Market Segments
The main objective of this report is directed towards Organic Mixed berries in terms of its marketing strategy. This product has a positive impact on our health as it contains free radicals which aids in protecting the body from both viral and bacterial infections when taken in the right quantities (Berry, et al., 2015). Its success in the market entirely depends on the importance attached to the identification of a profitable and a sustainable market segment. This involves studying the consumer’s behavior as well as being aware of their decision-making processes in details as this will enable a smooth running of the product’s marketing strategy in order to achieve the objectives of the organization (Seiders, et al., 2015).
For a product to be sold successfully in the market, there is a need to identify and segment a potential market. This involves fragmenting a huge market into smaller homogeneous portions basing on either a common need or lifestyle. The strategies for segmenting a market are usually put in place in order to serve distinct groups of the product users. Customers are often being influenced by several motives to purchase certain products and therefore, a firm will tend to use various segmentations in order to achieve a full picture of the consumers which is very clear.
Market segmentation is a three-stepped process;(a) market segment identification, (b)selection of the highly potential market segments, and (c) product positioning. As soon as these three steps have been taken critically, the firm, full attention is shifted towards development of market mix strategies (Kim, et al., 2015).
During target market identification, a firm ought to consider the several demographic and social trends. A target market is that specific segment selected by the company to aid in serving the market products. These are the factors that to a greater degree influence the consumer’s perception towards the product, Organic mixed berries. These factors include;
- Behavioral factors; they study and explain the benefits the consumers of the product are in need of, and how they will use the product. This type of segmentation therefore, breaks an entire market into groups basing on consumer’s behavior towards Organic Mixed berries as well as segmenting customers using the benefits they expect from the product. For increment of the product consumption, marketers also need to experiment the usage of Organic mixed berries during various occasions even through advertisements(park, et al., 2015). Loyalty response shows the extent to which a brand loyalty depicts on the customers’ influence. A research should be conducted in order to determine the traits of a given users of a particular brand of a product and the motivation behind.
- Demographic trends; it describes how ages, ethnicity and even races of the consumer’s impact what they buy. Ages affect the way in which Organic mixed berries, as a product is bought by different consumers e.g. aging population may be in much love with the Organic mixed berries because the product helps the body in preventing infections by raising the immunity. Baby boomers tend to be a very good key segment, Generation X is of importance also due to their large numbers and also Generation Y, that comes after them. Diversity in ethnicity also shows that growth rate of ethnic communities in urban markets is high.
- Geographic segmentation; it describes the consumers’ location, the easiest and effective way of reaching them and it also shows the product type likely to be bought in those locations.
- Psychographic factors. This involves segmenting a market basing on the attitudes, lifestyles, views as well activities of consumers of the product. This type of segmentation is such a multidimensional in nature.
- Geodemographic segmentation. This combines the traits of both the geographic and demographic factors.
The above trends, once examined and identified fully, profiling of the target market automatically emerges from this kind of analysis. This profiling defines the epitome consumer for whom the marketing strategy will be delivered. Careful description of the costumer in terms of demography, geography, and behavioral factors is done accordingly.
For a designated target market to be justified, effective segmentation criteria should be considered. This effectiveness is shown in that, a segment should be measurable, sustainable, should be well accessed, should be differentiable from other segments as well as being actionable in terms of affordability to be reached by consumers via an integrated marketing-mix (Kolarova, 2009)
Benefits of segmentation
- Satisfaction of customers who buy Organic mixed berries. This is because customer’s needs at a given time or location are examined before the product delivery is done.
- Due to a well-defined consumer behavior, a lot of sales are expected and this increases the profit margin of the business.
- Focused customer needs. A well-defined marketing strategy helps to concentrate a focus of customers’ needs.
Customer Profiling
Its main objective is to sort the traits of the firm’s current customers.
- Discovering customers who are profit and sales backers
- Identification of customers with a sustainable profit growth.
- Identifying unprofitable customers.
Consumer behavior is vital when trying to be well-conversant with food processing. Consumer behavior covers the process of decision making as well as point-of-sales-interaction. A framework to considerate decision making for food marketing services will aid marketing decisions concerning the Organic mixed berries which will help the customers have improved decisions (Ramar & campell, 2016). Consumers are faced with difficulty of undertaking a very complex process of making decisions. This process involves a series of common steps as follows;
- Problem recognition; it is the first step simply because if a problem has not been recognized, purchase will not take place. It majorly depends on the state of balance between status quo of the customer and the anticipated state. When this is acute enough, a problem is then recognized. This too is triggered by changes occurring from desired or actual state. Consumers tend to develop foreseeable styles as the time goes by. These styles relate to the consequent steps of process of consumer decisions on buying the Organic mixed berries.
- Information search; this stage can either be categorized into internal and external search. Internal search is concerned majorly with data concerning the Organic mixed berries being evoked from the memory. Its determination is based on the prevailing knowledge by the customers on Organic mixed berries as well as the product information retrieval. On other hand, external search will be applied in cases where internal search is insufficient in the customer’s need satisfaction and it is involved largely in word-of-mouth approach.
- Evaluation of alternatives. this is the 3rdstage of this process. It’s a stage where an option is weighted and compared with the first preferred option. An alternative is given weight of evaluation and eventually becomes selected in order for the customer’s needs to be met adequately. Broadly speaking, name of the brand, product price and originality are mainly used by the customers when evaluating the alternatives. These phenomena differ on the influence they assert on the customer towards selection of a given product. Price, however is used as an indicator of the product’s quality when there is low knowledge concerning the product category or even due to lack of external data concerning the product.
- Purchase is the fourth stage. This comprises of three types;
- Fully-planned –purchase. This involves choosing both the product & brand before conducting a visit to the store.
- Partially-planned -purchase. Where an intention of buying the product with brand selection being deferred till shopping.
- Impulse-purchase. Choosing both the brand and product while in store.
- Final stage is the purchase outcome. This is concerned with evaluation of post-consumption of the product by the consumer. The consumer can either be satisfied or dissatisfied with the purchase as this will affect the decision process during the subsequent similar purchase. This is much felt in the need recognition as well as information search stages.
Positioning of a target segment is essential in order to access a well-defined target segment. The Organic mixed berries should be offered to different segments with a slight modification of the communication mix. However, the company ought to focus firstly on the given chosen segment to expand the market share. In the chosen segment, Organic mixed berries face direct competition from other related products..
Stoneridge Orchards has a chance of establishing its own brand due to higher prices of their product’s competitive products in the market. There is a high demand expected in the future concerning the innovation and crafting of Organic mixed berries. This opportunity might benefit Stoneridge Orchards due to this positioning accrued from the intended growth chance. Moreover, taste difference as well as product presentation will impact Stoneridge Orchards in separation of Organic mixed berries from any other existing berries brands in the market.
product is one of the ‘P’s in the marketing mix. The organic mixed berries is processed at cost and also will be sold at a price to the final consumer for consumption. Along the lifecycle of a product, the brand name may be changed for its relevance in the market to remain.
The organic mixed berries are classified as one of the tangible consumer. As a product, it is fully branded, packaged and its associated services. A brand has a power of generating instant sales while cementing the consumers’ confidence in the quality of the product. Modification of the packaging of the product helps in approaching the customers in a better style. The organic mixed berries have to undergo through the following stages; introduction, (characterized with a slow growth rate), growth (characterized with a fast rate of growth), maturity stage (slowdown period) and decline (downward sales)
As the Organic mixed berries market approached its maturity stage, there exists a certain pressure directed towards the unit price and also, an increase in advertisement and indispensable discounts. However, in the targeted segment, the value for the product is perceived to be of much importance as compared to the product pricing.
Consumer Decision-Making
Also, a discount during events in the suggested segment would be much suitable as compared to a segmented pricing. Price promotion tends to be an efficient marketing role during point of sales simply because customers always want to bargain. This implies that, price as a critical section in the marketing-mix, there should be a careful application of discounts. For instance, during an event, large quantity of Organic Mixed berries is consumed and therefore, considering this fact, giving out price discounts does not only mean brand-promotion but also enabling direct-sales strategy as a new channel of distribution.
In general, the firm sells organic mixed berries at fair prices for the consumers.
In the product promotion, point- of –sales are such a factor of importance. As interruption of routine behavioral purchase is concerned, marketing activities are much effective.
Conclusion
It is only through the entire marketing-mix integration that Stoneridge Orchards can achieve an opportunity for potential growth. In order to increase the product awareness as well as brand awareness for the purpose of enlarging the market shares, Stoneridge Orchards ought to keenly consider the above factors. In order to measure its success, the firm should have a proper system for managing information, conduct a market research and analyzing of the costumers’ feedback concerning the product, social media interaction as well conducting bench-marking.
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