TARGET MARKET SEGMENTATION

All events do not appeal to all people, for this reason event researchers must explore who their target audience are, and on doing so must understand their customers characteristics and behaviors in order to target and attract them effectively. This means identifying the market segment that are likely to be satisfied by this event or insuring that the event holds the key elements to satisfy the targeted markets desires. Identifying the target audience is market segmentation. This is done geographically, demographically and/or psycho graphically. In doing so, the process of STP marketing can take place, the segmentation and targeting as stated above will allow the positioning to be implemented.

Geographic Segmentation.
This is segmentation of the location of the residence of the event attendees, it may include local resident in the immediate surrounding areas, day trip visitors from further a field, domestic tourists and holidaymakers, international corporate tourists who may have traveled internationally to attend the event or educational trips.

Demographic Segmentation
This is the measurements and segmentation of characteristics and behavior. This can include gender, age, income, education and cultural groups. Often a socioeconomic scale is used based on occupation, this a good tool for marketing, it helps to determin many of the changeable aspects of the event such as entry and ticket prices. The groups:
A – Upper Middle Class
B – Middle Class
C1 – Lower Middle Class
C2 – Skilled Working Class
D – Working Class and
E – Those at the Lowest Level of Subsistence.
Gender is another segment factor that is considered, often men and women have different wants and needs, likes and dislikes, this will enable an event to cater towards the desired audience.

Psychographic Segmentation
This is market segmentation depending on lifestyle choices and values. This measures a persons activities (holidays, entertainment & shopping), interests (family, fashion & food) and opinions (politics, future & education) and often demographics (age, family size & occupation) is included in this segmentation. This form of segmentation has limitations, especially for an event marketer, the main problem being the difficulty in accurate measurement.