Article review on the importance of generation cohorts in market segmentation

An introductory code of target marketing is market segmentation. In application of this code, the exploit of demographic profiles has become a admired form of segmenting markets and discovering markets. Age, sex, and household income are specific cases of demographic variables that have been shown to be forecasters of attitudes and behaviour.  Furthermore, generational cohort, described as a group of people united by a span of birth years characteristically 17-23 years in period, has been exploited as a widespread approach for sectioning markets based upon age.  The generational cohort segments have been revealed to be exceptional with their form, character, views, and core values.

It appears suitable to theorize that these notions are applicable to both commercial and non-profit business, and particularly in this sphere of investigation, the Protestant church.  Theoretically it can be conjectured that a person’s anticipations and height of significance of the various service quality measurements offered by their church will be different based upon the individual’s cohort outline.  Furthermore, it appears rational that the anticipations and the levels of significance placed on these service quality dimension characteristics will eventually contribute to an individual’s participative behaviour with their church.

An appealing study by Strauss and Howe looked at generational comparisons and dissimilarities going back to the 15th century and finished off that over 80 year spans generations carry on through 4 stages of about 20 years each. The first phase entails times of relative disaster and the people born during this era were called artists. The next phase was a high episode and those born in this period were called prophets. The next phase was an awakening time and people born in this period were called nomads. The final stage was the unravelling period and people born in this period were called heroes. The most current high period happened in the 50s and 60s therefore baby boomers are the most modern yield of prophets (1997). Today we use the subsequent descriptors for these cohorts:

Depression cohort born from 1912 to 1921; memorable events: The Great Depression, high levels of unemployment, poverty, lack of creature comforts, financial uncertainty, Key characteristics: strive for financial security, risk averse, waste not want not attitude, strive for comfort; WWII cohort born from 1922 to 1927, Key characteristics: the nobility of sacrifice for the common good, patriotism, team player, Post-war cohort born from 1928 to 1945, Key characteristics: conformity, conservatism, traditional family values; Baby Boomer cohort #1, born from 1946 to 1954, Key characteristics: experimental, individualism, free spirited, social cause oriented; Baby Boomer cohort #2 , born from 1955 to 1965, Key characteristics: less optimistic, distrust of government, general cynicism; Generation X cohort born from 1965 to 1976, Key characteristics: quest for emotional security, independent, informality and N Generation cohort , born from 1977 to date, Key characteristics: quest for physical security and safety, extreme patriotism, heightened fears, acceptance of change.

In particular, marketing managers need to fully understand age related changes and identify effective ways to target these changing age segments. Simply assuming, for example, that tomorrow’s seniors will respond to marketing activities in similar ways as today’s seniors could lead to devastating results. Taking a special look on the Individuals who came of age during the Great Depression, tend to be compulsive savers and risk averse throughout their lives because they experienced great economic hardship in their early adulthood.

The validity of these cohorts has been revealed in numerous forecasting models. Conventional forecasting models use cross-sectional analyses to scrutinize the changing demographic profiles of the population and their influence on consumption patterns. For instance, if 20-30 year old individuals were the most likely to use ” product X” and this age group was going to grow in size in the next decade (because of the Great Depression, for instance), then the conjecture would call for an boost in consumption of this product. Most of its efficiency has come in positioning products and in promotional campaigns. As a product instance, the U. S. cable television channel American Movie Classics proffers movies from the 1940s and 1950s and skewed heavily older -World War II and Post-War cohorts – in viewship.

One possible benefit to managers is that segmenting consumers by cohorts may be a more effective segmentation technique than presently employed. Consumers are savvier than before, requiring personal attention and products that ensemble their lifestyle. They do not want to be burdened with injudicious products and promotions. In the United States in the 1980s, for instance, individuals 65 years or older were comprised mostly of the Depression cohort (Holbrook, 1994) Today, it is made up mainly of World War II and Post-War consumers and in 2011 the first of the’ Baby Boomers will enter this age segment These cohorts will inflict their values and preferences on the way they carry out their lives.