Strategic Target Audience

Strategic Target Audience

Understanding the target audience of a business is vital to achieving success. Further, determining and evaluating a strategic target audience can give organizations a valuable competitive advantage. Acquiring customers can be a challenge for any business and when marketing to multiple demographics it can become even more difficult (Lister, 2017). Differing target audiences respond and react to different things (Lister, 2017). Millennials and baby boomers, for example, will both react and respond differently to social media advertisements that reach them (Lister, 2017). Baby boomers may value hard work and brand loyalty while millennials value speed and the latest technological advances (Lister, 2017). Considering the importance of developing an understanding of the target audience, this section of the marketing plan will identify the proposed primary and secondary target audience for J.C. Penney.

Proposed Primary Target Audience

Using generational segmentation, the proposed primary target audience for J.C. Penney is millennials. Currently, J.C. Penney focuses a lot of its marketing efforts on generation x; even more specifically, women that are mothers and apart of generation x. United States households that are middle income are primarily served by J.C. Penney, at the present (Thongkham, 2015). Middle income mothers that provide and care for their families are the main target audience for J.C. Penney’s current affordable apparel (Thongkham, 2015). It is suggested in this marketing plan, to increase sales and more, that J.C. Penney change their current primary target audience from middle income, generation x mothers to millennials. J.C. Penney would not remove generation x mothers as a target audience completely but would focus on them as a secondary target audience and make millennials the primary target audience.

Millennials

Slowly out-numbering the baby boomer generation and taking over the workforce is the millennial generation that was born between 1981 and 1999 (Lister, 2017). As baby boomers are reaching the end of their lives, the millennial generation is becoming closer and closer to being the largest generation. Having more people to market to for organizations can mean more leads and then translate into more sales and opportunity. According to the Huffington Post, the most influential and largest group in terms of employment and consuming is millennials; representing just under two and a half trillion dollars in spending power, $2.45 trillion (Mak, 2016). As a result of entering the workforce as the economy crashed, millennials are the generation with the most entrepreneurs (Lister, 2017). Working toward creating a brand aimed directly at millennials may appeal to the entrepreneur within them and give J.C. Penney some competitive edge. Millennials are said to value economics less than social issues (Lister, 2017).

While tending to spend large amounts when actually shopping, millennials are also the least frequent in-store shoppers (Lister, 2017). Shopping ease, personal recommendations, and online shopping opportunities are what the millennial generation is most responsive to (Lister, 2017). Learning what millennials are most responsive to helps explain the need for J.C. Penney to focus more efforts on their online presence, especially their website and social media pages. Traditional marketing tactics are still not working with millennials and they are remaining unresponsive (Lister, 2017). Facebook may influence where millennials find their hair stylist, Instagram pictures could influence where the generation chooses to eat, and millennials are increasingly having groceries delivered to their home (Lister, 2017). It will be essential for J.C. Penney to have a strong social media presence and market through these channels to the millennial target audience. J.C. Penney campaigns ran through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. will appeal to the generation and encourage engagement.

One major concern with online clothing purchases is not being able to try something on before purchasing and the potential difficulty of return; this will make it important for J.C. Penney to ensure their return policy is flexible and easy for online customers. Ensuring these factors can give J.C. Penney a much better chance of reaching and maintaining the millennial target audience. To reach millennials J.C. Penney needs to focus on innovation with a new brand line, connect through social media incentives and promotions, use loyalty programs and rewards, have a strong review board in place, and consider podcast advertisements or even channels (Lister, 2017). In addition to the proposed primary target audience, J.C. Penney needs to consider a proposed secondary target audience.

Proposed Secondary Target Audience

Generation X

Born between 1965 and 1980, generation x is the smallest generation and now reaching the peak of their career while trying to juggle homeownership and child care (Lister, 2017). Pessimistic about having enough money to retire, this generation remembers the rise of video and fall of radio (Lister, 2017). J.C. Penney has been relatively successful in reaching the proposed secondary target audience with their low prices and varied offerings. That said, generation x is quite active on social media and close to millennials in using and understanding technology (Lister, 2017). Strengthening J.C. Penney’s social media presence will significantly enhance the company’s ability to reach and sustain this customer base. Generation x has fully embraced online shopping but also still enjoys trips in-store (Lister, 2017). Therefore, J.C. Penney physical stores will not fully demise but may significantly decrease in number over the years. To reach generation x, J.C. Penney should consider lifestyle nurture programs and vacation opportunity promotions (Lister, 2017). Perhaps offering a vacation reward for the highest amount of referrals reported for the new Ivy Park clothing line would increase awareness and revenue. Additionally, J.C. Penney needs to continue to reach generation x consumers through direct mail and coupons (Lister, 2017). In addition to generation x and millennials, J.C. Penney should consider more refined target audiences like healthy lifestyle and fitness advocates.

Healthy Lifestyle and Fitness

Millennials and generation x are increasingly becoming fitness and healthy lifestyle minded. An increase of spending in one category, wellness, is exhibited by the often conservative spending millennial (Cohan, 2015). Millennials are likely to link exercise and eating right with the definition of healthy unlike some older generations who may view it as more just not being ill (Cohan, 2015). Using creative group fitness formats, a drive for professionalism and education, and dozens of specialized offshoots in the growing world of personal training generation x has enthusiastically shaped the fitness industry (Vogel, 2011). Less time-consuming, simpler fitness formats is what generation x instructors seek based on today’s trends (Vogel, 2017).  Clients of generation x, like millennials, appear to have a preference for that same freedom of choice (Vogel, 2017). Introducing the Ivy Park line will appeal to generation x and millennial target audiences.

References:

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