Marketing Assg Corrections

1 Explain a competitive analysis of the organization and offering.

2 Describe your target market in detail, including information on the geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioral factors used to choose your market segment.

***Instructor Notes, Needs to improve on the following:

1. You had a competitive section header but the analysis seemed to discuss just theory. You will have to provide much more specific detail (and clarification) in your week 5 final submission. More research is needed here to include specific competitors or potential competitors. The chart format will be effective as well, but you will need more narrative. Positioning is all about how consumers see you relative to the competition. What are the marketing strategies for the competition?

2. You are heading in the right direction but you will have to much more specific in terms of your target market if you want to be successful. You will want to start with the current Pampered Chef target market and see if this will be the same or different. When you discuss demographics, what income range, etc.

Pampered Chef Strategy and Position

When it comes to marketing and market research, a company or a business must consider various factors before deciding the type of customers to sell goods to. It is important to analyze factors such as geographic location of customers, demographic information about them and the nature of their behavior. Pampered Chef as a company has identified the type of consumers to provide goods. The customers that have been identified are chefs and campers. The product to be provided by the company is a universal knife that can be used by both the campers and cooks. Market opportunities can be identified in various regions depending on the size of the market and availability of customers. Cooks and campers as a target market can be found in different places. Cooks generally operate in areas with large populations like towns and cities where restaurants are located. Campers on the other hand are individuals who would use these products occasionally during camping trips. This means that the company would be supplying products for two different types of consumers. Cooks use the knives continuously hence would need constant supply of the products. The campers will most likely to use them occasionally whenever they need to go for camping hence would only shop for them when the need arises.

Factors such as geographic location, demography, consumer behavior and psychographic behavior have to be analyzed by any business before producing products and marketing them (Holbrook, 1999). Consumers such as cooks who are mainly found in towns and cities with large populations require easy access to the knives. This means the company must have outlets in places where the customers can easily access. Location of their retail shops or outlets is important as it determines the ease at which their customers will get the products whenever they need them. Geographic location is therefore important as it determines the delivery of products to their customers. The location of the market also influences the transportation cost for the company. When it comes to campers, the company could locate its retail shops in the camping sites in order to make it easier for the customers to access the products. It would also reduce the transportation cost for the company.

Demography of customers refers to the nature of population that the company is targeting. The composition and nature of the population matters to the company as it determines the revenue being earned by the company. A population with high income earners means that the company is bound to have a higher profit due to a higher purchasing power. It is different from a population with low income earners where the company might have low income. The state of the market being targeted is important as it influences the decision being made by the company when it comes to market condition. For this reason, the company has to choose a favorable population that would ensure higher sales of its products. The trends of customer behavior is also a considerable factor that the company has to analyze. Consumer preference and taste normally shift from time to time depending on the products that are trending in the market.

Consumer behavior determines the marketing decisions that are being made the company. It means that if consumer taste keep changing from time to time, the company will have to be able to keep up with pace at which products are shifting (Peter, Olson, & Grunert, 1999). Campers for example require knives occasionally and might not want to change the type of products they are using. Cooks on the other hand would easily consider buying new product that would suit their jobs better. It means that the company has to be able to balance between the two types of consumers to be able to operate smoothly. Research on a market’s demography is therefore important as it give a company the particulars of the targeted market.

Psychographic analysis refers to research on a population or a certain group of people in order to determine their approach, wants and beliefs concerning a particular type of product (Mitchell, 1994). Not every customer in a market would easily buy a knife for the fun of it. As much as cooks would easily buy it for the purpose of his or her job, regular people would not easily buy a knife as for them it may mean an added danger in the house. The campers would only buy it when it is really necessary to have a knife with them. Otherwise some people forgo buying knives as it means added danger. For those who think that having the product is a form of protection it would be easy to convince them to buy the product. Psychographic analysis is therefore important as it determines the customers who are likely to buy the product.

References

Holbrook, M. B. (1999). Consumer value: a framework for analysis and research. Psychology Press.

Mitchell, V. W. (1994). How to identify psychographic segments: Part 1. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 12(7), 4-10.

Peter, J. P., Olson, J. C., & Grunert, K. G. (1999). Consumer behavior and marketing strategy. London: McGraw-Hill.