Introduction
Marketers tend to divide a market into segments to reach the chosen consumer group (Belch & Belch, 2012). Different consumer groups have dissimilar identifications, demographics, buying patterns, and attitudes. The marketers have to consider these particularities while choosing suitable marketing vehicles to introduce a proper marketing campaign. In the case of this essay, senior citizens were selected as a consumer group for evaluation.
The primary goal of this assignment is to define the senior citizens, describe their fundamental features, demographics, psychographics, values, attitudes, beliefs, and buying patterns. Moreover, the identification of particular brands is mentioned. Furthermore, the interview with the senior citizen was conducted to identify the real values of the group and determine whether the research findings are consistent with the responses acquired during the interview. Lastly, the strategic applications are evaluated, and conclusions are drawn.
Definition of Senior Citizens Group
Firstly, the Senior Citizens have to be defined, as it is necessary to understand the primary features of the representatives of this consumer group. The senior citizens of any country can be identified as people at the age of 65 and older (Verma & Gupta, 2014).
The definition is rather simple since other features vary depending on the country. Nonetheless, restricting the population by age helps determine the right social group. Another characteristic is the fact the people within this age range are retired and have a lot of free time for different activities, as their day does not follow a particular schedule. Nonetheless, other significant features will be discussed in the next paragraphs.
Demographics, Psychographics, Values, Attitudes, and Beliefs
As for the demographics, senior citizen group is necessary to discover, as it takes a significant percentage of the population, and it is expected to increase by 104.3 % (Verma & Gupta, 2014). As for the lifestyle, it is apparent that nowadays senior citizens have similarities with the younger generation. It is apparent that this consumer group has sufficient sources of income and have a tendency to spend leisure by reading media and browse the Internet (Meiners & Seeberger, 2010).
It could be said that their attitudes, values, and beliefs and attitudes evolved. It changed the view of the senior citizen’s psychographics. Nonetheless, usage of smartphones to deliver a message to the senior citizens might not be effective (Taylor, 2013). However, the fast development of technology will make the senior citizens used to the gadgets shortly.
Buying patterns
Moreover, the buying patterns of this consumer group have to be evaluated, as it helps understand what marketing vehicles are the most appropriate tools in this case. As senior citizens have a high level of income, they can save financial resources and spend money on high-quality services and activities (Meiners & Seeberger, 2010). These people are looking for opportunities to enjoy life and experience something new. The ability and desire to spend money are the key principles to describe their behavioral patterns (Meiners & Seeberger, 2010).
A Particular Identification with the Certain Brands
Senior citizens are the primary reason for the appropriate functioning of cruise liners, pharmaceutical companies, and the personal computer industry (Green, 2011). Additionally, as the senior citizens have a lot of free time, they spend a lot of time playing golf or having various entertaining activities at the specialized clubs (Green, 2011). It could be said that the brands from these industries are the primary activities the senior citizens are associated with. As for the particular examples, Senior Golfers of America is one of them. It is clear that the club specializes in seniors and provides them with sufficient leisure time and golf courts (Senior Golfers of America, 2015).
Interview
It was necessary to interview to prove whether the research is relevant or not. During the communication with James Blair, it was revealed that he tends to travel and spend significant time at various clubs or enjoy his hobby, which is painting (J. Blair, personal communication, Oct. 3, 2015).
Moreover, on 3 October 2015, J. Blair said that he enjoys spending money for the pleasure. It could be said that all of the matters discussed in the paper with the assistance of the literature review are correct, as it turns out that senior citizens enjoy every moment of life and live for pleasure. The interview with Blair revealed that this consumer group has enough of the financial resources, able to purchase expensive and high-quality products, and has enough time for additional entertaining and self-developing activities related to their hobbies.
Strategic Application
Focusing on a particular consumer group allows marketers to deliver an appropriate message (Belch & Belch, 2012). As it was mentioned earlier, senior citizens have hobbies and are associated with using golf clubs (Green, 2011). One of the examples of the strategic application can be the advertisement by Senior Golfers of America. The organization has its website. In this case, it reflects the behavioral patterns of the senior citizens, as now they are active computer users. Moreover, the website provides information about the activities related to golf with the help of the pictures from the events (Senior Golfers of America, 2015).
It also reflects the central attitudes of senior citizens since they have time and money for their hobbies now. Lastly, the organization uses leaflets to promote its activities. It could be said that it has a good connection with the audience, as it captured all the main features of the senior population as a consumer group. These communication vehicles are the most suitable ones, as they are rather simple and include all the required information to attract new senior customers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it could be said that it is necessary to assess and divide the population into groups, as it eases the work for the marketers. Additionally, understanding the main features of the consumer group helps choose effective communication vehicles to reach the target audience. In this essay, it was revealed that senior citizens tend to spend time on their hobbies. It became apparent that they are regular computer users. Consequently, websites can be used as a communication vehicle. Moreover, the business areas, which are associated with the senior citizens, are cruise liners, pharmaceutics, and various entertaining clubs. It became apparent that marketers have to pay attention to the senior population, as the potential of these consumer groups is continuously growing.
References
Belch, G., & Belch, M. (2012). Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications perspective. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Green, M. (2011). People, places and events: Journalism by Martin Green. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, Inc.
Meiners, N., & Seeberger, B. (2010). Marketing to senior citizens: challenges and opportunities. The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies, 35(3), 293-328.
Senior Golfers of America. (2015). Web.
Taylor, G. (2013). Give your marketing a digital age. New York, NY: Global & Digital.
Verma, V., & Gupta, D. (2014). Senior citizens as food shoppers. SCMS Journal of Indian Management, 11(2), 21-28. Print.