Week 4- Chapter 8 & Bambooee

Chapter 8

This week, our assigned reading was chapter 8. Chapter 8 is about Segmentation and target markets. Market segment is a subgroup of people or organizations sharing one or more characteristics that cause them to have similar product needs. Segmentation is the process of dividing the market into similar groups that can be distinguished between. Marketers use segmentation bases, which are also known as variables, to divide markets into different segments. Some different segments include geographical, demographic, gender, income, ethnic, and family life cycle. There are six steps in segmenting a market. These steps can be found in the image on the right. The purpose of segmenting markets is to identify marketing opportunities. Positioning is the process of developing a specific marketing mix to influence the potential customers' overall perception of the brand.

Bambooee

This week we also watched the shark tank clip on Bambooee. Bambooee is made from an organic bamboo source. It is a towel that is more effective and easier to use than traditional paper towels. They are also machine washable and can be used up to 100 times. This can save a lot of paper and money over time. So, this is beneficial to the consumer and to the environment. On shark tank, one of the sharks agreed to give the company an investment for this product. We were assigned a group in class that we were to create a print ad for. Each group had different incomes and lifestyle habits. My group was number 23, township travelers. Township Travelers exhibit a blend of behaviors representative of their upscale incomes and small town environment. They enjoy outdoor activities like fishing and off-road biking but they also enjoy the indoor comforts of reading, watching college basketball, and shopping at wholesale clubs and gourmet groceries. They are also likely to own a GMC, and follow college baseball. This group is not featured in Western New England's zip code, or the zip code of my hometown. I made my print ad based around this group. I incorporated the outdoors because I felt it was a major part of their group. I also mentioned college baseball, along with the stores they often shop at. I felt that if this ad was meant for them, it would certainly grab their attention and make them more likely to purchase the product.

Smart Project

We did not have a joint meeting for our smart projects this week in class. However, Chapter 8 can help us with our projects. It will be important for us to identify our target market in order to create the best product for that target market. We will need to think about the different market segmentations and decide what group of people we will be trying to sell our product to. Our group has planned another meeting this week in which we will continue our concept solutions that we have been working and and begin to narrow it down to our top three.