Chapter Reference

Chapter 6: Market Segmentation and Positioning

Overview

This activity will introduce you to the use of database systems built to warehouse geodemographic data and information and their effective use in market segment profiling.

Activity Description

Geodemographics is a natural outcome when combining demographic and geographic variables. The “marriage” of geographies and demographics has become an indispensable tool for market analysis. Fusing census data with demographic information, especially socio-economic data, can lead to a rich mixture of ‘who lives where’ and ‘what they are like’. Consumers can be classified by where they live, which is often dependent on their stage in life and their lifestyle. One of the best known UK commercial systems is ACORN.

A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods (ACORN), developed by CACI is a geo-demographic postcode classification tool used to help businesses get information about, and understand their consumers. ACORN classifies 1.9 million UK postcodes and generates 287 different lifestyle variables that a business can use to profile its customers. It classifies the entire UK population into 5 categories, 17 Groups and 56 Types.

Visit either of the following websites and type in your postcode:

ACORN - http://acorn.caci.co.uk/ (registration required)

Zoopla - http://www.zoopla.co.uk/ (no registration required)

○    Summarize the profile of the people in your area.

○    Identify three types of businesses that might be interested in knowing about the information you have found.

○    Explain how this information could be used to help the business be more effective at targeting its customers.