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Characteristics such as family size, age, income, geographical location, sex, and occupation are often useful in identifying buyers in consumer markets. Illustrative factors used to identify end-users in business markets include type of industry, size, location, and product application. Many published sources of information are available for use in identifying and describing customers. Some examples include U.S. Census data, trade association publications, and. studies by advertising media (TV, radio, magazines). When experience and existing information do not clearly identify buyers, research studies may be necessary to locate and describe customers and prospects.
A research study of supermarket customers highlights the differences among buyers in the generic product-market for foods. The study was conducted for the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council. The findings indicate that changes -in cooking and eating habits have created six types of supermarket customers: Each group has different shopping needs and attitudes as described below:
Avid shoppers
Traditional supermarket customers who cook practically all family meals, shop frequently, and look for bargains (slightly more than 25 percent of total).
Kitchen strangers
Childless men and women who find cooking an inconvenience and rely instead on take-out food and restaurants (about 20 percent of total)
Constrained shoppers,
Low income families and individuals who buy little but basic food needs (less than'20 percent of total).
Hurried shoppers
Busy people who mostly cat at home but look for shopping and cooking shortcuts (less than 20 percent of total)
Unfettered shoppers
Primarily older working people whose kids have flown the nest, leaving them with more disposable
Income to spend on food (about 13 percent of total)
Kitchen birds
Mainly very old people who are light eaters (about 6 percent of total)
The information for the study was obtained from focus groups (small group interviews), consumer surveys, trade journal reports, and-retailers' experiences.
The strategic marketing process
Journal of Strategic Marketing
SMART is a custom marketing research
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