Picture this: A group of teenagers in the mall on a Friday. They’re running around with their friends and have ten dollars from their parents to spend on dinner. They all go into Panera Bread and decide to order the 5$ mac and cheese, a cookie, and the good old “water cup”. At the table next to them, you see a thirty year old business woman on her computer. The woman is typing up papers for work while drinking iced tea and eating a sandwich and a soup. She stays for five hours continuously purchasing more food, watching groups of teenagers come in and out. Now how could these groups be in the same place?
Segmenting Your Audience
The company I am choosing to focus on is Panera Bread. Using the STP model I would look at my buyers’ demographics and their lifestyle traits. Using this model, I can recognize the products and benefits that I can provide to each specific audience. We will specifically look at the two groups I segmented in the first paragraph and analyze their features.
The first group is a middle aged working population with stable incomes. They care about the environment that they are eating in. These people spend hours in coffee shop types of places. They are loyal customers when they enjoy their experience and money is not a large concern as long as there is quality. The second group is made up of adolescents and young adults. These people do not have much leisure income and they look to spend minimal amounts. Convenience is a priority and low-cost. The food also needs to be good, but it doesn’t matter if it is organic or especially healthy.
Setting the Tone
The communication tone changes for each group. The first group will be presented with facts about our food quality/production processes, the environment and its features like wifi, and new food options that is on the higher cost end of our menu. They may be interested in new specials and having membership cards. However, our second group would be interested in coupons for meal combos, like a free cookie with a purchase. Promotional weeks where meals are not as expensive or about our items on the lower end of our list. They will likely stick to ordering the same items each time. Overall, the tone is very important to bringing our customers into our store.