Defining
your markets in today’s economy Copyright
reminder New
& noteworthy clients Quote
of the month Upcoming
happenings -
Defining your markets in today’s economy
by Stacy Terry / Office Manager
Defining your market is not as straightforward as it once was. Life stages, lifestyles, gender and ethnicity influence consumer choice and purchasing decisions in today’s society, rather than the traditional notion of age-defined consumer groups. Today our society moves through a variety of life stages and life changing events – marriage, children, divorce, relocation, job change, care giving and retirement – which all drive choice, preferences and define needs. The growing influence of women on purchasing decisions, the ever-present mature market and emerging ethnic populations also create new challenges for marketers. Identifying your market through such filters identified as buying power markets, can help to reevaluate consumer needs, priorities and brand preferences.
Spanning age and ethnic boundaries, women constitute the largest buying power market and comprise 45% of today’s workforce.
Women as a whole, influence over 80% of consumer dollars spent, although earning less than one-half of all household income. The percentage of working women over the next ten years is projected to increase 16% compared to
Women as a whole, influence over 80% of consumer
dollars spent…
the increase of their male counterparts by 8%. Women are spending money
on themselves, their children, family and household needs as well as
making major purchases decisions for homes, vehicles and computers in
today’s market. Age is only one factor when considering the mature market as a major consumer group and buying power market. Now more than ever, senior adults are more active, health conscious, live longer, travel, have more disposable income, and are involved in raising grandchildren and care giving for their parents. Age 50 is now considered the midpoint in life as life expectancy rates climb and the population over age 65 continues to grow. The over 65 set comprised 13% of the population in 1998 and is expected to grow to 20% by 2050.
Marketing decisions made within emerging ethnic populations today are more influenced by brand recognition, relevance, respect and relationships rather than the traditional five P’s of marketing – product, price, promotion, placement and profit. The presence of black, Hispanic and Asian Americans has grown from one in five Americans in 1980 to one in four today. As annual incomes continue to increase, ethnic markets define over $950 billion dollars in purchasing power.
…ethnic markets
define over $950 billion dollars in purchasing power.
Savvy marketers must view the evolving buying power markets in flux. In other words, segmenting your target market in ways that have been less refined in the past. The needs and purchasing decisions of an active, working 55-year-old Hispanic divorced female will be dramatically different from those of a 65-year-old retired grandmother who is the primary caretaker of her young grandchild. As a result, advertisers and marketers must consider various consumer needs and impact purchasing decisions within emerging buying power markets of gender, life stages and ethnicity to shape product demand in today’s culture.
Excerpt from “Evolving Buying Power Markets” and “The New Cultural Mix: Life Stages, Lifestyles and Ethnic Backgrounds” by Susan Saurage-Altenloh
return
to top-
Copyright reminder
To help you start off the new year right, we’d like to remind you to update the copyright date to 2004 on your website. This is a good way to let your visitors know that the site content is current.
return
to top-
New & noteworthy clients
TIS Insurance Services, a nationally recognized leader in risk management services, has selected Morris Creative to help them with their web site redesign. The new site, an information center for TIS’s clients, will feature more user-friendly navigation and site architecture.
Rodefer Moss is a growing regional consulting firm with expertise in accounting and business technology. MCG is currently helping to update and standardize their corporate branding and materials.
return
to top -
Quote of the month
“The primary focus of your brand message must be on how special you are, not how cheap you are. The goal must be to sell the distinctive quality of the brand.”
– Kerry Light, Brand Strategist
return
to top-
Upcoming happenings
KAMA Gala
The Knoxville American Marketing Association will hold its annual awards gala and benefit auction March 6 at 7:00 p.m. at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Honorees are Gloria Ray and David Schumann as Marketers of the Year and Gary Rowcliffe for the club’s Locander Award for service. Entertainment by the Coveralls. Tickets are $75 for non-members; $65 for members. Black tie optional.
www.kama.org
Annual Luncheon Speaker is Guerrilla Marketing Guru
The Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership is proud to present the father of Guerrilla Marketing, Jay Conrad Levinson, as the Annual Luncheon speaker as part of Business Showcase 2004 on May 6 at 11:30 a.m. in the Knoxville Convention Center Ballroom.
Levinson is the author of a best-selling marketing series, “Guerrilla Marketing,” that include business books. His guerrilla concepts have influenced marketing so much that today his books appear in 37 languages and are required reading in many MBA programs worldwide.
Levinson has written a monthly column for Entrepreneur magazine, articles for Inc. Magazine and online columns published monthly on the Microsoft Web site – in addition to occasional columns in the San Francisco Examiner. He also writes online columns for several Internet Web sites including Netscape, America Online, Fortune Small Business and Hewlett-Packard.
Levinson is the chairman of Guerrilla Marketing International, a marketing partner of Adobe and Apple and has served on the Microsoft Small Business Council. Guerrilla Marketing is a series of books, audiotapes, videotapes, an award-winning CD-ROM, Web site and recently, a breakthrough online marketing advancement called The Guerrilla Marketing Association, a marketing support system for small business.
The Annual Luncheon is being produced in cooperation with the American Marketing Association and the Tennessee Small Business Development Center.
Levinson will present a morning workshop session from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Admission is $79 for members and $129 for non-members. Annual Luncheon and morning session is $139 for members and $189 for non-members. To register visit www.kama.org or call (865) 539-1300 option 3.
Admission for the luncheon only is $75 for members and $85 for non-members. Register at www.knoxvillechamber.com or call (865) 637-4550.
return
to top