What is the Target Market?

You are majoring in marketing. You have one year to go before graduation. Your brother-in-law graduated last summer with a degree in food science. He can cook anything. He can do justice to the food served at burger joints and to the food served at $200.00 per plate restaurants.

After turning down several very good job offers, your brother-in-law left for a sailing trip to Hawaii. As luck would have it, he won $500,000 in the Washington State Lottery. He has returned and has decided to open a restaurant near the college you attend. Your brother-in-law realizes that he needs some help. After all, he did take Introduction to Business. He remembers that the professor talked about market segmentation, target markets, and product characteristics. Just what these are he has forgotten. Hence, he asks you do some analysis for him for a fee.

(Markets are people who want your product and are willing to buy it. Segments of a markets are slices or sub-groups of people in the particular market who share common characteristics such as income levels or educational levels.) You agree to undertake the project and have refined the questions to those shown below. You estimate that the total project will take 40 hours.

The products that your brother-in-law's restaurant could offer are: breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

Hint for Critical Thinking:

Markets are people with money who are willing to spend it for your product. Target markets or market segments are sub-sets of the market you are aiming to satisfy by your product. One of the groups of people around the college is a near-by resident.

Required:

1. List at least five potential target markets near Clark College.

2. What target market(s) would be the most profitable for the restaurant? Why?

3. What kind of restaurant should your brother-in-law open? Why?

4. How much do you charge per hour for your services? (Justify your billing rate.)