Marks and spencer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Marks and spencer - Essay Example One of foremost steps in creating a successful marketing strategy is that of Market Segmentation, which refers to the division of a whole market for a product into smaller segments based upon the characteristics or aspects that are shared by the groups. By conducting market segmentation, a business is able to understand and evaluate various aspects of each division, group or segment in order to target a group or several groups that are then catered to with different marketing mixes (Vieceli & Valos 1998). As buyers become more diversified and unique, market segmentation acts as a key tool in designing the marketing strategies of successful organizations who understand that the diverse characteristics of customer needs, wants and preferences make it a requirement for any business’ success that the nature of its customer’s needs and wants is precisely defined and then handled accordingly (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel 2011). Market Segmentation can be conducted on the basis of fo ur primary variables that are Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic and Behavioral and will be discussed individually based on their relevance and applicability to Marks and Spencer. Geographic Segmentation: World region or country: The primary market for the retailer is still the United Kingdom; moreover, it has also expanded into Asia, Africa and other European nations. City or metro size: The location of Marks and Spencer shops is primarily Major cities with population crossing 4 million and mainstream cities with population above 1 million. Density: Urban and suburban population. Demographic Segmentation: Age: Middle-aged. The average age of a customer can range from 35-55. Gender: The existence of product categories such as women’s clothing, lingerie, beauty, kids, home furniture, food and gifts seems to attract a largely female audience but that does not mean that men are not M&S buyers. Family life cycle: Customers are usually single, married, married couples with chi ldren, unmarried couples and older people who are family oriented. Income: ?30,000 and above per annum Psychographic Segmentation: Social Class: Usually middle class and upper middle class buyers looking for products that are of a decent quality but also economical and suitably priced at the same time. This suggests that customers of M&S seek good value for money. Personality: Customers are not generally perceived as trendy, fashionable or imaginative when it comes to choices related to clothing. Older customers are not considered to be ambitious or achievers who wish to shop at the retailer to project a sense of success and affluence (Business World). Behavioral Segmentation: Occasions: The M&S shopping experience is not limited to special occasions; buyers may shop at M&S for regular commodities and go to other high-end retailers for special occasion shopping such as Christmas. This was reflected in a drop in sales of M&S by 3.8% for general commodities during the holiday season o f 2012 (Ruddick 2013). Benefits Sought: Users seek economy and convenience when shopping at M&S as much of the commodities are affordable and not high-priced. Loyalty Status: Customer’s buying behavior for regular and basic commodities such as grocery and basic clothing is low involvement, habitual buying behavior. Therefore,