Level 5- Target Markets and Consumer Needs

During this semester we have the task of hosting a Halloween party for us and our fellow students. 

To make this a successful event, market research is needed to be able to know the consumer needs of our target audience.

Target Market:

1. "A target market is a group of customers towards which a business has decided to aim its marketing efforts and ultimately its merchandise. A well-defined target market is the first element to a marketing strategy." [1]

To target your consumer properly three things must be known.

1. Who? This is one of the most important factors. Your target market may, for example, be children (children's books) but the consumer is the parents. If they don't like the look of something their precious child will be exposed too, they won't buy it full stop.
2. Why? Another important part of the target is why they would buy a product. If their aim is to study, would they buy a games console or a laptop? If they want to have fun, would they rather purchase an algebra book or some tabletop puzzles?
3. When? Birthdays, holidays and seasons are all vital in the marketing and targeting of a product. Thick, winter hoodies probably wouldn't be in as much demand in the height of summer as they would be come October, and how many people would buy a bikini at Christmas? Getting the timing right is just as important as targets and reasonings.

Relating this to the Halloween party is easy, because by being a student of the university myself I know the types of students that attend here 

and whether or not they have the means to spend on parties and nights out or not. 

 

Most students here are between the ages of 18-26 (with some obvious exceptions), and 

with the new halls of residence opening around the corner from the uni it means more students can go out and stay out as opposed to last year. 

The rent around this area is fairly cheap compared to the rest of the country (£50-£100p/w sometimes including bills i.e. gas and electricity), and being further up north means that the general cost of living is lower too, with shops being cheaper. Being in the town center means there is less to spend on travel too, opening up a larger budget for 'entertainment' and socializing. 

The chosen venue for the party is the Art Café which is on campus. The other option was the theatrical town hall although the cost of this was too high, which would have meant the ticket price would have been higher thus driving our profits down. The only downside to using the Art Café is that some people might think it's a little amateur, although this can be avoided by decorating it and advertising it well.

One of the most important consumer needs for this party is that it need to be cheap, aesthetically pleasing and a lot of fun. 

Food probably won't be needed as when drinking most people get a takeaway pizza when the night ends, or eat beforehand. There would need to be music either in the form of a DJ or live bands. Personally I think a DJ would be better because most people know chart and pop songs and if you know music you're more likely to enjoy and dance to it. A DJ is also much likelier to be cheaper than live bands as more than one would be needed to fill the whole night. There is a lot of diversity in the college too which means one band definitely won't fit all. 

Target Market:

• Students age 18-26
• Both males and females
• Diverse music tastes

Consumer Needs:

• Cheap entry
• Cheap drinks
• Close location to campus 
• A range of music
• Good decorations, spooky atmosphere

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_market , 01/10/14