The most notable applications of lifestyle concepts and related research have been in positioning new products, repositioning current goods, developing new product concepts, and creating new product opportunities in specialized industries.
Lifestyle research is used to pick media, develop media and promotion tactics, and improve retail performance based on the product concept chosen. Because it can provide marketers with straightforward portraits of target groups, the lifestyle concept is often used to deliver research suggestions.
Finding the most lucrative niche for a new product in terms of the target market is what positioning entails. Lifestyle research, such as an AIO picture of heavy users of any specific consumer product, not only informs us how old they are, where they reside, and what socioeconomic category they belong to, but it also tells us what items they are likely to buy, as well as their hobbies and opinions.
This gives a vast amount of data for marketing choices connected to a new product's positioning. Choices on the specific target group for whom the product is to be directed, the product image to be produced, the media vehicle to be used, and the sort of promotion plan to be used so that the entire product package conforms to a specific lifestyle.
Existing items may sell significantly below their anticipated potential at times, or the corporation may identify a new, more profitable niche closer to the core market where the product may now be positioned. Repositioning is frequently planned as a contingency throughout the new product development process, generally as a corrective action.
In general, in markets with considerable competitive activity, the need while positioning the product for a specific time is to get a foothold in the market. After increasing market penetration, establishing distribution, and achieving a certain level of market acceptance, the producer may shift the product closer to the core market through repositioning or a series of repositionings. Lifestyle marketing tactics can significantly reduce the amount of market grouping' that repositioning may require.
Traditionally, new product prospects have been conceptualized by studying current market groups and analyzing their demands. Demographic segmentation, or typical consumer classification of main groups such as educated youth, young collegiates, urban homemakers, and so on, has traditionally been used to define and research the segments.
Lifestyle studies, on the other hand, can be used to supplement demographic studies in terms of market demands, customer and non-customer attitudes, product use views, and target consumer interests, in order to identify product qualities that may be conducive to specific lifestyles. Users of fluoride toothpaste, for example, may have varying expectations.
Some people use it as a therapeutic help for oral hygiene, while others believe it should have aesthetic benefits. Even among those who use it as medication, there are two schools of thought: some believe medicine should taste like medicine, while others believe that because fluoride toothpaste contains a medical element, it does not have to taste like one.
When developing the concept of new fluoride toothpaste, you will discover that a comprehensive inventory of consumer attitudes, interests, and opinions will assist you in defining the attributes of the final product, as you can define the requirements of the different lifestyle segments and then conceptualize which segment you wish to target with the product.
In various ways, lifestyle information may be used to generate promotional campaigns. It gives the decision maker a more detailed profile of the customer who will receive the communication. Lifestyle data indicates the type of language, tone of voice, and appeal that might be used to target that type of customer. Furthermore, lifestyle information illustrates how the product or service fits into people's lives, how they feel about it, and how they may communicate using it. The marketer may use this information to establish what type of image he wants to instil the product with.
The Indian marketing landscape, particularly for consumer durables, is increasingly competitive. As a result, businesses are learning that more than just emphasizing the features of their product or firm in terms of demographic or geographic dimensions are needed for market success. Marketers have realized that the consumer's lifestyle influences their purchasing behavior.
Businesses in cosmetics, fashion, packaged food, and other industries are looking for possibilities in lifestyle segmentation. Shops, particularly those in clothing, have begun to provide items corresponding to a specific lifestyle.
Analyzing the lifestyle of a product's heavy/medium/light users through the AIO inventory has shown to be quite valuable for marketers. Research on the excessive use of beer, eye makeup, and bank credit cards has been conducted in the United States. When it was discovered that 23% of beer drinkers consume 80% of the beverage offered, the heavy beer user became the new campaign's advertising target.
Willian Wells and Douglas Tigert investigated the heavy user of eye cosmetics using an AIO inventory. Demographic data suggested that these women were young, educated, and urban. She was also a heavy smoker and more likely than the typical lady to make long-distance phone calls.
According to her reactions to statements, she fantasizes about journeys worldwide and desires a charming home. In a study of bank credit card users conducted by Plummer, guys who used bank charge cards often were classified as urbane and energetic, with a high-income level and vocational and educational accomplishments.
A personal look congruent with his work and lifestyle is essential to the heavy card user. He was discovered to buy at least three new suits every year, to be a member of multiple organizations, and to exhibit current attitudes and ideas. Hence, studying personality, lifestyle, and social class provides a more comprehensive consumer profile rather than simply describing demographics.
Needham, Harper, and Steers, a Chicago-based advertising firm, discovered five female and five male lifestyles using the AIO inventory. We have Indian counterparts of similar sorts, and you may try to recollect the commercials supplied alongside in brackets to recognize the lifestyle represented by these characters and judge whether or not they conform.
Lifestyle concepts and related research have been used to position new products, reposition existing goods, develop new product concepts, and create new product opportunities. It picks media, develops media and promotion tactics, and improves retail performance. It is also used as a framework for delivering research suggestions.
Positioning new products involve finding the most lucrative niche, developing new product concepts, and repositioning existing products. Demographic segmentation is used to define and research segments. Lifestyle studies can be used to identify product qualities that may be conducive to specific lifestyles and create promotional strategies.