Excerpt
Table of Contents
1. Terms of Reference
2. Introduction: About the Innocent smoothie
3. Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning
3.1. Segmentation Approaches used by Innocent
3.1.1. The Innocent smoothie consumer in the VALS Framework
3.2. Target Customer Profile
3.3. Positioning of the Innocent Smoothie
4. External Influences on the consumer’s decision
4.1. Reference Groups
4.1.1. Families and Household decision making
4.1.2. Friendship groups
5. The Buying Process
5.1. Problem recognition
5.2. Information Search
5.3. Evaluation of Alternatives
5.4. Purchase
5.5. Post-purchase Evaluation
6. Innocent’s Marketing Efforts
6.1. Product
6.2. Price
6.3. Promotion
6.4. Place
7. Conclusions and Recommendations
Bibliography
Appendices
List of Tables & Figures
Figure 3.1. Overview of Segmentation Bases
Figure 3.1.1.1. The VALs Framework
Table 3.2.1. Target Customer Profile for the Innocent Smoothie
Figure 3.3.1. Innocent’s position within the smoothie market
Figure 4.1.1. Major Consumer Reference Groups
Figure 5.1. The Consumer Buying Process
Figure 5.5.1. Disconfirmation model of customer satisfaction
Table 6.1. The 4Ps of Innocents Marketing Mix
1. Terms of Reference
This report has been written by Charlotte Brodtkorb, student of a Bachelor’s degree in International Events Management at European Business School London, for assessment purposes within the module MKT6A7 “Consumer Behaviour”.
It examines the likely behaviour of consumers of a smoothie made by Innocent Drinks (to be referred to as “Innocent” throughout the paper) and how the company takes the profile of their target segment into account in their marketing efforts.
2. Introduction: About the Innocent smoothie
A drink made of pure fruit, the smoothie is Innocent’s trademark product. The company is currently selling a range of six recipes, occasionally complemented by special editions (Innocent Drinks, 2012).
The USP of the product is that it is not-from–concentrate and preservative-free. Innocent are the current market leader in the smoothie sector (Hughes, 2012).
The value proposition behind the product focuses on “making it easy (for consumers) to do themselves some good. (…) Delicious, natural fruit crushed up and put into bottles so you could grab one on the way into work” (Innocent Drinks, 2009, p.12), with a 250 ml bottle containing two portions of fruit (Innocent Drinks, 2012).
The company is also known for their strong focus on making their product 100% sustainable, especially in terms of fair trade initiatives and environmentally friendly packaging design (Innocent Drinks, 2009).
3. Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning
The STP concept suggests that analysis of the market by segment yields better results as it allows for the selection of a precise target and consequently a positioning strategy with an outcome appealing to potential customers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012).
In order to achieve this, it is crucial that the market be segmented on bases appropriate to the company’s offering and value proposition, so as to enable the choice of a target segment receptive to the product’s attributes (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2010).
Opposing fact-based and cognition-based as well as consumer-rooted and consumption- specific segmentation bases, Schiffman and Kanuk (2010) propose the following four-quadrant model:
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These authors also recommend hybrid segmentation, the “combination of several segmentation bases to create rich and comprehensive profiles of particular consumer segments” (p. 46, 2007). As demographic segmentation criteria often correlate with cognition-based attributes, such as “consumption behaviours, attitudes and media exposure” (p.76, 2010), this is a common approach to segmenting markets.
3.1. Segmentation Approaches used by Innocent
Taking into account Innocent’s value proposition, it becomes clear that they used a hybrid segmentation approach. The importance given to attaining your “5- a-day” implies that consumer-rooted cognitive factors, especially lifestyles and sociocultural values have played a role in segmentation, while the habit “grab(bing) (a drink) on the way into work” (Innocent Drinks, 2009, p.12) hints to fact-based segmentation variables, especially in terms of occupation, as well as usage-situation.
3.1.1. The Innocent smoothie consumer in the VALS Framework
In the context of a hybrid segmentation approach, the VALS Framework as suggested by SRI International (1989, cited in Schiffman & Kanuk, 2007) might be taken into account. Based on a combination of demographic and attitudinal factors, this model groups consumers into 8 different categories according to their primary motivation and their resources and attitude towards innovation.
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The target segment for Innocent’s smoothie is likely to be primarily motivated by ideals and to be able to rely on substantial resources.
3.2. Target Customer Profile
The below table specifies the characteristics of Innocent’s likely core target segment for their smoothie product.
Judging from the marketing mix employed (see section 6 for details), Lifestyles, Psychographics, VALs, Sociocultural Values and Beliefs, and Usage-Situation appear to have been the determining variables in carving out this main target group, through linkage to which most of the demographic variables come in.
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Schiffman and Kanuk (2010) argue that in order to effectively target a group of potential customers, it is imperative that the segment chosen be identifiable, sizable, stable, accessible and congruent with the company’s objectives and resources.
As shown in the table, Innocent’s core target for their smoothie are likely to be young-to-middle-aged city-dwelling white-collar-professionals, a segment which, at least in Britain, is clearly identifiable, definitely sizable within the context of a strong tertiary sector, relatively stable, accessible via specific media and points of sale. The profile suggested here also reveals a strong tendency towards countersegmentation to include parents more specifically. The introduction of a no-bits-smoothie for children supports this assumption.
3.3. Positioning of the Innocent Smoothie
The smoothie products currently on the UK market are best categorised along to axes describing the extent to which the product is made the “natural” way with the according ingredients and the age group they are aimed at.
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Innocent’s success has spawned several competitors, some of which use a similar positioning. Still, the company can capitalise on the fact that their product is the “original” and so remains the market leader in both children’s and adult smoothies (Hughes, 2012).
4. External Influences on the consumer’s decision
Schiffman and Kanuk (2007) maintain that external influences on consumer decision-making can be distinguished into those that originate from the company’s marketing efforts and those that come from the consumer’s sociocultural environment. This section will examine sociocultural external factors originating from the influence of reference groups on the consumer’s decision to purchase an Innocent smoothie. The marketing mix as employed by Innocent will be discussed in section 6.
4.1. Reference Groups
The consumer is influenced by cues originating from their sociocultural environment (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2010), which can be categorised in terms of different reference groups (see below).
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Reference groups are “person(s) or groups(s) that serve(s) as a point of comparison (or reference) for an individual in forming either general or specific values, attitudes or a specific guide for behaviour“ (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2007, p.312) and can be distinguished into normative (values and behaviour-shaping) and comparative (aspirational) groups (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2010).
The influence of several reference groups on the Innocent smoothie consumer will be discussed in the following.
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