CUSTOMER PROFILING

For entrepreneurs, getting to know the customer very well cannot be overemphasized.
Customer knowledge starts with good customer profiling.

METHODS OF CUSTOMER PROFILING

1. Demographics
2. Psychographics
3. Technographics

IN DEMOGRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION, WE CATEGORIZE CUSTOMERS INTO

THE FOLLOWING:
1. Age
2. Income classes
3. Social classes/Reference groups
4. Ethnic backgrounds
5. Religious beliefs
6. Occupations
7. Domiciles

PSYCHOGRAPHICS DEFINES THE CUSTOMER’S:

1. Motivations
2. Perceptions
3. Preferences
4. Lifestyle

TECHNOGRAPHICS CLASSIFIES PEOPLE ACCORDING TO THEIR LEVEL OF

EXPERTISE IN USING A PRODUCT OR A SERVICE. FOR EXAMPLE:
1. Sports beginners might just want basic equipment.
2. Sports regulars may be looking for more sophisticated equipment.
3. Finally, sports professionals would want the best of the best for competitive
purposes.

APPLICATION OF CUSTOMER PROFILING

the entrepreneur can use or apply customer profiling in two ways.
1. The first way is to develop a product or service to test out in the marketplace.
 The customers most attracted to the product or service can then be profiled.
 After profiling, the next step is to find out how huge this market is for
exploitation purposes.

2. The second way is to profile the different types of customers in a given industry or
area as to their needs and wants.
 From these types, the entrepreneur could then choose the customer group with
the best potentials.
 Products or services can be developed by the entrepreneur to match this chosen
customer group
MARKET MAPPING

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  Market mapping refers to grouping customers and products according to certain
market variables.
 The purpose of market mapping is to provide the market analyst a better
understanding of the market as a whole and to paint a clearer picture of where the
different competitors are relative to the different market segments.
 Market mapping would also allow entrepreneurs to discover market segments that
are relatively unserved or underserved. They could then develop products and
services that fulfill the gaps in the marketplace.

LOCATION ANALYSIS
Location. Location. Location. This is the often-recited mantra of sales people who want to
have the best access to their customers. But finding a good location is one thing.
Maximizing the potentials of such a location is another.

LET THE MARKET KNOW YOU BETTER

In its broadest Sense, marketing is about creating and accumulating customers. Marketing
plans are designed to capture market share and defeat competitors. The marketing
function and the marketing mix serve the overall business strategy. It is summarized in 7
Ps by which the enterprise will engage competitors and gain customers.

SEVEN P’S OF MARKETING

1. Positioning
2. Product
3. Packaging
4. Place
5. People
6. Promotion
7. Price

POSITIONING
 Positioning, in the context of a marketing battle plan, has three overlapping
objectives.
 Positioning has an enterprise perspective.
 Positioning has a competitive perspective.
 Positioning takes the customer’s perspective.
 Enterprises can establish their positioning either by starting with their own product
creations or with their customers’ outcome expectations. The competitors will
always be part of the positioning equation, whether the enterprise starts with the
product or the customer perspective.
 In determining its positioning, the enterprise should be mindful of the main value
proposition (MVP) to its customers relative to its competitors. In determining the
MVP, the enterprise must assess its products from the customers’ viewpoint. It must
evaluate the other six Ps of marketing to find out if they complement and reinforce
one another.
 To establish the positioning of its various products in the marketplace, the
enterprise endeavors to build the brand of each product. Branding serves three

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 purposes. First is to differentiate the product from other products. Second is to
avoid a commodity image for the product. Third is to fill a space in the consumer’s
mind that would prevent other products from occupying the same space.

PRODUCT
 A product is the tangible good or the intangible service that the enterprise offers to
its customers in order to satisfy their needs and to produce their expected results.
 Products are often identified with their brand names to distinguish them from other
products in the market.
 General Types of Products
 Breakthrough products -Offer completely new performance benefits
 Differentiated products -Try to claim a new space in the mind of the
customer different from the spaces occupied by existing product
 Copycat products -
 Niche products -Are products with lower reach, lower visibility, lower prices,
and lower top of mind

PACKAGING
IMPORTANT PURPOSES OF PACKAGING
 Packaging identifies the product, describes its features and benefits, and complies
with government rules on specifying its contents, weight, chemical composition, and
potency.
 Packaging differentiates the product from its competitors and even from its other
brand offerings.
 Packaging lengthens the lifespan, physically protects, and extends the usefulness of
the product.

PLACE
In finding a good location, one needs to consider the following:
 The number of customers residing or working in the area, and the number of
customers who frequently pass through the area.
 The density or number of customers per unit area.
 The access routes to alternative locations and their traffic count in those routes.
 The buying habits of customers or where they buy, at what time and how frequent.
 Locational features such as parking spaces, foot access, creature comforts, and the
like.

The final choice of location must be based on the following:

 Image and location conditions
 Exact fit to target customers
 Clustering of competitor establishments
 Future area development
 Fiscal and regulatory requirements

PEOPLE
 People are the ultimate marketing strategy. People sell and push the product. People
search hard to find the right market. People distribute, promote, price, and sell the
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 products in the most attractive market places. People aim to please the customers
through continuing service and product enhancements long after the customers
have bought the product. People are the regular contact points between the
enterprise and its market.
 The marketing efforts of people are organized at four levels: (1) to create customer
awareness; (2) to arouse customer interest; (3) to educate customers as they evaluate
their buying choices; and (4) to close the sale and deliver the products.

PROMOTION
 Promotion is the explicit communication strategy adopted by an enterprise to elicit
the patronage, loyalty, and support not only from its customers but also from its
other significant stakeholders.

 Promotion encompasses all the direct communication efforts of the enterprise, such
as advertising, public relation campaigns, promotional tours, product offerings,
point-of-sale displays, websites, flyers, emails, letters, telemarketing, and others.

PRICE
 Pricing depends on the business objectives set by the enterprise.
 Different Pricing Strategies
 Profit maximization
 Revenue maximization
 Market share maximization
 Attainment of the desired prestige or quality leadership
 Penetration, survival, or liquidation
 Scarcity pricing or market skimming
 Cost recovery
 Subsidy pricing
Other Pricing Strategies Marginal pricing
 Introductory or promotional pricing to launch a new product
 Charge different prices in different geographical areas to take care of
additional logistics costs in farther locations or to accommodate the lower
purchasing power in poorer geographic areas
 Discount pricing given to loyal and regular customers to maintain their
patronage

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