Marketing Environmentt: Demographic Factors

The demography of a region includes population size and composition, as well as key socio-economic attributes such as literacy levels, occupation, gender, family size, age and wide or narrow disparities in a society's distribution of income.(for all age group) (for youngsters-college going)

Demographics are significant because the basis for any market is people. Demographic characteristics are strongly related to consumer buyer behavior in the marketplace and are good predictors of how the target market will respond to a specific marketing mix. 

Theoretically, the larger the total population in a region, the larger the potential market that will exist. In addition, the composition of a population in terms of age and sex will also influence the potential demand for specific products. For example, if a company wishes to market disposable nappies abroad, the number of women in a particular target market who are of child-bearing age is an important influence on the potential demand for that product.

(for mommies)

In effect, demographic factors such as literacy levels serve to stratify the total population into two different segments - those people who are likely to be potential consumers and those who are not.

for kids

for older generation

for ladies

for low income group

for executive class

for religious people

 (for family)

                                      

An overall increase in population size is therefore relevant to potential demand. Stratification of the overall market by demographic characteristics also helps to identify significant changes in potential marketing opportunities. For example, the ageing of the post-War 'baby-boomers' is creating a growing worldwide market for products and services geared to affluent and middle-income families.

Changes in the size and age structure of the population are critical to many firms’ marketing.

Consider the following changes in the structure of the Indian population and their effects on marketers.

• There has been a trend for women to have fewer children. There has also been a tendency for women to have children later in life. In addition, there has been an increase in the number of women having no children. Fewer children has resulted in parents spending more per child (more designer clothes for children rather than budget clothes) and has allowed women to stay at work longer (increasing household incomes and encouraging the purchase of labour-saving products).
• Alongside a declining number of children has been a decline in the average house- hold size . There has been a particular fall in the number of large households with five or more people  and a significant in- crease in the number of one-person households .

The growth in small or one-person households has had numerous marketing implications, ranging from an increased demand for smaller units of housing to the types and size of groceries purchased. A single person buying for him or herself is likely to use different types of retail outlets compared with the household buying as a unit.

Another important microenvironment factor is the publics (government, consumer associations, financial or media publics). All of them can have an affect (positive or negative) on company's reputation and marketing.