1. Looking at your target area and your consumer profile

2.  The study of obvious characteristics that categorize people  Can include:  Age  Gender  Family life cycle  Income level  Ethnicity and culture  Each characteristic is then split up into variables or ranges

3.  Can be split into 7 different ranges ◦ 0-9: Pre-customers ◦ 10-15: Allowance customers ◦ 16-19: Youth Market ◦ 20-25: Post-secondary Market ◦ 25-40: Family Formation (nesters) ◦ 40-55: Establishment ◦ 55+: Mature Market

4.  Gender roles have drastically changed in the past 50 years  In the past, most products were marketed towards men to reflect the culture of the day (men make the decisions, women stay home and look after the family)  Now, most products are marketed towards both males and females as most purchase decisions are shared

5.  A consumers family life cycle determines many of their wants, needs, and purchasing patterns  Although a company can sell their products to various groups, they will tailor their marketing towards each group  Example – Cruise Line  Honeymoon for newly married  Exciting adventure for singles  Family holiday for couples with families  Dream vacation for retired couple

6.  Group consumers according to how much money they earn  The affluent group is willing to buy items that middle income groups can not afford  Kia vs. Mercedes  Businesses use the following indicators to determine the income of specific groups of consumers:  Postal Codes  Employment  Number of children  Education  Property ownership

7.  Businesses that do not understand the culture of their consumers risk offending them  This is especially relevant for companies looking to export to another country  Colour has different meanings in different countries ◦ In China, white mourns death while red is worn by brides on their wedding day

8.  A system for measuring consumers’ beliefs, opinions, and interests  Similar to demographics but instead of obvious categories, it profile consumers based on their religious beliefs, tastes in music, lifestyle, attitudes towards health, personality traits, and other psychological factors  For example, people who exercise are more likely to buy healthy, low fat foods  They are much harder to collect and measure, but no less important to a consumer profile

9.  There are 3 main categories that marketers look at: ◦ Urban  Lives within the boundaries of a city, apartments or houses with small yards, spends $ on cultural events, restaurants, parking, and public transportation, various levels of income ◦ Suburban  Typically needs at least 1 car, spends $ on garden, BBQ’s, household furnishings, almost always a commuter, high income ◦ Rural  Usually own a truck or all wheel drive vehicle, have large pieces of land, riding mowers, larger gardens, lower/medium income  Marketers are also interested in ethnic concentrations in order to target specific products to specific cultures

10.  Using the Stats Can website, you are to compare your target area with your consumer profile to determine whether it is a good fit.  http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp- pd/prof/92-591/index.cfm?Lang=E