Volume 19, Number 1 Article by Paromita Goswami March, 2007
Psychographic Segmentation of College-goers of Kolkata :
Products and services offered for sale to customers need to be differentiated as customer taste, preferences and likings are not uniform. Although demographic segmentation is used most commonly in marketing, members of the same demographic group differ in their behaviour as consumers, which is why psychographic segmentation or segmentation on the basis of personality-related variables is more useful. Worldwide, segmentation schemes like the Values and Lifestyles System (VALS) are popular. However, in India no systematic effort has been made to constantly track the psychographic behaviour of the population.
In this paper, Paromita Goswami attempts the psychographic segmentation of college-goers in Kolkata, on the basis of the values they feel are important, and their activities, interests and opinions (AIO). Multivariate statistical analyses yielded five psychographic segments — Life-loving Go-getters, Politically-conscious Positivists, Independent-minded, Destiny-believing Pessimists and Happy-go-lucky Dependents. The segments were described in terms of both demographic and psychographic characteristics. The purchase frequency of various products and services was observed and the difference in purchase frequency of the different psychographic segments was evaluated. It was found that Life-loving Go-getters and Politically-conscious Positivists had a much higher frequency of purchase for different products and services and hence could be considered the most important target groups for the marketer, followed by the Independent-minded and Happy-go-lucky Dependents. This segmentation would not only be helpful in the proper targeting and positioning of products and services in the vitally important youth market, but also in deciding the advertising layout or copy by the creative departments of advertising agencies.
Reprint No 07105
