Who Is Our Customer?

The TSL team sat around the table. Scattered on the table were the results of the past several months of market research. Today's meeting had been called to discuss options for selecting a target market to pursue. The team felt that it made sense for them to initially concentrate their efforts on a single customer group, because that would give them a chance to refine their marketing strategy without wasting money as they learned how best to market their bars. Limiting the focus to one customer group would also require less initial investment. While the group did have funding, it was not unlimited, and like many start-ups, they knew that every dollar counted. From their research, the team had identified four possible target customer groups and developed a summary profile for each group that captured the exemplar for each group in a single person. The four profiles are summarized below.

Wiley Course Resources

Running Case Study Video

This Saves Lives, Chapter 6: Founders Discuss Target Market Decisions

This Saves Lives Video Chapter 6

Coffee Bar Carly

Carly is a 20- to 40-year-old who can be found almost daily in a local coffee bar. She often has her laptop or tablet with her. For her, the coffee bar serves different roles. Some days she starts her day there with her morning java and a light breakfast. Other days she stops at the coffee bar on her lunch break. And some days she uses the coffee bar as a mini lounge, taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi to check messages, catch up on personal and professional news, and so on. Coffee is important to her, and she feels at home in the coffee bar. She has her favourite beverages, and though she doesn't make a lot of money compared to some, her visit to the coffee bar is a daily indulgence, and she will sacrifice in other spending areas if needed to keep it in the budget. She doesn't always purchase a bar when she visits the coffee bar, but she often does. She only buys bars when she is at the coffee bar, and never more than one at a time. She likes to experiment, though for her, the primary purpose of experimenting is not to find the best bar, but rather to find out which ones she does not like so she can exclude them from future purchase. She likes bars with interesting names and quality ingredients, especially if it is something unique. She actively supports a couple of social causes, and even volunteers for one of the local charities once a month.

Grab-and-Go Gabe

Gabe is a person on the go who doesn't have time for sit-down meals during the day. He is busy with work and activities and often finds himself without a specific meal plan for the day. Gabe can be anywhere from 20 to 55, and he is used to spending money on eating out. Gabe has a decent income and can afford to eat out, but he is always surprised by how much money he spends. He does not track his spending and doesn't really pay that much attention to how much he spends when he buys a snack, since for him the snack might be substituting for a meal at breakfast or lunchtime. He buys his snack bars at the coffee shop, the convenience store, the snack counter, and pretty much anywhere he can get them if he is hungry. He has even bought bars at the home improvement centre and the grocery store while waiting to check out when he realized he hadn't eaten yet and wanted something quick. He is most concerned with availability and doesn't worry too much about either the brand or the specific flavours. He buys one at a time and usually picks the first one that gets his attention once he decides he needs a snack. Gabe does not give much thought to social causes, as he is typically too busy to worry about what is happening outside of his daily life.

Workout Wes

Wes is generally healthy, works out at least several times per week, and is between 25 and 45 years old. Bars play an important role in the workout regimen. Wes eats bars for a quick energy snack before or after workouts to make sure he has enough energy to stay active. He takes care of his body and cares about the ingredients in the bars more than the actual taste, since the purpose of the bars is to provide energy, and the right type of energy is important to him. He cares that the taste is okay, but he does not go out of his way to try all of the different brands or flavours. He has a few brands he likes and typically stays with a handful of flavours within those brands. He has a good income and isn't price sensitive when it comes to buying bars. He buys a few bars at a time and always has a couple at hand, either in his gym bag, in his locker, or in his drawer at the office. He typically buys bars at the upscale grocery store near his apartment. Wes donates money to a charity through paycheck deductions at work, though he does not follow the activities of the charity closely.

Soccer Mom Sandra

Sandra is between 35 and 45 and is a mother with two children between the ages of 6 and 15. She does the shopping for the household and views it as one of her primary missions to make sure the household runs smoothly and the family has what it needs. She keeps a ready stock of bars available for the kids to have as a grab-and-go snack when heading to soccer practice, to throw in their backpacks for a snack, or as a quick way to stave off their appetite until she can get home and prepare dinner in the evening. She cares about the ingredients very much and reads the labels for all the snack items she buys, since snacks often contain preservatives and other artificial ingredients that she doesn't want her family to consume. She is the master of the food budget and has to make the most of the money she spends on food, so she typically buys bars in bulk by the box and is especially on the lookout for coupons and other discounts. She shops at the typical local grocery store once a week and does all of her snack purchasing then. Though she does occasionally eat the bars herself, she really buys for the kids and chooses the flavours they prefer. Once she finds an option they like that meets her standards for healthy ingredients, she adds it to the list of acceptable choices and will buy whichever option is on the list that is on sale. Sandra has the family give used clothing, toys, and the like to local charities once or twice a year (great to clean out the garage), especially around the holidays or when there is a national disaster or emergency.

Which Group to Target?

Though the team had identified four prospective target segments to target, it was proving more challenging than they thought it would be to decide which group to pursue first. It was clear that any of these groups could work as a target market, but there were some advantages and disadvantages of choosing each group. The team had also discussed the potential for the initial group targeted to influence the possible strategy going forward. For example, if the team chose moms, would TSL be so closely associated with family that it would be difficult to pursue other groups? It was clear this was going to be a difficult but important decision that could have significant consequences for TSL going forward. The group considered its options.

QUESTIONS

What are the key differences between the customers TBSL has identified as possible targets?

Are there other obvious potential target customers that you can think of given your knowledge of the snack bar market?

Does it make a difference which customer the company chooses to target initially if it thinks it will eventually also target the other groups of customers at some point in the near future?

What are the pros and cons of targeting each group?

Which group would you recommend and why?

Does it make more sense to think about targeting the retailers (e.g., Starbucks, Target, Whole Foods) or individual consumers?