Example Of Analyzing Customer Segments Report

Analyzing Customer Segments

Executive Summary
Consumer groups or customer segments are essential aspects of marketing that the marketers have to keep in mind. The understanding of the segmentation of the markets gives the marketers the opportunity to evaluate the needs of that consumer group. Evaluation of the needs further enables the marketers to provide the consumers with their preferences (Smith). Moreover, such knowledge enables the marketers to gain competitive advantage over others in the same market. This report is a summary of research conducted on a consumer group in the UK.
The research aimed to find out the factors and aspects that marketers have to consider when targeting the Polish community in the UK as a consumer group. Second, the study aimed to find out what the marketers have to be aware of and do differently when targeting this group. Another aim of the study was to identify and analyze the success of various TV advertisements on this consumer group.
The research methodology involved three steps, including academic research, secondary research, and primary research. The secondary and primary research involved looking for information on the consumer group. Secondary research was information using statistics from the UK government in the Polish community, which is the consumer group. The primary research involved an intensive analysis of the way of life of the consumer group through three face-to-face interviews.
The findings of the research showed that there had been a considerably sizeable community of the Polish individuals in the United States since the World War Two when the British servicemen fought alongside the Polish forces against the threat of the Nazis. From that time, an estimated one million of the Polish citizens have moved to the UK after the expansion of the European Union in 2004 (Smith). Most of them move into the country for work and have a significant contribution to the British and Polish economies.

Introduction

The Polish Diaspora totals to approximately 40 million and is second to China’s. The huge number of Poles living abroad has significant influence on the countries in which they settle in and on Poland. The Polish community in the United Kingdom is approximately two million. The significance varies and can be slightly negative to both regions. Nevertheless, the main significance of these individuals occurs in the marketing sector (Smith). The Poles in the UK are a significant consumer group of customer segment that many marketers develop an interest. Market segmentation refers to the aggregation of the prospective buyers into distinct groups called segments.
These segments have common desires in the market and respond similarly to marketing actions. Marketing actions are the activities that entail the buying and selling of goods in a given locale of operation (Solomon). These activities can include market targeting, which refers to the process of deciding which of the potential customer groups or segments that an entity, such as a company or business organization is likely to focus. The significance of the marketing targeting and segmentation is to find the customers that can be beneficial to a given business, its products, and services (Korbonski & Sword, 2004).

Methodology

The research involved three significant stages, including the academic research, the secondary research, and the primary research. The academic research encompassed looking for relevant literary and academic materials on various aspects such as the definitions of important terms in marketing, significance of the marketing segmentation and targeting, types and implications (Korbonski & Sword, 2004). The information was used in the analysis of the chosen consumer group, the Polish community in the UK. The secondary research encompassed using statistics from the recent census and other sources of the UK to identify the number of the Polish community in that region. Moreover, the secondary research was essential to the evaluation of the changes in the Polish community as a consumer segment such as its growth.
The third stage of the research was the primary research. This stage of the study involved an analysis of the real-life members of the Polish community as the chosen consumer group. The analysis encompassed three face-to-face interviews with 20 of them who agreed to participate in the study. As such, the study was qualitative in its approach. The aim of the interviews was to understand what the Polish community is like as consumers in the UK in terms of buying and shopping. There were five questions that the participants were asked during the interviews to determine their state in the UK market as consumers (Korbonski & Sword, 2004).
The first question was about their lives, daily schedules and stage in the family cycle. The second question was about the type of media they used or consumed, including the social media, the magazines and TV among others. The third question asked during the interviews was about their favorite brands and the advertising that they appreciated (Korbonski & Sword, 2004). The fourth question was about their form of socialization such as through dinner parties, eating out, clubs and pubs among others. Lastly, they were asked about what they valued in the life. Additionally, a VALS test was performed on them.

Main Findings

According to Poland’s National Bank, the Polish workers into the United Kingdom send approximately £ 4 billion annually to their families. Nevertheless, according to the information by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, the workforce from the Polish community alone contributed £ 12 billion to the economy of the UK between 2004 and 20006 (Burrell, 2009). The Polish community is integrating well into the way of life in the UK, and many of the Poles are establishing their businesses. As such, the population is continuing to grow in the UK, which suggests that the consumer segment is growing considerably in the UK market (Solomon).
Marketers should be aware of the growing segment and their preferences. Most of the Poles are plumbers, most of who are cheap, shop assistants and servers. As such, marketers should be aware that most of the businesses established by the poles operate based on the sole proprietorship and should develop their marketing strategies around that aspect (Burrell, 2009). The Polish community has been beneficial in the revival of the British agriculture, especially in Lincolnshire, Wales, and Scotland. The Poles also assisted to boost the house-building boom in the UK.
Many of the Poles have established their businesses while others have responsible positions in social services, banking, and accountancy. The workforce from the Polish community contributes approximately £1.9 billion annually to the British exchequer in national insurance and income tax. The Polish community in the UK is persecuted and vulnerable, especially with various forms of exploitation and newspaper coverage that seeks to emphasize the negative aspects of their presence in the UK. Nevertheless, they are entrepreneurs with many of them establishing business entities (Burrell, 2009).
They value their country and their ability to engage in business. Despite the instances of hostility in the UK, a significant number of them remain in the country as others return to Poland. They consume various forms of media including the newspapers and magazines such as Cooltura and Polish Express. They also consume the TVs and radios such as the Red TV and Hey How. Some of their favorite brands include the Kubus, Tymbark, and Almette (Brassington and Pettit).
Essential models and theories evident among the Polish community in relation to the market include the generational marketing, social class differences in the behavior and cultural values. The cultural values of the Polish community make them penetrate various markets in the world. In the UK, they engage mostly in the sole proprietorship because of their entrepreneurial culture. On the other hand, the differences in social class in the UK make them vulnerable in penetrating the market (Williams, Lee, & Haugtvedt, 2004). Generation marketing bases on the aspects that the marketers have to understand the drives associated with various generations and how the generations interact to market them effectively. That is, various generations of the Polish community have been contributing to the UK economy and market and, therefore, the matters have to be aware of how these generations interacted with the UK since the World War 2. Understanding the interaction can enable the marketers to identify the marketing patterns that have been existent among the generations (Brassington and Pettit).

Conclusion and Recommendations

The existent brands are not targeting the Polish community effectively. The reason for not targeting the consumer group effectively is that they do not focus on the core values of this group. The brands and advertisements focus mainly on the capacity of the group and their preferences. Focusing on the core values and principles of this group can be beneficial because it can enable the marketers to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the consumer group in business. Additionally, knowledge of the core value can be essential in the identification of the type of the market segment to focus on such as demographics, usage rate, interest, and behavioral or psychographic characteristics (Williams, Lee, & Haugtvedt, 2004).
Therefore, marketers should perform their market targeting and segmentation by conducting market research first. Conducting market research should enable the marketers to identify the specifics of the target consumer groups in the market. Additionally, marketers can identify the preferences of the consumer groups in the market by focusing on their core values and favorite brands (Brassington and Pettit). For instance, most of the Poles in the UK are sole proprietors with small businesses. As such, marketers should be aware that this consumer group operates mostly on a retail form.
Marketers should also include the demographic kind of questions in their research in order to determine the demographic group that comprises the majority customer base. That is; marketers should focus on the age group that most engages in business with the Polish community. Most of the youths and middle-aged individuals have businesses in the UK (Brassington and Pettit). As such, marketers have to focus their advertisements and market strategies on the events that depict this group of consumers. The identification of this group will then enable the marketers to develop and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their marketing communication. The Polish community in the UK is a consumer group that marketers should consider (Williams, Lee, & Haugtvedt, 2004).

Reference list

Brassington and Pettit, (n.d.), Buyer Behavior.
Brassington and Pettit, (n.d.), Segmenting Markets.
Burrell, K, (2009), Polish migration to the UK in the 'new' European Union: After 2004. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate.
Korbonski, A., & Sword, K, (2004), The Formation of the Polish Community in Great Britain, 1939-1950. American Historical Review. doi:10.2307/2163292
Smith, W, (n.d.), Product Differentiation and Market Segmentation as Alternative Marketing Strategies.
Solomon, (n.d.), Culture and Consumer Behavior.
Solomon, (n.d.), European family structures.
Solomon, (n.d.), Group influence and opinion leadership.
Solomon, (n.d.), Income and social class.
Williams, J. D., Lee, W. -N., & Haugtvedt, C. P, (2004), Diversity in advertising: Broadening the scope of research directions. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.