The Camping Tent Case Study

Acadia Park Equipment Co deals with a wide range of products all over the world. The company prides itself on selling high quality outdoor products. One of the products it deals with is a two-person camping tent that is used to offer protection of the campers from multiple hazards. The Camping tents can be easily folded and later on carried or packed into smaller packages. As a result, this makes it relatively easier to move them from one place to another. The sales of camping tents have been low. The manager attributes the low sales of the two-person camping tents to the lack of appropriate distribution channels to the various customer segments. This paper presents a customer segment analysis of the two-person camping tents.

Customer Segments

18-24 years old

The 18-24 years old customer segment accounts for circa 20% of the population. Individuals in this customer segment tend to have special outlooks, interests and attitudes. They prefer the items that are in fashion and are colourful (Kerin and Hartley 24). This is mainly because persons in this customer segment care much about how they look. Therefore, this customer segment will likely demand colourful, decorated and ‘trending’ high quality outdoor camping products (Cvelic and Milohnic 9). ‘Trending’ in this context, refers to a product that is used by a majority of individuals in this customer segment or has been endorsed by a key celebrity or public figure (Kerin and Hartley 30).

Additionally, since most of the individuals in the 18-24 years customer segment depend on their parents, they may not be able to afford high quality outdoor products such as camping tents. It is imperative to note that most of the persons in this segment are school going. The few who work predominantly work on a part time basis. As a result, they tend to have comparatively lower income levels.

As the generation Z, individuals in this customer segment interact predominantly with digital media. They spend most of their time on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram among others (Kerin and Hartley 37). Arguably, two out of every four individuals in this age group use one of the popular social media platforms (Kerin and Hartley 37). Their interactions are also largely online. The interactions of this customer segment with the traditional media tend to be limited. Most of them often claim that the traditional media gives them limited options. They access their music and video from online streaming platforms.

Individuals in this customer segment will likely use the high quality outdoor camping tents to go out for camping. Most of the individuals tend to have most camping expeditions since camping is relatively cheaper compared to hotel accommodation (Cvelic and Milohnic 11). Individuals in this customer segment are equally energetic and adventurous. Persons in this customer segment are more likely to purchase the high quality outdoor camping tents in an evening before a camping trip. Because of their highly energetic and adventurous nature, individuals in this age group are not detailed planners. Therefore they tend to make last minute decisions and this partly explains why they are more likely to purchase the high quality outdoor camping products an evening before a camping trip.

25-34 years old Customer Segment

Persons in this customer segment constitute the young adult market. They account for about 28 per cent of the population (Kotler et al.,14). This customer segment is particularly important because of its comparatively larger size and purchasing power. Most individuals in this customer segment usually have already established homes, got married and got their key career positions. They have a wide range of needs. They equally have the money to spend on their needs. They prefer comfort. Individuals in this age group do not care about how they appear; their main concern is to obtain value for their money. In this regard, they will tend to prospect for high quality outdoor products that will last longer and are of superior quality.

Individuals in this customer segment interact equally with both the digital and traditional media. They are at a phase where they both value the convenience of the digital media and the ‘seriousness’ of the traditional media. Essentially, this means there are some specific products that they will look for in the digital media and others that they will look for in the traditional media (Kotler et al.,31). In most cases, they will look for high value products in the traditional media and the low-value products in the digital media.

Persons inthis customer segment will likely buy the high quality outdoor camping products to gift either their children or younger relatives. They have already passed the teenage phase, and thus the thought of camping is not much exciting to them. Besides, they prefer long and faraway trips. They are also careful and detailed planners and thus would not buy the camping products as last minute thought (Kotler et al.,44). Principally, this means that this customer segment has no need whatsoever for the camping products and they will only buy them if they want to gift others.

Individuals in this customer segment are more likely to purchase the high quality camping products on the weekend as a gift to their children (Cvelic and Milohnic 9). Customers in this segment tend to go shopping on weekends with their families, as this is the only time that most of them are free. Therefore, they are likely to buy the camping tents during this time upon the request of their children.

35 years old and above Customer Segment

Individuals in this segment earn their highest income since they have reached the peak of their careers. It is imperative to note that this customer segment also includes the baby boomer generations (Kotler et al.,67). Persons in this segment are the largest purchasers of consumer products and services. Because of their relatively high earning power compared to the other customer segments, they often receive increased attention from the marketers of the high priced commodities. They tend to prefer luxury to comfort. In this regard, they may not find the high quality outdoor products attractive, since they are often associated with ‘austerity’ measures (Research and Markets Ltd).

Most people in this customer segment marginally use digital media. This can be attributed to the fact that people in this customer segment prefer privacy, which in most cases, is lacking in digital media. They heavily use traditional media because they were brought up with it and thus have some form of attachment to it.

Individuals in this customer segment will likely buy the camping tents during the weekend as a gift to their relatives. They have already done camping previously, and thus they do not find it exciting. They prefer trips, which offer them the most serenity and tranquillity (Research and Markets Ltd).

Distribution Channel Recommendation

18-24 year olds

This customer segment is in a better position to get the camping tent through the references made to them through friends. It is at this stage that most of the things are being done out of peer pressure, and they go with a group mentality. They can also slightly use the concept of social media such as Facebook to get camping tents (Chang et al. 875). The recommended channel for reaching these customers is through the internet. These customers are so much into the internet that whenever such a product gets advertised on the platforms, they would quickly react to them than when they are brought to them by the retailers or wholesalers direct.

25-34 year olds

This customer segment is in a position to get camping tents through direct purchases from the producers and manufacturers. They have all that time and resources to move from one point to the other in search of the best quality product that they need. The recommended distribution channels for this customer segment are distributors, wholesalers, and the internet. It is because this segment is so active and vibrant and would be able to move quickly from one point to the other (Chang et al. 875). They are in a position to own locomotives that would efficiently distribute these products to their locations. The

35 years old and above

The third segment can get camping tents from friends around them. They are always open to any idea of a product provided they reach the end goal no matter the quality. The recommended distribution channel for this segment is referrals from friends. A good number of clients in this segment have very little energy to move to the respective locations of the product

To sum it up, the paper has shown that customer segmentation is one of the methods that can be used in the marketing of the Acadia Co camping tents. The types of customers for the camping tents are categorized in to three main segments, which are between the ages of 18 to 24, ages between 25 and 34 years, and those aged 35 years and above. If Aacadia Co is to come up with an effective marketing strategy for the camping tent, there is a need for the product type of channel distribution; there is also a need to look at the most effective means of communication to be used. Some of the distribution channels to be used include retailers, producers and wholesalers among others. Also, some communication channels applied include the internet, the direct mails and face to face. For the first customer segment, the success of the channel will be measured through the percentage of successful converts. For the second and third customer segments, the success of the channels will be measured through the number of sales made.

Works Cited

Chang, Chun-wei, Jonathan Z. Zhang, and Scott Neslin. “The Dynamic Impact of Buying’Fit Products’ on Customer Learning and Profitability in Multichannel Settings.” Tuck School of Business Working Paper 2759679 (2016).

Cvelić Bonifačić, Josipa, and Ines Milohnić. “Management of competitiveness in camping: trends in internet use.” Informatologia 46.1 (2013): 8-16.

Kerin, Roger, and Steven Hartley. Marketing: the core. McGraw-Hill, 2015.

Kotler, Philip, et al. Marketing. Pearson Higher Education AU, 2015.

Research and Markets ltd. “Camping Equipment Market – Segmented by Product Type (Camping Furniture, Camping Backpacks and Accessories), Distribution Channel (Offline and Online Retail Stores), End-User and Geography – Growth, Trends and Forecasts (2018 – 2023).” Research and Markets – Market Research Reports – Welcome, https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/894mnf/worldwide_camping?w=12.