expensive (O’Guinn et al. 2009). Conclusion This report was designed in order to provide ways of creating a variety of markets for the ‘Someday” perfume. The “Someday” perfume is an extraordinary type of perfume as it has several benefits, attributes and fulfills the needs of many individuals. Since dressing is an important aspect for all human beings, a smart way of ensuring one smells nice when around people is by purchasing the “Someday” perfume (Aslam 2006). This perfume has an aroma that attracts all the teenagers and even those adults who are fond of sprays. Wearing a perfume does not mean that an individual is dirty as some individuals perceive but it enhances the appearance of an individual. Therefore, in this case, the primary target audience includes high school students who are attracted to the perfume due to the brand name which is named after a celebrity, “Justin Bieber”. Although there are many potential buyers for the perfume, a market segment need to be established in relation to the needs of specific consumers, hence through consumer profiles, it becomes so easier to identify the different needs of consumers thus, develop a market for each in relation to their needs and motivation. Through consumer analysis and the study of the external factors that affect consumer decision making, one is able to indentify the unsatisfied needs and create a market that is acceptable by both the parents and teachers to the students who are the target audience. When all the rules are adhered to and the correct form of advertising is used to market the product, the firm would be sure to increase its sales due to the increased market. The social media is the most precise form of advertising especially when the target audience is the youth who are students in high school (Belch et. al 2009). Apart from saving the time used to get out to the shops and purchase the perfume, it also serves as a convenient way of getting them to know about the product. References Aslam, M. (2006) Are you selling the right colour? A cross-culturalreview of colour as a marketing cue, Journal of Marketing Communications, 12(1), 15-30. Belch, G. E., Belch, M. A., Kerr, G., & Powell, I. (2009).Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketingcommunication perspective. North Ryde, NSW:McGraw Hill. Chang, Pao-Long (2006) Building consumer-brand relationship: across-cultural experientialview, Psychology and Marketing, 23(11), 927-959. Eisend, M. (2009). A meta-analysis of humor in advertising. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 37, 191-203. Eunju, K., Eunyoung, K., Taylor, C. R., Kyung, H. K., & Ie Jeong, K. 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