Segmentation and Targeting for DSO Segment

Question: Discuss about the Segmentation and Targeting for DSO Segment. Answer: Introduction Marketing of the products and services are the soul of the economy in the society. All the organizations therefore perform its basic functions to satisfy their primary stakeholders, the consumers and the owners. The organizations create utility when the inputs and the components transform into the finished products. Marketing provides significant inputs to the specified consumers preferences, but the production has the ultimate responsibility of creating the utility in the market (Scott 2015). This report will target to evaluate the marketing and segmentation of The Darwin Symphony Orchestra (DSO) as the marketing team plays a significant role in the annual revenue generation and is also responsible for the promotion of events and the selling of tickets. Not only that, the marketing team is also responsible for the sponsorship generation and fund raising. Segmentation and targeting The DSO is one of the famous orchestra in Australia founded by Martin Jarvis. The aim of the segmentation and targeting of the market process is to develop the sales and marketing in a more effectual way. Both of these can be done with the development of a better understanding of the consumer base and the potential prospects, also communicating with the target market with the right message, at the right time (Goeldner 2016). All of these need to be done in a cost effective way. The segmentation of the marketing is required to create different groups with the same profile so that targeting those could be easier to communicate with the chose one in future. This segmentation generally remains the same whether a B2B or a B2C market is being operated. However there are few critical factors that need to be taken care of. The B2B business is the one that sells to the other businesses and a B2C business sells directly to the consumers. However, both the businesses exist in the market and it is gradually being more common for the single businesses. Therefore the DSO needs to divide its consumer base into different segments so that they can segregate them for the B2b and B2C purposes. Segment Evaluation The market segmentation is necessary for every business. It is a procedure that helps the organization to divide the target business market that is a combination the potential and existing consumers into segments on the basis of similar characteristics. While dividing the target market, the scholars try to find common traits such as common interests, needs, similar lifestyles or similar demographic needs. The primary aim of market segmentation is to recognize the high yield sections which basically are the segments that tend to be the most profitable one to have the potential to develop (Marshall 2014). There are different methods to section the market. The business to business or the B2B suppliers may segment it into diverse types of countries or businesses. However, when it comes to the Business to consumer suppliers may divide the market into lifestyle segments, behavioral segments, demographic segments and other significant segments. The market segments presume that dissimilar ma rket segments require dissimilar marketing plans such as different prices, offers, distribution and promotional strategies or other marketing variables. The segmentation is not only designed for the identification of the beneficial segments but also developing the key segments to understand the requirements of specific segments and their motivations to purchase. The segmentation evaluation is basically used for supporting the development of the market strategy and the planning. This analysis is also seen as the STP approach which stands for Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning for providing the framework of the objectives of the market plan. Therefore, when a market is segmented, the services and the products are placed in a way that syncs with the specified target market. There are several methods for segmenting the market; however the most important one is the selection of the base. In this process the analysts find out the procedure that can reduces the differences between the members of a same segment and increases the difference between different segments. The segmentation base can be different such as demographic, geographic, geo-demographic, psychographics and behavioral. The geographic segmentation segments the market according to the geographic criteria; the demographic depends on the different variables such as socio economic status, age, family size etc, the psychographic segmentation is generally measured by different interests, activities and opinions of the consumers, and behavioral segmentation divides the consumers on the basis of their observed behaviors (James and Rose-Ackerman 2013). The Darwin Symphony Orchestra has reached the target audience throughout each corner of the country. The organization not only performs in its base territory Darwin, it also a travelling history and visited Alice Springs, the Devils Marbles and Simpsons Gap in Central Australia, Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Nhulunbuy on the Gove Peninsula, Pine Creek, Katherine, Yirrkala, Milingimbi and Maningrida, and Kununurra in Western Australia (Dso.org.au. 2017). The audience of the organization is mostly the intellectual section of the society who has a profound taste of music. As the organization performs in both the individual and corporate shows, they have a number of packages that fulfill the requirements of the clients. However most of the clients of the organization are the B2C customers who book tickets or shows directly for the orchestra shows. However the company invites both the corporate and individual chair endowment in their show. Therefore the orchestra invites the supports who can endow a certain position in their show for certain amount of money as the sponsorship. Therefore the orchestra will promote their business throughout the year or the amount of time the contract has been done. The company different such B2B consumers who have booked the individual chair endowment, 250 Club membership, the DSO bequest and gifting opportunities, the payroll contributions done by several companies, and other instrument sponsors. These partnering opportunities are not only individual partnerships but DSO also has corporate partnerships. In their corporate partnerships there are options of getting the principal player chair endowment that are credited to all their concerts and their official website. There are such other programs like educational program supports that can be designed for providing the students to engage them with their favorite musical instruments, The DSO gift Tix that creates the opportunities of partnership between the corporate compan ies and the organizations, the other plans that enhances the chances of corporate partnership opportunities or the B2B customers of the non-profit organizations (Dso.org.au. 2017). The market segmentation of The Darwin Symphony Orchestra can also be understood with a careful analysis of their macro and micro environmental factors. From the following PEST analysis the business environment of the organization can be understood: The political factor always influences any cultural production. There are several political factors that have a huge impact on the organization and business management of the organization while influencing the cultural, arts and the creative industries (Trimarchi 2016). There are general cultural strategies and methods such as the labor law, taxation policy, and other political situation in Australia that are supposed to provide the stability factor for the business environment of the DSO. In this case the political environment is quite stable; therefore it does not have influence the business environment in a negative way. The economical factor is the most significant one to influence the cultural sector. Australia is one of the largest capitalist economies in the world and it is also one of the significant countries with the cultural values. It has also been noticed that the cultural development and the progress of the country has been directly proportioned in the historical development as well. The socio cultural factor has a huge impact on the business environment of the DSO. The socio cultural environment of Australia is quite open-minded and it helps a lot in the development of the organization (Trimarchi 2016). The value the art and culture, therefore the DSO has performed almost all over the country. The technological advancements have enhanced the business of The Darwin Symphony Orchestra as it has made their performance and businesses more exotic. An orchestra performance requires a lot of technical equipments for the sound and light arrangements on the stage, therefore the technological advancements have more positive impacts on their performance (Trimarchi 2016). Business to Consumer Target The orchestra marketing has a different language of it altogether. For the business to consumer market is where the business directly makes transaction with the consumers. For the business to consumer target The Darwin Symphony Orchestra should integrate the orchestra marketing with the consumer marketing in a unified way of the market segments. This is where the marketer of the orchestra should select the target market segments and allocate the resources to the marketing tasks. The orchestra has several segments of consumers, however the most important ones are the first time ticket buyers who are about get the musical experiences for the first time. However there are several other consumers who have subscribed to the organization over the years; the consumers, who have purchased tickets for few selected shows, the ones who have purchased tickets for a single show (Atherton 2014). Therefore the marker of the business to consumer should have different marketing plans for all of the s egments. However, the very first thing that the marketer need is to know its audience. After having a clear understanding about the consumers of the orchestra the marketer should have a clear perspective of the purchasing behavior of the consumers. The organization needs to analyze the buying behaviors before fixing the marketing strategy as the concept of marketing puts significance on creating the marketing mix of the company that will satisfy the consumers, therefore it will be easier to understand what, when, how and where the consumer wants the specific service or the product. In this case The Darwin Symphony Orchestra should plan a more effective marketing plan for the new consumers. In addition to that while creating the marketing plan, it is necessary for the marketer to put him or herself in the shoes of the audience and understand the needs and wants of the audience. If the organization is targeting the new consumers or the first time buyers they should work with the four Ps of the marketing mix and focus more on the benefits of music for the audience, not on the features of their music. Business to Business Target The segmentation of consumers is not a new business practice but the skill and techniques have evolved with the course of time. However the business to business targets do not really face the same rush of the consumer data like the business to consumer segments do. However, the segmenting the consumers into such groups provides the marketer the opportunity to generate an additional value for their target consumers. The business to business consumers for The Darwin Symphony Orchestra are the sponsors and the collaborators who have invested money in the orchestra. This segment should get more importance as the sponsors are the financial providers of the organization. In this scenario, the partnership between both the companies should develop in a steady manner so that it can lead to increase more audiences for the show and more involvement from other partners. The sponsors should also be segmented in different segments (Atherton 2014). The Darwin Symphony Orchestra already has segmente d its sponsors as individual and corporate collaborators, but for more clear understanding the target market should be divided on the basis of money they have invested. In this way, it will be easier for the organization of differentiate and create different marketing strategy for each segment. In this plan the marketers will target the corporate collaborators more; therefore there should be clear segmentation of the target market depending on the marketing mix of the marketplace. There are several global companies which would like to pair with The Darwin Symphony Orchestra for engaging in different communities around Australia. The marketers should develop a strategic plan especially for this segment of the market. Positioning and Customer Behavior In order to have an efficient and effective business, the segmentation targeting positioning or the STP is a necessity. The segmentation of the market is the grouping of the consumers into different segments which have certain common requirements or are expected to respond in a similar way to a marketing action plan. The segmentation can be done in numerous ways. The most considered factors in the segmentation are the demographics, psychographics, behaviors, and the geographic locations. After the segmentation process is done the marketer needs to do the targeting which involves choosing the target. As the market is already segmented in different sections, therefore it is necessary to develop particular strategies for the target market. Lastly, the positioning is significant as it involves the development of the service and the brand image in the consumers (Berkovi 2016). It can also involve the improvement of the perception of the consumers about their previous experience with the b rand. An effective positioning of the market will include a clear understanding of the competing brands. It also requires recognizing the differential advantages which will help in delivering the potential benefits to the target market against all the competition. Conclusion In conclusion it can be said that The Darwin Symphony Orchestra needs a clear understanding of all the segments of the target market prior to make the marketing plan. Once the organization decides on the target market, they can have a clear perspective of the different marketing strategy that they will create for the future. This study has concluded that The Darwin Symphony Orchestra will be concentrating on the first time consumers and the corporate collaborators, therefore the marketing strategy should be developed accordingly. Reference List and Bibliography Atherton, M., 2014.Australian Made, Australian Played: Handcrafted Musical Instruments from the Didjeridu to the Synthesizer. BookBaby. Barone, A., 2016.A New Economic Theory of Public Support for the Arts: Evolution, Veblen and the Predatory Arts. Routledge. 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