Once the market segments have been defined, it is imperative that the event organiser selects one or more of these segments to enter, consolidate and grow.
To do this, evaluation of each segment as to its attractiveness is essential. It is also necessary that event organisers work on the targeting problem based on their objectives and resources.
Attractiveness of a segment can be measured indirectly for monetary benefits and influence in terms of the potential reach and scope for interaction that the segment provides.
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As discussed earlier, the greater the reach and interaction, the greater the attractiveness for clients and thus, larger the size, growth, profitability, scale economies and so on of the segment for the event organisers.
Such segments consequently also ensure lower risks for the event organisers. The targeting decision is also contingent upon other considerations such as ease with which members of the segment can be won over.
Dissatisfied clients of other event organisers should be high on the priority list. The clients’ business worth in terms of event-spend in the event category that the organiser is interested in, loyalty and ability to influence other clients is also an important part of the decision making for targeting clients.
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Next, the event organisers should take stock of their objectives and resources and consider whether investing in the segment is in synergy with these.
That is, the event organizers’ interests, skills and long-term objectives, which decide the event categories that it, will serve, should be in tune with the requirements of the segment.
If the event organiser lacks one or more necessary competencies and is in no position to acquire them, the segment will obviously and automatically get scratched from the alternatives available.
A major aid in targeting a segment though is the existence of or ability to develop some superior advantages for a particular segment that other event organisers cannot acquire in the short term. Such segments where the event organiser can provide superior value to the client are the most attractive ones.
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In the simplest case, an event organiser can choose to select and operate in a single segment. This carries higher than normal risk and at the same time the opportunity to gain a strong knowledge of the segment’s needs. This can enable the event organiser to achieve a strong position in the segment.
The risk is high since if the segment attractiveness goes down then the event organiser is left without any succor or relief. There is also the chance that competition may enter the segment in a major way affecting the attractiveness again.
Thus, most event organisers prefer to be present in more than one segment. These segments, each attractive and in tune with the event organizers’ interests, may or may not have any synergy amongst them, though each segment should definitely be a monetary minefield.
This leads to spreading the risks such that if one segment becomes monetarily unattractive, the other segments prop up the event organiser and keep the cash register ringing. Another way of targeting involves event specialisation.
The event organiser aims at creating a particular concept within an event category for catering to several segments. For example, an event organiser focusing only on music concerts and who does not bother about the other avenues for artistic expression would have various clients specifically interested in the event category.
The event specialisation strategy carries with it the risk of losing clients to another event variation within the event category. In the market specialisation strategy, the event organiser can aim at fulfilling the multiple requirements of a particular customer group.
This is a targeting strategy in which the event organiser offers a selected list of particular clients a variety of services that may be from different event categories. Through this, the event organiser creates a strong reputation for specializing in events for particular client industries.
In terms of risks, a major risk here is that fluctuations in the clients’ financial health may affect the event organisers directly.
On the upside, though, an upward swing in the clients’ fortunes may actually lead to a boom time for the event organisers. By attempting to serve the entire market, an event organiser shows the first signs of growing in size and stature.
Event organisers can serve the entire market by either ignoring the market segment differences or by acknowledging the differences and designing events for each segment.
The corporate, which are the clients for event organisers, on their part, are unabashed about their objectives. For example when it comes to college festivals- ambitious, brand-conscious students fit right into their target markets-be it for a toothpaste, website, paint or soap-and the festivals offer both easy and direct access to this audience.
Even a Ford car dealer thinks that such congregation of college students of a particular age group makes a good event to sponsor.
As the Managing Director of Ford Point Automotive, Sandeep Bafna says, “Right now, students may not have the purchasing power. But the long- term investment will bear fruit once they do”. Event organisers should take this factor into account when targeting clients.