Developing a Primary Research Plan for Marketing a Product, Service, or Charity

Identifying Market Segments

First, Name a product, service, or charity of your choice. ? This means pick a specific real product, not a whole category like "cosmetic product"! instead choose something like Mabeline Lipstick. The more specific the easier it will be. Next, develop a primary research plan to give you more insight into how to market your product by following the following steps: 1. Identify three distinct market segments most likely to buy your product or service, or donate to your charity. Here is an example of three market segments. Many students confuse the different descriptive attributes of a population e.g. demographics, psychographics, Geographics, lifestyle...with market segments themselves. But what we are trying to do is deeply describe a few different segments of the population who might be good target markets for our product (it helps if you pick an actual product). Attributes Segment 1 Segment 2 Segment 3 Demographics Married Women Workers Age range: Household income of: $80,000-$120,000 Teenage Girls 13-19 years old Household income of $80-120,000 Young Educated Women 19-35 At least some college Psychographics Professionals and Office Workers Eager to be attractive to boys! Interested in Natural and Organic makeup. Against Animal testing Geographics Major North American Cities Living in Norther BC Living in France 2. Choose the best one of these three segments as the target market your primary research will focus on. Next you choose one of the segments as the best one to target right now. How to choose? Is the group big enough to make money marketing to them? Is the group growing? Can you target this specific group easily through certain publication, media, or social media they like to use? Do they have enough money or access to parents with money to buy the product? Is the company in a good position to capture this target group e.g. distribution channels, advertising, access to organic makeup? (assume that your company can deliver what's needed for this exercise.) (See your text for a complete list of how to identify a good market segment) Now that you have chosen the best segment based on answering the above questions, describe the profile of this group in more detail if you can. This will help you make up survey questions to find out how they make purchasing decisions related to products like yours, and to develop creative advertising that will appeal to your target group. (You can develop a marketing plan for the other segments too, at some future time.) 3. Create a list of 5 "open ended" survey questions that would get prospective customers talking about how they make their buying decisions (to help you plan your advertising) These questions are meant to be for anyone in your target segment - not necessarily customers yet. They are not sales oriented questions! They are meant to help you understand what people in this target group like and don't like about products like yours and what motivates them to pull out their money and buy something and when that usually happens. For example: What is your favorite brand of lipstick? Why do you like it? Do you have a favorite colour? Are there any brands of lipstick you would buy if you could afford to? How do you know that lipstick is so good? How did you discover your favorite brand? Food for thought (not required as part of the assignment). 1. How would you organize a focus group event that would appeal to your target market and get them talking about how they make buying decisions for your product? 2. How could you conduct behavioral observation research on this group?