Targeting

Definitions:

‘Many marketers try to target affluent markets. This practise often makes sense, since the consumers obviously have the resources to expand on costly products’ (Solomon et al 2010)
' Segment of the market selected by the organisation as the focus of its activities' ( Boddy 2008)

Description:

Targeting means breaking up and segmenting consumers into different categories. By having a target market it allows a business to effectively communicate with the consumers. Targeting is also very cost affective for an organisation as it means that promoting, pricing and the distribution of the product or service is made simple and easier as it can be generalised. This strategy is a great advantage for businesses to use at it gives them the opportunity to identify where there is a gap in the market and they can take full benefit of this.

By using target marketing it allows businesses to analyse the consumers they are going to target their product or service at and justify weather or not they are going to be able to make a profit from these potential consumers. Although the target market may be a certain group of people a business must consider the purchaser and also the user for example if parents are sending their children to a swimming club, what will be important to them is health and safety, hygiene and pricing whereas children would be more influenced by more decorative and fun things.

By targeting it allows organisations to plan pricing strategies easily and simply. It also gives organisation a specific group of consumers to aim their product or service at. This includes the people who are most likely to purchase the product. This strategy allows companies to analyse whether or not that market is going to make them a profit and whether or not it is something which will grow and expand.

Advert examples:

This Lynx deodrant advert is targeted specifically at young men. It uses a number of different features to target the right audience including the characters, music and overall theme of the advert.

Here is an advert targeted specifically at middle aged women, this is reflected by the characters used, the language and the environment in which the scene is set.

Video on targeting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LC91RtzvoA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXNHc6PPBfo&feature=related

http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/section/online-marketing#utm_source=targetmarketingmag.com&utm_medium=blog_directory_page&utm_campaign=top_nav

Websites:
http://www.knowthis.com/principles-of-marketing-tutorials/targeting-markets/

http://marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-targeting.html

References:

1.  Management: An introduction: Fourth Edition: 2008, David Boddy
2. Consumer behaviour: A European perspective: Fourth Edition:2010                        Michael R.Solomon, Gary Bamossy, Soren askegaard, Margaret K. Hogg