Market Segmentation

Posted on: Sat, 28/07/2007 - 09:55
Market Segmentation

Hey. I may go off on a tangent here as I am thinking aloud. but wondering how to segment a market for an internet cafe.

Now I assume (i know assumption is the mother of all f*** ups but.....) that I will have a broad customer base. but I am thinking that I will be targeting mostly families, travellers and students.... can I segment that more do you think???
I think that families will mostly be mums with max of two pre-schoolers and will use the cafe when doing their shopping in town

Travellers who just arrive in the town to catch up on an e-mail and they will have travelled alone

Students who are into gaming so they will be male and typically in between the ages of 18 and 23

is that specific????


Posted on: Fri, 04/04/2008 - 13:11 #1
Concentrate on students

Hi Febes,

You know I thought with the advent on broadband at home the concept of an internet cafe would be dead... but there's a couple of cafes near why I live (West End of Glasgow) who are really flourishing and it had me wondering why ? What's the attraction.

My thoughts are... its the student population. They might have "home broadband" but they're no longer living at "home" ? This is especially the case for first/second-year students who are probably in halls of residence and don't want to go through the hassle of figuring bills with flatmates and being slaves to 12-month contracts when they're only at Uni for 9 months in the year.

So the option for them is either a local branch of the local coffee empire or a funky "run by students" internet cafe.

Building a business on mums at a shopping centre... sounds like too fickle an audience to me.

I think you need to create an environment that people attach some brand loyalty too... otherwise I think its too difficult to compete with Starbucks, Costa, and easyInternet chains.

Studentville seems a good place to start (IMHO).

Regards,
Ijonas.

Posted on: Fri, 04/04/2008 - 18:16 #2
Mums with young kids

If you want to target mums with young kids, you'll need to ensure that there's a free creche (and therefore would need qualified and police-checked supervisors) and possibly offer free drinks/snacks for the kids too.

As a mum of a 7month old, when I'm out and about the last thing I want to do is spend too long in one place. The exception is cafes when my baby is being fed and therefore occupied (and feeding a baby and using a computer does not mix!). I prefer to wait until I get home to use the net, and then I usually wait until my baby is taking a nap or in bed for the night.

Liz