Hello and fuck you. After reading Ruck's post about creativity in receiving email submits, I was called upon by the great forces of WF (not really) to write something about marketing. Ruck pointed out that looking into the demographics of the targets was important. And it is. I thought I would give you some more ideas on what type of factors you can distinguish people by. Knowing how one can identify market segments and what the fundamental causes and factors of consumer behavior are, is VERY important. In this course ("course" sounds cooler than "post"!) I am going to apply the knowledge which I obtained during a university course in marketing management.
If you don't like me, and if you don't like marketing, go here.
PS! Props to Koller and Ketler who wrote an everlasting and thick book through which I had to journey on my way to riches (not yet there). And my sincere thanks to the doctor who prescribed me drugs to get me through it.
I am going to stop being funny now (if you don't think I'm funny, you can go go here).
First, what is marketing? Marketing is the set of processes you go through in order to create, communicate and deliver customer value. If you are affiliate marketing you are mainly communicating the value, not as much creating or delivering it (that is up to the advertiser).
Segmentation
When you are going to marketing a product or a range of products in a certain niche, you must identify market segments. A market segment is a group of customers which have the same needs and desires. The process of identifying market segments is called segmentation. The point of segmentation is to group potential customers so that those which you include in a segment respond similar to the same marketing campaign.
Segmentation is done by certain factors:
In order for segmentation to be effective, there are certain criteria that should be met. Segments should be:
Consumer behavior
This list applies to typical personal consumers; not commercial firms.
You have three main categories of factors that affect consumer behavior:
1. Cultural
Cultures usually vary to some extent between countries, but the big differences are usually first seen between world regions, such as Western Countries vs. Arab countries. In large cultures there is room for subcultures (sometimes you would like to identify these, unless you are aiming at the main culture in a whole.) Don't go wasting your time on sub cultural factors unless the subculture is large enough to a decent amount of money on.
2. Social
2.1 Reference groups
Reference groups are all groups that directly or indirectly have influence on a consumer’s behavior and attitude.
2.2 Family
One’s family is parents, siblings, spouses/partners and children. For example, parents will often have influence on one’s religious, political and economic viewpoints (at least up till a certain age). Another example is the more direct influence, such as your own children. As a parent your buying behavior will depend also on what your children need and what they would like.
2.3 Roles and statuses
A person’s position in a group that he or she is a member of comes with a role and a status. The role consists of those activities one is expected to execute. From each role there is a derived status. Consumers choose products that reflect upon and communicate with their current AND their wanted status.
3. Personal
3.1 Age
A consumer’s desires for food, clothes, recreation, etc. are often related to what stage of the life cycle the consumer is currently experiencing. A person experiences different stages that will affect his/her perceptions and demands (i.e. goes from being a kid to an adult).
3.2 Income & job
One buys products that serve a purpose related to one’s job (for example some workers require quality shoes resistant to water) or fulfills an expected purchase (i.e. dress codes). Income says something about what one can afford.
3.3 Personality and self image
Each person has personal characteristics that affect his/her buying behavior. Personality grabs around subjects such as dominance, sociability, adaptability, self-esteem, etc. In marketing there is a term “brand personality”. A brand personality is a mix of human attributes (examples mentioned above) which matches with a given brand. A consumer often chooses brands and products according to actual, ideal and others’ perception of his/her self image.
3.4 Life style and values
The life style is the pattern which one lives by. The consumer expresses such a pattern through contact and actions with his or her surroundings. A life style can often tell a marketer if the consumer is restricted by time or money. While one type of consumer may choose a product which is the most affordable, another one would want the product which would be the least time consuming.
As for values, we all have core values which affect our buying behavior. A marketer would want to identify these core values and appeal to them.
REFERENCE
Kotler, Philip og Keller, Kevin Lane, Marketing Management, 12th edition, Person Prentice Hall, 2006
If you don't like me, and if you don't like marketing, go here.
PS! Props to Koller and Ketler who wrote an everlasting and thick book through which I had to journey on my way to riches (not yet there). And my sincere thanks to the doctor who prescribed me drugs to get me through it.
I am going to stop being funny now (if you don't think I'm funny, you can go go here).
First, what is marketing? Marketing is the set of processes you go through in order to create, communicate and deliver customer value. If you are affiliate marketing you are mainly communicating the value, not as much creating or delivering it (that is up to the advertiser).
Segmentation
When you are going to marketing a product or a range of products in a certain niche, you must identify market segments. A market segment is a group of customers which have the same needs and desires. The process of identifying market segments is called segmentation. The point of segmentation is to group potential customers so that those which you include in a segment respond similar to the same marketing campaign.
Segmentation is done by certain factors:
- Geographical - country, state, city, county, municipality
- Demographics - age, sex, sexual preferences, religion, race, income, level of education, social class
- Behavior – roles, statuses, brand loyalty, advantages one seeks etc. Read more about what effects consumer behavior below!
- Psychographics – Values and life style. For example: thrill seekers
In order for segmentation to be effective, there are certain criteria that should be met. Segments should be:
- Measurable – the size of the segment, the purchasing power etc should be able to be measured
- Large enough – the segment size has to be large enough so that it yields enough income with profits that pay off for your invested time and money
- Reachable - you must be able to reach out to the segments with your affiliate marketing campaigns
- Different – the segment needs to differ from other segments (or it would contradict the definition, and thus, not be its own segment)
- Potential – there has to exist a possibility to create and develop affiliate marketing campaigns that can attract and communicate value to the segment
Consumer behavior
This list applies to typical personal consumers; not commercial firms.
You have three main categories of factors that affect consumer behavior:
- Cultural
- Social
- Personal
1. Cultural
Cultures usually vary to some extent between countries, but the big differences are usually first seen between world regions, such as Western Countries vs. Arab countries. In large cultures there is room for subcultures (sometimes you would like to identify these, unless you are aiming at the main culture in a whole.) Don't go wasting your time on sub cultural factors unless the subculture is large enough to a decent amount of money on.
2. Social
2.1 Reference groups
Reference groups are all groups that directly or indirectly have influence on a consumer’s behavior and attitude.
- Membership groups – groups with direct influential powers
- Primary groups - groups of people that we are often in contact with and socialize with; family, friends, work colleagues
- Secondary groups - more formal group of people which we are less in contact with than those in the primary groups; religious groups, labor unions etc
- Aspiration groups - group that one would like to join
- Negative groups - group of people one does not want to be associated with
2.2 Family
One’s family is parents, siblings, spouses/partners and children. For example, parents will often have influence on one’s religious, political and economic viewpoints (at least up till a certain age). Another example is the more direct influence, such as your own children. As a parent your buying behavior will depend also on what your children need and what they would like.
2.3 Roles and statuses
A person’s position in a group that he or she is a member of comes with a role and a status. The role consists of those activities one is expected to execute. From each role there is a derived status. Consumers choose products that reflect upon and communicate with their current AND their wanted status.
3. Personal
3.1 Age
A consumer’s desires for food, clothes, recreation, etc. are often related to what stage of the life cycle the consumer is currently experiencing. A person experiences different stages that will affect his/her perceptions and demands (i.e. goes from being a kid to an adult).
3.2 Income & job
One buys products that serve a purpose related to one’s job (for example some workers require quality shoes resistant to water) or fulfills an expected purchase (i.e. dress codes). Income says something about what one can afford.
3.3 Personality and self image
Each person has personal characteristics that affect his/her buying behavior. Personality grabs around subjects such as dominance, sociability, adaptability, self-esteem, etc. In marketing there is a term “brand personality”. A brand personality is a mix of human attributes (examples mentioned above) which matches with a given brand. A consumer often chooses brands and products according to actual, ideal and others’ perception of his/her self image.
3.4 Life style and values
The life style is the pattern which one lives by. The consumer expresses such a pattern through contact and actions with his or her surroundings. A life style can often tell a marketer if the consumer is restricted by time or money. While one type of consumer may choose a product which is the most affordable, another one would want the product which would be the least time consuming.
As for values, we all have core values which affect our buying behavior. A marketer would want to identify these core values and appeal to them.
REFERENCE
Kotler, Philip og Keller, Kevin Lane, Marketing Management, 12th edition, Person Prentice Hall, 2006
