Share this post:
If you’re marketing a product in Vancouver, you’d better pay attention to your target market. We Vancouverites are a quirky bunch, and you can’t afford to miss out on any details in your go-to-market plan. When you’re trying to figure out how to position your product, you have to pay attention to the 5 target market characteristics: demographic, geographic, psychographic, behavioural, and product-related.
What’s a Vancouverite?
Noun. [van-koo-ver-rahyt]. A person(s) who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. Used in a sentence: “I want to sell my products to Vancouverites, but I don’t know how to define them.”
We live in a beautiful and vibrant city. We have delicious food, awe-inspiring views and a huge number of events to attend. Yet, we systematically complain about the same things. The high cost of living. The weather. Transportation. Recent hockey game results. Bike lanes. These are but some of the topics that you can start a conversation with nearly any stranger on the skytrain.
If you’re trying to sell to consumers in Vancouver, here’s a quick overview of some of the key points you’ll have to consider:
Vancouver Demographics
Demographics are quantifiable qualities of a given population. When crafting your marketing plan, you should keep these demographic attributes in mind: gender, age, income, occupation, education, household size, stage in family cycle. Although your focus on these attributes may differ depending on your product, here are some quick thoughts about Vancouver:
According to the 2011 census, Metro Vancouver is home to over 2.3 million people. We have a population density of 5,249 people per square kilometer. In plain english? We’re a busy bunch!
We are the most Asian city outside of Asia, according to a study completed last year. 43% of Metro Vancouver residents have an Asian heritage. While we’re nowhere near as dense as Hong Kong, we are actually quite comparable in many ways. Keep culture in mind if you’re launching a product. What are some cultural values that you might want to consider, and are there any opportunities in segmenting your market further?
What does Vancouver’s Geographic dimension imply?
The geographic dimension implies the attributes surrounding a location. This is important to note when you’re launching an international product. We live in a rainy place, yet the weather is never too cold. This means that if you’re selling clothing, you might want to switch your focus from selling snow coats to selling rain coats in Vancouver. Due to our unique access to mountains and beaches, holiday products can range from skis and snow gear through bikinis and wetsuits.
The issue with geographic dimensions is that they don’t really tell us much; what we need to know are psychographics.
What are some “Vancouverite” Psychographics?
A “psychographic” is a market that has similar values, attitudes, or lifestyle. This is the heavy hitter, the dimension that usually impacts how you market your product the most. Although there are tons of psychographic segments in Vancouver, here are some that stand out most:
Health-Centric Diet
Vancouverites are healthy, at least more so than surrounding cities. In a national census for obesity in North America, BC does consistently well on keeping obesity scores low. Reflective of that, we see many health trends in BC and Vancouver specifically.
Are you preparing and marketing food products? Try healthy food ingredients like Kale or berries. Experiment to see if your customers would respond well to new flavours. Is there any benefit in listing our your ingredients? If not, should you consider an alternate catch phrase to segment the health-lovers of Vancouver? These are all viable options.
Want to target a more premium segment of consumers? Try using the keyword “Organic” or “Non-GMO (genetically-modified organism)”. These products are usually more expensive to reflect higher-quality ingredients. If you are so inclined as to join this segmented market, make sure to emphasize your attention to health and environmental impact! This can be done in a short statement, an image, or even a campaign.
And the latest craze? “Gluten-free.”
Although most people don’t know what gluten is, the majority of people feel that “gluten-free” is healthier. Thanks to this trend, we see gluten-free pastries and products popping up all over the market. In Jimmy Kimmel’s infamous video on gluten, we see that not many people actually know what it is (but care about it regardless).
Active Lifestyle
Yoga is a huge craze in Vancouver, but that is only reflective of the overall push for health. Gyms, sports and community events have also thrived due to our active lifestyle. To target this segment, your will be marketing to activewear users, or consumers that would find a use for your product on a regular basis. Even if you’re selling a product that seems unrelated (e.g. umbrellas), think about how an active consumer would use your product. In this case, why not include a clip for your umbrella to easily strap on to a gym bag? Or a magnet so that it sticks to gym lockers? There are always interesting ideas that come out of thinking of your target market first.
Lastly, when it comes to actually promoting your product, try hosting an event or maintaining presence at sporting events through event booths.. Tournaments and sporting events happen on a regular basis, so listen to your customer to figure out where they go to spend their time. Then, be there.
What else do I need to know?
Two elements of the target market characteristic that I haven’t mentioned are “behavioural” and “product-related” dimensions.
Behavioural attributes focus on occasions and degrees of loyalty. This is related to the customer acquisition funnel, which differs between business strategies. Do you gain your bust customers from Facebook? Or your own website? Through advertisements? Or word-of-mouth? Figuring out where your customers come from will help you understand what to offer to make sure they come again and again.
Your product-related dimensions are unique to your industry. Do you sell keychains? The core prerequisite to a sale implies that your customer uses something (a phone, a bag) that can hang a keychain. You may want to focus your marketing strategy around cross-promotion or usage discounts based on your complementary product.
Behavioural and product-related dimensions are often unique to a product, and the way you approach your plan often depends on your consumer psychographics. There are a huge number of attributes to consider when developing a marketing plan! This is why we offer full-service marketing here at Cucumber Marketing. We tailor our solution based on your product, brand, and target market.
Give us a call or visit us in person to discuss more about marketing! Our cozy office is located in downtown Vancouver, and we’d love to see how we can help you grow your business.