Consumer Analysis For Market Strategy
“The marketing process is a circular function. Marketing plans undergo many changes until all the parts are internally consistent and mutually supportive of the objectives. It’s a seven part process.
Consumer Analysis -> Market Analysis -> Competitive Landscape -> Distribution Channels -> Development of Marketing Mix -> Evaluation Of Economics -> Repeat the above until you have a consistent plan”
- Steven Silbiger
In this seven part process I usually focus more on the first part which is the consumer analysis part. Over time I have realised that everything starts and ends with the consumer. Many a times we forget that whatever we are building, whatever product we are selling, the consumer needs to be at the centre of it. It is an obvious thing that consumer comes first but many a times we take it for granted and ignore the real problems and needs of a consumer or we go as far as not understanding who our consumer is.
I start by asking questions. The more you ask the better it is.
Ask as many to find the market that will unlock untold marketing riches.

Who needs us and why ? What is the need category ?
The who needs to be someone who gets their needs met by what you are offering. So, yes, your ideal consumer is someone who benefits from your product or service. Jot down exactly what you offer to your consumer.Sometimes you need to be honest with yourself. It’s not enough to determine who you want to benefit most but you need to identify who is actually finding value in your offerings right now.
What does your product do for your ideal consumer?
What problems does your product solve for your consumer?
What needs of your consumer does your product satisfy?
What does the consumer gain from the same ?
Who is buying vs who is using the product ? What is the buying process ?
Buyers are many a times different from the end consumer. For example a finance software tool might be bought by the business but in reality it is used by the financial analysts of the organisation. Once you have understood who is making the purchase and who is using your product/service you can then plan who to target for making a sale.
The next step is to understand how the product is bought. Identifying the buying process is critical because it will then pave the path of possible routes to buyers. Essentially a buying process involves
Awareness — The consumer identifies a need. Looks to buy.
Information Search — People looking to buy look at various sources to make a decision
Evaluate Alternatives — Every consumer asks the same question.
Which one is best for me ? This could not only mean products within a category but also substitutes.
The Purchase — Even if the consumer buys your product, the first purchase is a only a trial. Usually the trial comes with low involvement products where the the ticket size is not that big. Trial is followed by adoption and use. Hence the trial is a purchase risk which one should always focus on reducing by communicating the best use of the product.
Post purchase Evaluation — From the consumer standpoint the question arises: Did I make a mistake ? The consumer makes a certain judgement at a physical level by testing the product’s offering to his/her need or at a psychological level by checking for peer approval.
Once you gather all this information, it must be translated into tangible marketing next steps.The understanding of the buying process helps one to understand key influencers and distribution channels.
How does your customer buy your product ?
How has your customer behaviour been for similar offerings?
What factors influence your customer ? ( Price,Value )
How does your customer go about making a buying decision for your product?
High Involvement vs Low Involvement Product
Different products trigger different purchase behaviours which usually stem out of whether the decision behind the purchase was a simple or a complex one. What is the extent of customer’s involvement in the decision ?
If the consumer feels a high risk in buying a product,then it is considered a High Involvement product. The decisions behind purchase of such a product are closely tied to consumer’s ego and self image. This may include
financial risk( high priced items),social ( peer approval ) or
psychological risk ( choosing the wrong product). Examples could be clothing,buying a car or a phone. Typically a consumer gathers extensive information from multiple sources, evaluates many alternatives, and invests substantial effort in making the best decision.
With Low Involvement product, the decisions are more straightforward, require little risk, are repetitive, and often lead to a habit. The consumer spends less time in research or gathering intel regarding the product because it is easier to substitute even if the wrong product is purchased.
Understanding the behaviours, you may be able to take advantage of this to sell your product.
What category does my product fall into ?
What is the first impression ?
How does my product induce a change in consumer behaviour ?
How am I positioning my product in the market ?
Segment The Market
Everything boils down to “ Who is our consumer ?”
If the product is for everyone, then a mass market strategy is something that will work well. For instance, Pepsi uses a mass marketing strategy to get everyone to consume the product. On the other hand a Gatorade targets to a narrowly defined market of fitness/sports enthusiasts.
Without defining a target market, you risk wasting resources with no valuable outcome.Segmentation is important and there are four variables that contribute to it:
Geographic :
Focuses on geographic and proximity. The premise behind geographic is that people who are similar in income, culture, and perspectives naturally gravitate toward one another and start influencing each others behaviour and thought process.
Demographic :
These are characteristics used to define a population. They include age, race, family income, and education level, among others.
Psychographic Segmentation:
Activities,interests, and opinions to the type of personalities. Knowing helps to trigger people to buy products by aligning to who they are.
Behavioural Segmentation:
Characteristics based on product consumption of the consumers. It covers amount of use,manner of use, brand loyalty or responsiveness to discounts and promotions among others. Each characteristic plays a pivotal role when drafting a marketing strategy.

Use Of consumer analysis ?
Map value to need
Identifying your consumer
Planning out retention
Invoking further buying
Improving customer service
Improving overall profitability
Increasing market share
Consumer analysis is paramount to any successful business. Every successful venture is doing as much to gather as much data about their consumers to serve them well.
