2. Health

3. Values

4. Life Span

5. Education

6. Race

7. Age

8. Religion

9. Local/National areas

10. Interests and HobbiesMarket positioning<br />Market positioning is the manipulation of a brand to develop a good view in the eyes of the public. This all depends on if the product is well positioned. Therefore it will have strong sales. However, poor positioning could lead to bad sales and bad reputation.<br />When a product is released the business needs to think further from what the product is for and when it gets to the stage of positioning. This also involves what kind of people are going to want to buy the product. For example, a company making toothpaste might decide to go for the bottom end of the market by setting the price quite low, alongside consumers being asked to compare to the current leading brand at a much lower price. <br />Moreover, market positioning can be quite a difficult process. Businesses need to ensure that they know how their customers perceive their products and how certain changes in the way it is presented can impact the perception of the product. However, some companies may decide to reposition so that they can sort out their perception among the public view. For example, Magners cider may choose to redesign the bottle and therefore start a new advert campaign or even get involved in a similar promotion to attract awareness of a new share in the market.<br />Businesses also engage in depositioning, which is where they attempt to change the perception of the brand. A television ad for example may contrast alcohol bottles: the brand being advertised and a generic with a bottle that looks identical to a popular brand of alcohol, but isn’t quite the same.<br />As well as this producing a market strategy is quite important because it is part of the research and development process. <br />Targeting <br />After the market has been separated into its segments, the marketer will then choose a segment or a range of segments and target them at a specific age range. Firstly the marketer targets a single product at a single segment in the correct market. An example is British Airways Concorde – as it is a high value product aimed particularly at tourists and certain business people that are able to afford to pay more for the speed.<br />The importance of branding<br />A brand is the main identity of a particular service, product or business. A brand has many forms that contain a symbol, sign, name, colour combination or even a slogan. <br />Branding is a powerful component in businesses. It is important that the brand has a logo to make it easier for customers to identify. Customers will decide if they want to buy a product or use a service based on how they see the brand. The brand lets customers know how good or bad the product is. Once a customer likes a brand they are most likely to come back for repeated products or services. Brand is not only ideal for businesses and its repeated customer purchases. As well as this brand gives customers a reason to buy it and wastes less time for the consumers to choose.<br />Marketing Planning process<br />Boston MatrixProduct Life CyclePEST analysisMarket ResearchInternational Market AuditStep 1: Situation AuditStep 2SWOT analysisStep 3Developing Market ObjectivesStep 4Marketing PlansStep 5Evaluation<br />The diagram above is the Marketing Planning Process. This begins with (Step 1) Situation Audit then followed by the Boston Matrix, the product life cycle, PEST analysis, market research and finally the international Market Audit. <br />Magners Cider<br />Segmentation is used by Magners Cider because it still has not found a main target. Even though the product is aimed at specifically 20-25 year olds (bachelors). When they have identified a suitable age range then they will instantly make their way towards targeting it to them as it will sell more. Branding is also used by Magners Cider so that they have more of a well known recognition and more people will be aware of them and what they have to offer. The product price of Magners Cider is quite similar to what their competitors use. This is good because prices are matching and they are not losing custom. They also use promotion which differs from above and below the line. This means that if they promote above the line the product will be advertised openly for example on TV adverts or even billboards. Whereas below the line will be promoting things that we cannot see such as branding. The place at where they will launch their product is quite vital because if the product is aimed at specifically bachelors but it is placed at (Full nest 2) where there are more families. This would not be right because the place would be wrong and so the product will not sell as well as it should. 6<br />