In marketing activities, it is often the case that consumers with the same demographic factors have completely different preferences and attitudes towards the same product. This is mainly due to the influence of psychological factors. The psychological factors of market segmentation are very complex and extensive, involving a series of psychological activities and psychological characteristics of consumers, mainly including the following aspects.
(1) Lifestyle
Lifestyle refers to the specific habits of individuals or groups in consumption, work and entertainment. Different lifestyles often produce different consumer needs and purchasing behaviors. Even for the same product, there will be different demands in terms of quality, appearance, style and specifications. Nowadays, many consumers buy products not only to meet their material needs, but more importantly to show their lifestyle and meet their psychological needs, such as showing identity, status, and pursuing fashion. Therefore, in recent years, Western companies have attached great importance to the impact of lifestyle on corporate market operations, especially companies that produce and operate cosmetics, clothing, furniture, and alcoholic products. Some companies also regard consumer groups that pursue a certain lifestyle as their target market and produce products specifically for these consumers. For example, some clothing companies in the United States divide women into three types: “simple type”, “fashionable type” and “masculine type”, and design and produce clothing of different styles and colors for them.
Lifestyle is a concept with rich connotations. It is closely related to factors such as consumers’ income, cultural literacy, social status, values, and occupation. Therefore, using lifestyle as a variable to segment the market is a very interesting and arduous task. However, lifestyle segmentation is not unpredictable. For example, McCann Erickson once described the lifestyle of the British as follows: pioneers in the art world (like change), arrogant (traditional, very British), chameleons (follow the crowd) and sleepwalkers (satisfied with unrealized potential).
(2) Social class
Due to the different social environments and growth backgrounds of different social classes, they have different interests and preferences, different consumption characteristics, and different demands for products or services. Philip Kotler, a famous American marketing guru, divides American society into seven classes.
①Upper class: socialites who inherit large fortunes and have famous family backgrounds.
②Upper and lower classes: people who have extraordinary vitality in their professions or businesses and have obtained higher incomes or wealth.
③ Upper-middle class: people who are extremely concerned about their “career prospects” and have obtained jobs such as professionals, independent entrepreneurs and company managers.
④ Middle class: white-collar and blue-collar workers with medium income.
⑤ Working class: blue-collar workers with medium income and those who live a “working class life”. ⑥ Lower-middle class: people with low wages, living standards just below the poverty line, pursuing wealth but without skills. ⑦ Lower-lower class: people who are poor, often unemployed, and rely on public or charity organizations for a long time.
People in different social classes have great differences in their needs for cars, clothing, furniture, entertainment, and reading.
(3) Personality
Personality refers to the unique psychological characteristics of an individual, which enables the individual to maintain a relatively consistent and lasting response to his or her environment. Everyone has a unique personality that affects his or her purchasing behavior. On the premise that different personalities are distinguished and there is a strong correlation between specific personalities and product or brand choices, personality can become a psychological variable for market segmentation. For example, some watch and eyewear companies divide the market into traditional consumer groups, trendy consumer groups, frugal consumer groups, lively consumer groups, etc. When consumers choose a brand, they will rationally consider the practical functions of the product and emotionally evaluate the personality of the brand. Therefore, many companies will give personality to the brand to cater to the personality of the consumer. For example, in the late 1950s, Ford and Chevrolet emphasized the differences in their personalities in promotion.
(4) Preference
Preference refers to the preference of consumers in a certain aspect, for example, some like to smoke, some like to drink, some like spicy food, and some like sweet food.
In the market, consumers have different preferences for different brands. Some consumers have special preferences, some consumers have moderate preferences, and some consumers have no preferences. Therefore, in order to maintain and expand operations, companies must understand the various preferences of consumers and grasp their demand characteristics so as to meet their needs in terms of products and services.