Usage of the Marketing Strategy: Targeting
The assignment for this week places a focus on targeting and involves Chapter 7 "Targeting Attractive Market Segments", the book Marketing management 8th edition, J. W. Mullins, O. C.
Step one is to choose a nationally known retailer and describe what in your opinion is their chosen target market using the eight attributes listed in Exhibit 7.2 (Page 183). There are: Age, Sex, Household life Cycle, Income, Occupation, Education, Events, Race and Ethnic origin.
Step two is to provide your assessment as to the "correctness" of their chosen target. If you agree with who they target, so state a provide a brief defense of your position. If you disagree with their targeting choices, briefly state what elements you would handle differently and why (for example "their lower age limit is too low for their product mix, I would raise it because tween's are almost as fashion conscious as are teens).
Step three is to categorize their master strategy using the three choices described at the end of the chapter, niche, mass, and growth. Your chosen retailer may be using two or even all three of these strategies and if so, mention that but be sure to identify which of the three you believe to be the most defining of the organization over the long term.
At least two cited references are required and cited material must be identified by quotation marks within the body of the paper and linked to the source using APA citation format.
A cover page and citation page are not included.
Targeting - Kohl’s Corporation
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Targeting - Kohl’s Corporation
In the contemporary era of a scarce market and a myriad of competing businesses, the need to have a top-notch marketing strategy to influence the consumer market becomes vital. Targeting is a crucial component of Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STP) that has been the most prominent marketing strategy in modern marketing. “Segmentation decisions are best made in one of the three ways: based on who the customers are, based on where they are, based on how they behave relevant to the market in question” (Mullins & Walker, 2013, p. 183). Kohl’s Corporation, one of the leading U.S. apparel retail merchants, has incorporated the concept of STP marketing strategy into its business model. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of Kohl’s Corporation segmentation as well as a targeting strategy that makes it stand out in a congested industry.
Kohls’ landing page in its online retail portal shows pictures of a family composed of a father, mother, and children. This is a clear indication that the primary target market for Kohls’ products is young families, preferably above the age of 30 and less than 40. Kohl’s products do not have a preferred race, with all the races well represented in the graphics on its online retail portal. The price ranges for most of Kohl’s products are relatively low compared to other top brands in the apparel industry. This is a pricing strategy to target the medium-income earners instead of the top lucrative brands that target high-income earners. More emphasis for Kohl’s products has been on the middle-aged mothers, where “Kohl’s women apparel division accounts for about a third of the company’s roughly $19 billion in sales” (Meyersohn, 2018 para. 5). The excitement by middle-aged women to venture into fitness and the desire for fashion has been well captured by Kohl’s emphasis on products with a bit of style and athleisure outfits. The product collection also covers a wide range of activities for the middle-aged population, offering them many options to perfectly match the outfit with whatever occasion they are up to.
Kohl’s marketing strategy of focusing on the middle-aged and middle-income demography with more emphasis on married women seems to be working effectively, placing it among the leading apparel retailers in the U.S. However, Kohl’s is missing out on the largest demography driving sales among leading retailers in the apparel industry such as TJX Companies, Nordstrom, and Macy’s: the millennials and Gen Z. Unlike the middle-aged women who value simplicity and care less about having a product that bears a reputable brand name, “millennials consider brands as a way of expressing the...