Marketing research, the process that links the product to the consumer through information, is used to outline marketing opportunities and problems while helping companies and professional sports teams understand the wants and needs of the customers. Understanding the wants and needs of the customers is necessary to effectively market sport and sports products. While marketing research helps define the wants of the customer, market segmentation involves taking a broad target market and breaking it up into smaller subsets based off of demographics, interests, hobbies, and lifestyle. For a sport marketer, knowing the wants of the customer as well as knowing the market segmentation which they are marketing to is key to be successful. Marketing
…show more content…
al 2013). Sport marketing can be broken into two different segments, marketing through and marketing of sports. It is important that marketers know which of these they are marketing to in order to better focus their marketing plan to the customers they want to attract (Eden, et. al 2013). Relationship marketing, which started in the 1990 's, has become a pivotal key in sport marketing. Along with relationship marketing, the growth of social media has changed how sports teams conduct marketing research "The potential benefits social media offers to sport organizations to meet their relationship marketing goals is significant” (Witkemper, et. al 2012). Sport teams and products now use websites such as twitter and Facebook to not only reach their customers with their product but also obtain key demographic and lifestyle information about their fans and users (Witkemper, et. al 2012). Social media allows sport organizations to focus on both communication and interaction with their fans. Facebook even allows users to market to users of a specific market segment, allowing organizations to be more effective with their marketing practices. However, if a sport marketer does not know the wants and needs of their customers and the market segment …show more content…
To boost the effectiveness of a marketing plan, it is important that sport marketers know not only who they are marketing to, but which segment will be the most effective to market to. If an NBA team is promoting the luxury suites, it would not make sense for that team to market to families. On the flip side, marketing a family four pack to corporations would not result in many sales. This is why it is important for sport companies to use market segmentation as it helps marketers make specific marketing plans which are more effective. Sport marketers must be able to develop effective and meaningful market segmentations (Rohm, et. al 2006). Marketing segmentations can be broken up into a multitude of different groups, from geographic and demographic information, to a consumer 's lifestyle and psychographic information (Rohm, et. al 2006). These segmentations can include a large population of people or can be broken down even further into smaller target audiences for marketers to direct their marketing plans at. Without market segmentation, marketers would be shooting in the dark as to how to market to the average consumer. With market segmentation now, sport marketers are able to create custom, tailor-made marketing plans for all the target markets they wish to
al 2013). Sport marketing can be broken into two different segments, marketing through and marketing of sports. It is important that marketers know which of these they are marketing to in order to better focus their marketing plan to the customers they want to attract (Eden, et. al 2013). Relationship marketing, which started in the 1990 's, has become a pivotal key in sport marketing. Along with relationship marketing, the growth of social media has changed how sports teams conduct marketing research "The potential benefits social media offers to sport organizations to meet their relationship marketing goals is significant” (Witkemper, et. al 2012). Sport teams and products now use websites such as twitter and Facebook to not only reach their customers with their product but also obtain key demographic and lifestyle information about their fans and users (Witkemper, et. al 2012). Social media allows sport organizations to focus on both communication and interaction with their fans. Facebook even allows users to market to users of a specific market segment, allowing organizations to be more effective with their marketing practices. However, if a sport marketer does not know the wants and needs of their customers and the market segment …show more content…
To boost the effectiveness of a marketing plan, it is important that sport marketers know not only who they are marketing to, but which segment will be the most effective to market to. If an NBA team is promoting the luxury suites, it would not make sense for that team to market to families. On the flip side, marketing a family four pack to corporations would not result in many sales. This is why it is important for sport companies to use market segmentation as it helps marketers make specific marketing plans which are more effective. Sport marketers must be able to develop effective and meaningful market segmentations (Rohm, et. al 2006). Marketing segmentations can be broken up into a multitude of different groups, from geographic and demographic information, to a consumer 's lifestyle and psychographic information (Rohm, et. al 2006). These segmentations can include a large population of people or can be broken down even further into smaller target audiences for marketers to direct their marketing plans at. Without market segmentation, marketers would be shooting in the dark as to how to market to the average consumer. With market segmentation now, sport marketers are able to create custom, tailor-made marketing plans for all the target markets they wish to