The document discusses various methods for segmenting consumer markets including demographic, behavioral, and psychographic variables. Demographic variables include age, gender, income while behavioral consider product usage and decision making. Psychographic segmentation examines personality, lifestyle, values and attitudes. The document also describes a social class stratification system and the lifestyle groupings of mainstreamers, aspirers, succeeders, and reformers developed by an advertising agency to categorize consumers.

2. Demographic Variables age gender sexual orientation family size family life cycle income Methods of creating demographic segments occupation education socioeconomic status religion nationality Isolating specific demographic characteristics regarding a products target segment is vital. This allows advertisers to construct marketing with direct appeal Increasingly advertisers are recognising the importance of family position and the audiences position within the family cycle (single, married, childless, divorced etc.) as a mechanism for targeting segments A key tool for understanding a segments economic position is the A to E social class stratification system

3. Social Class Segmentation Divides society into 6 distinct groups based solely on occupation. A Professional staff B Middle management C1 Junior management C2 Skilled manual D Semi-skilled and unskilled workers. E Those dependent on the state. Social class segmentation works on the assumption that the higher your profession the more you will earn. Thus the more affluent lifestyle you will lead. Marketers use this type of information to sell products and services based on lifestyle behavior, and your profession does have an impact on the way you behave

4. Methods of creating demographic segments Behavioral Variables benefit sought product usage rate brand loyalty product end use readiness-to-buy stage decision making unit How does the target audience use the product? When and where? How often is the product used? Who makes the purchasing decision within the family unit? What competition exists? Why is that competition successful? How can the product offer benefits to the consumer?

5. Methods of creating demographic segments Psychographic Variables personality life-style values attitudes Increasingly marketing professionals are suggesting that people are more successfully categorised according to their social outlook and beliefs rather than their socioeconomic position What kind of lifestyle does the target audience follow? Vegetarianism? Are they monogamists? Serial monogamists? What religious beliefs, if any, do they believe in? Who symbolises the market segments ideal self? Who do they aspire to be? What is the ideal lifestyle for that market segment?

6. Lifestyle groupings The advertising agency Young and Rubicam divided the population into the following four main lifestyle groups: Mainstreamers "These people want security, to play it safe. They tend to conform, they do not want to stand out from the crowd or be controversial, they like to buy brand names. They will be attracted by pensions adverts. They shop at high-street stores such as M & S“ Aspirers "These are interested in material success and the trappings that go with it. They are outward-looking types, they like novelty and gimmicks. They like status symbols such as the Porsche and Rolex. Designers labels are important to them."

7. http://www.free-definition.com/List-of-lifestyles.html Lifestyle groupings Succeeders "These are people who have already achieved some status in their lives, either through birth or through their work. Their main driving force is their wish to control. They are less ostentatious than the aspirers. They do not flaunt their money. They have classic tastes, for example preferring the Rolls Royce to the flash sports car. They identify with products which command respect and not just material envy." Reformers "This is the most educated group, who are interested in public and social concerns - not just concern for themselves and their immediate families. They wouldn't necessarily buy branded goods, or things just because they were cheap. However, they might actively seek out something environmentally friendly. People from the education and caring sectors are well represented in this group."