customer analysis
TRANSCRIPT
Customer Analysis
Prepared by: Chona O. Bautista
Introduction
Customers are the lifeblood of any business. The Product Manager has to know who are his prospective and current customers as well as his competitors’. This would help in creating a strategy for each customer segment.
What We Need to Know About Customers Who buys and uses the product What customers buy and how they use it Where customers buy When customers buy How customers choose Why customers choose a product
Who Buys the Product?
Initiator (identifies the need) Influencer (has the informational and
preferential input into the decision) Decider (makes final decision through budget
authorization) Buyer (makes the actual purchase) User
Who Buys the Product? contd.
Consumer market can be divided into following categories: demographic, socio-economic, personality, psychographic, behavioral
Business market can be segmented according to company size, industry, location and other factors such as operating variables, purchasing approaches, situational, and personal
Who Buys the Product? contd.
Other methods for market segmentation includes cluster, cross-tabular, regression analyses.
Who Buys the Product? contd.
Cluster analysis examines the values of the variables for each respondent and then groups respondents together based upon similarities of their values.
Who Buys the Product? contd.
Mobil Corporation applied cluster analysis to gasoline buyers to tailor different stations to neighborhoods with different profiles and needs. The company identified five segments of gasoline buyers namely the road warriors, true blues, generation F3, homebodies, and price shoppers
Who Buys the Product? contd.
Road Warriors – high income, middle aged men who drive 25,000-50,000 miles per year, buy premium gas with a credit card, and buy sandwiches and drinks from the convenience store (16%)
True Blues – men and women with moderate to high incomes who are loyal to a brand and sometimes to a particular station (16%)
Who Buys the Product? contd.
Generation F3 (fuel, food, and fast) – upwardly mobile men and women, half under 25 years old, who are constantly on the go; drive and snack a lot (27%)
Who Buys the Product? contd.
Homebodies – usually homemakers who shuttle kids around during the day and buy gas from whatever station is along the way (21%)
Price Shoppers – not loyal to a brand or station, rarely buy premium (20%)
Who Buys the Product? contd.
Most gas companies have targeted the last group. However, Mobil has emphasized better service and amenities to customers in the first two segments and has been able to charge 2 cents more per gallon than competitors in some markets.
Who Buys the Product? contd.
Cross-tabular analysis – uses categorical variables constructed from customer membership in a category. Two variables involved are independent and dependent.
Who Buys the Product? contd.
Cooking attitude Heavy users Medium users Light users Total
Convenience-oriented 81 144 74 299
Enthusiastic cook 97 115 45 257
Disinterested 35 108 127 270
Decorator 45 96 37 178
Cross-tabular Analysis for Cranberry Sauce Usage
Who Buys the Product? contd.
Regression analysis – used when the product manager can specify explicit relationship between a dependent variable and one or more descriptor variables.
What Customers Buy and How They Use It Benefits – what customers get for what they
pay; firm produces features but customers buy benefits
Product Assortment – the number of brands purchased by customers in the segments
Use – how customers use the product including when, where, how and with what else they use the product
Where do Customers Buy?
An analysis of where customers make purchase decisions is a critical input into decisions about the channels of distribution. The channels must adapt to changing patterns of customer purchase location.
Channels are not fixed because customers migrate to other channels as their information needs and other market conditions change
When do Customers Buy?
Refers to the season of the year customers buy a particular product. For fast food restaurants we talk about breakfast, lunch, merienda, dinner, capital equipment purchase is made near the end of the fiscal year. Customers buy in malls during paydays, bonuses, and when there is a sale.
Why do Customers Prefer a Product? This examines why customers make
purchase decisions, in particular why they choose one product over another.
Customer value is what the product is worth to the consumer in terms of economic (net financial benefit), functional (performance), and psychological (brand equity)
Why do Customers Prefer a Product? contd.The following are manifestations of customer
value:• Price – company’s assessment of the
product’s value• Price sensitivity – customers’ reaction to
price changes• Complaints and compliments• Word of mouth
Why do Customers Prefer a Product? contd.• Margin – higher margin indicates more
value• Peso sales – higher market share means
high value• Competitive activity• Repeat purchase rate – high loyalty
indicates high brand value
How do Customers Choose?
Physical characteristics, benefits sought Perceptions Random events like special in-store displays,
promotions, referral, etc.
How do Customers Choose? contd.
Consumer decision-making is also dependent on the level of difficulty of the problem they are trying to solve. Extensive problem solving (EPS) situations
are generally found among first time purchasers and with products that are technologically new.
How do Customers Choose? contd.
Limited problem solving (LPS) assumes that the customer understands the basic functioning of the product. It involves comparison of alternatives.
Routinized problem solving (RPS) purchases follow a predetermined rule for making decisions.
Customer Analysis Illustration: Energy Bars
Who the Customers are: 63.7 percent of volume is from households
with greater than $40,000 income 32.4 percent of volume is from households
with greater than $60,000 income 72.8 percent of volume is from households
with no kids 65.8 percent of volume is from households
where the Head has some college education 39.4 percent of volume is from households
with the Head under 35 years old
Percent Who Have Eaten Energy Bars in the Last Six Months
Female 20%
Male 18%
65 and over 12%
55-65 10%
45-54 20%
36-44 21%
25-34 21%
18-24 27%
Customer Analysis Illustration: Energy Bars Customer Segments:
“Hard-core Athletes” “Musclemen” “Dieters” “Health Purists” “Health Conscious and On-the-Go” “Sports Enthusiasts” “Specialty Segments” “Nutrition-seeking Families”
Customer Analysis Illustration: Energy Bars (cont)
What They Buy: Convenience Taste Texture Health Benefits Performance/Energy Hunger Satisfaction Price (expect to pay $1.00 to $1.50 per bar) Packaging/Buy In Bulk Availability
Customer Analysis Illustration: Energy Bars (cont)
What Use For: Meal Replacements Snacks Athletic Energy Booster
Customer Analysis Illustration: Energy Bars (cont)
Where They Buy: Health Food Stores Outdoor Retailers (e.g., REI) Grocery Stores Drug Stores Convenience Stores Mass Merchandisers Club Stores
Customer Analysis Illustration: Personal Digital Assistants Who the Customers Are:
Primarily upscale mobile professionals Predominately male Analytical and quantitative in nature Well educated Over 21 years of age
PDA Market SegmentsSegment Size Characteristics Distinctive Attribute
Wide Area Wide Area Travelers:Travelers:
Globetrotters 10% Age 45-54; mostly male; employed in senior positions
Innovators, have modems installed in their portable PCs
Road Warriors 20% Mostly in corporate management and sales, property management and real estate
High cellular phone usage
Overall computer usage lower than for other mobile pros
Corporate Wanderers
12% Travel less than Globetrotters or Road Warriors; spend most time visiting employees within their own companies
Employ portable PCs least
Heaviest fax users (on PCs)
High e-mail users
Longest owners of cellular phones
PDA Market Segments
Segment Size Characteristics Distinctive Attribute
Local Area TravelersLocal Area Travelers
Collaborators 8% Age 25-44
Well educated young professionals, tend to hold advanced degrees
Team leaders, project managers
Innovators
High use of pagers (20% of segment)
Not very mobile but need mobile products
Corridor Cruisers 15% Similar profile to Collaborators Not as likely to adopt new products as Collaborators
Hermits 8% Least mobile;
Youngest segment (many under 35)
Seldom work with others
Mostly finance and telemarketing
Heavy e-mail users
Virtually all are PC users but not portable users
Solo Practitioners 16% Like Hermits but older
Diverse collection of technical professionals in small to medium-size companies
Typically connect to corporate network when traveling
Highest connect times of any group
Small-Site Bosses 11% Run small business Highest portable PC purchase intention in next 12 months; shifting to portable PC as primary computer
Customer Analysis Illustration: PDAs (cont)
What They Buy: Small size/light weight PC connectivity E-mail communications capability Phone/address book Appointment book/calendar/alarm One-way paging
Customer Analysis Illustration: PDAs (cont)
Where They Buy: Buy lower-priced, low feature devices from
consumer electronics stores and office supply superstores
Higher-end PDAs are purchased from computer stores, through mail order, or via the Internet