The South African spa market is booming and strong growth rates have been recorded for both revenue and visits between 2002 and 2008. As a result of these growth rates, competition among spas is increasing; spa managers and spa marketers therefore have to ensure that their businesses have marketing plans that have sufficiently detailed consumer information in order to allow these businesses to remain competitive in the growing spa industry. Satisfied consumers are probably one of the most important aspects to consider when planning strategies aimed at achieving a competitive advantage in an industry. When consumers are satisfied, they will return and also recommend services to friends and family. In order to ensure consumer satisfaction in the spa industry, spa managers and their marketers should ensure they have sufficient knowledge regarding the descriptive characteristics of their consumers in terms of their demographic and geographic backgrounds, as well as their specific needs regarding spas and spa visits. The method used by businesses to collect the sufficient information regarding their consumers is known as market segmentation. The study followed a descriptive research design, which was supported by a quantitative method of collecting data. The data collection instrument used was a structured self-administered questionnaire. For the purpose of selecting respondents a non-probability sampling procedure was followed and 98 respondents participated in the study. The main aim of this study was to obtain the information necessary for developing personas as basis for market segmentation in Pretoria spas. Quantitative information was therefore collected, which was used to compile the following profile of a typical study population respondent: * The typical study population respondent can be described as a White Generation Y female who is either single or married/living together without any children. She speaks Afrikaans or English and is a full-time employed professional living with between 1 and three family members. She leads a healthy lifestyle, has a high living standard and is willing to travel up to 30km to a spa. Her actual spa visits are less than twice a year, twice a year or once every three months. However, she would like to visit a spa more frequently, such as monthly or weekly. The reason she cannot visit more often is because spa visits are expensive and she does not have time to visit more often. Her major reasons for visiting a spa are to relief/reduce stress, to feel better about herself, for overall wellness or for special occasions such as birthdays, holidays or when she receives a gift card. When visiting a spa she would prefer to go alone, with one or two good friends or with her husband/life partner. Her perception of spa visits is positive for the relieving of stress and the soothing of sore joints and muscles. The buying behaviour of the typical study population respondent will be affected by aspects such as recession or financial difficulty, the reference of a good friend, the recommendation of a family member and friend, information on a website, the professionalism and friendliness of the spa therapists and the types of services a spa offer. The recommendations that can be made to marketers regarding the results of this study are the following: * Spa managers and marketers can use the profile as starting point for the qualitative research that has to follow the quantitative research when developing personas. * The current profile may be used to for developing marketing strategies until personas have been developed. * The collected data may be used to compile profiles to be used as input for further research on other potential markets such as male spa users. / Thesis (M.Com. (Marketing Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Sport tourism, as a segment of tourism, is one of the fastest growing industries. Sport events have grown enormously over the last two decades and, as a part of sport tourism, they are a very powerful tool that is used to market a country. Sport tourism also creates an internationally recognised image and attracts tourists from all over the world. One of the internationally recognised sport events held annually in Cape Town is the Pick In Pay Cape Argus Cycle Tour (ACT). Originally started in 1977, it has grown to attract 32 000 cyclists by 2008. However, as with any event, the ACT's life cycle reached a climax and is currently on a downward slope, in terms of participation figures. This decline was the motivation for starting this study. As such, it was determined that the goal of this study would be to profile the participants in the ACT as this information could provide some of the reasons for the decline in numbers. In order for the researcher to successfully profile the participants, three objectives were formulated. Firstly, the reasons why cyclists participated in the ACT, in other words their travel motives, were examined. Secondly, it was determined which variables had a significant influence on cyclists' spending behaviour while visiting Cape Town. Finally, conclusions and recommendations were presented, and a profile of the participants was compiled. The research was done by means of using a questionnaire with three sections. The first section sought demographic information while section B measured the spending behaviour of the respondents. The last section established what motivated the cyclist to participate in the ACT. The survey took place from 5 - 8 March 2008 during the registration period at the Good Hope Centre of the city of Cape Town. A total of 583 completed questionnaires were received by the fieldworkers. The data analyses were then performed by firstly capturing the data into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The statistical program, SPSS, was then used for the further analyses. A factor analysis was performed in order to achieve the first objective of determining what motivated cyclists to participate in the ACT. Then a regression analysis helped to establish which variables influenced cyclists' spending. After all the analytical procedures were completed, the results of the factor analyses indicated the cyclists were motivated by the attractiveness of the event, by personal motivation and by a desire to escape from the daily routines and so to relax. The regression analyses lead to the results that the following variables determine how much money cyclists spend; marital status; province of residence; the number of nights stayed in Cape Town and which accommodation cyclists used. These results both confirmed and contradicted the results of previous research, even though this was the first time this type of research had been applied to a sport event in South Africa. This research can be used by event organisers to apply more effective target marketing and to develop new strategies to encourage an increase in participation figures. This research can also be used to improve business relationships between the different role players in an event. Further, product improvements can be made from certain recommendations. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Water is life and its provision is vital not only for purposes of sustaining life but also for convenience, health, sanitation and economic well being. The United Nations estimates that over one billion people living in developing countries lack access to safe water, with a substantialp roportion of thesel iving in Africa. As a consequenceo f urbanisation and rapid growth of cities, urban water utilities in developing countries face an enormous challenge in meeting the water requirements of urban dwellers. The challenge is even greater when the prevailing poverty, high levels of debt and declining funding (in form of official developmenta ssistance)a re taken into account. In particular, Sub-Saharan Africa is facing low levels of water services and water supply coverage. Under thesec ircumstancesa, key objective for water utilities in Sub-SaharanA frica is to provide services to the growing urban population, including the poor, in a financially sustainable manner. To achieve this objective, utility managers need innovative methods of financing and managing urban water services. A systematic approach consisting of market segmentation, service and price differentiation is proposed as a suitable method of managing urban water services in Sub-Saharan Africa. This approach is the subject under investigation in the research, which is reported in this thesis. Using primarily the case study research methodology but also incorporating surveys, interviews and f6cus group discussions within the case study, research was carried out to investigate the use of a systematic approach consisting of segmentation, service and price differentiation for managing urban water services in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa. The detailed field research was carried out in Kenya and South Africa, and two case studies were prepared. Among the key findings was that this approach offers a framework for water utilities to structure their service delivery with appropriate pricing and serve more customers (including people living in informal settlements) at affordable cost, while achieving financial sustainability. The finding leads to the conclusion that segmentation, service and price differentiation is a suitable methodology that utilities can use to improve urban water servicesi n Sub-SaharanA frica.

The primary aim of the thesis is to explain informality with the help of labor market segmentation theory in the case of Turkey. In so doing, the informalization process in Turkey is discussed with reference to not only the definitional confusions in different conceptualizations of the informal sector in the literature, but also trade liberalization, privatization, subcontracting relationships and the notion of &ldquo / flexible firm&rdquo / , as well. In order to find an answer to the question of &ldquo / how the dimensions of informality fit into the perception about labor market segmentation theory&rdquo / , the field surveys conducted by different authors are analyzed. The findings of these field surveys confirm a possible explanation of informalization via labor market segmentation theory in Turkey.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references.

A presente dissertação de mestrado objetivou a elaboração de uma estratégia mercadológica para os produtos de uma fabricante e distribuidora de bebidas não alcoólicas junto a seus clientes, através de uma ampla pesquisa que permitisse conhecer o perfil do consumidor de cada estabelecimento a partir de sua localização, área de influência, infraestrutura, opções e refeição e serviços diversos oferecidos ao seu consumidor. Desta forma foi possível estabelecer uma proposta estratégica na oferta e atendimento aos pontos de venda, com os produtos certos, ao preço certo, para o cliente certo, disponível no local certo para o consumidor, aumentando as vendas dos itens já comercializados e identificando oportunidades para aumentar o mix de produtos ofertados em cada ponto de venda conforme o perfil de cliente, dentre as mais de 150 diferentes combinações de produtos disponíveis. Primeiramente, foram realizadas entrevistas com os gestores responsáveis pelas áreas de vendas e marketing de um segmento de mercado, chamado Bares e Lanchonetes, utilizado como piloto do projeto, verificando o mercado, o posicionamento dos competidores, as políticas de preço e de comercialização, culminando com a construção de um questionário de pesquisa. Em segundo lugar, foi aplicada pesquisa quantitativa em uma grande amostra de clientes do segmento, identificando, com o apoio de softwares estatísticos, padrões entre grupos de pontos de venda, identificando clusters que pudessem ter estratégias mercadológicas adaptadas ao seu perfil de consumo. Finalmente, foi proposto um modelo de comercialização dos produtos para um destes clusters com base no estudo e etapas para sua implementação. A metodologia deste estudo consistiu em uma pesquisa de caráter exploratório. A abordagem foi quantitativa e os dados foram coletados por meio de questionário aplicados aos sócios, proprietários ou responsáveis pelos pontos de venda pesquisados, utilizando também de observações informais para complementar os resultados deste estudo. A proposta correspondeu de modo satisfatório aos objetivos inicialmente traçados e, se forem aplicados e ampliados, permitirão um impacto positivo no aumento de participação de mercado da empresa. / This dissertation aimed to develop a marketing strategy for the products of a soft drink’s manufacturer and distributor with its clients through a wide survey that would allow getting to know customer profiles in each retailer, due to its location, region of influence, internal infrastructure, meal options and services offered to consumers. This way made it possible to establish a proposal for strategic supply and related services for retailers, offering the right products at the right price for the right customer with a fair price, increasing sales of items that customers already buy and identifying opportunities to increase the product mix offered for each customer, among more than 150 different SKU´s available. In the first step, interviews with managers responsible for sales and marketing were made focused in the market segment called Bars, used as a pilot project. Interviews were made to check market, competitor´s positioning and pricing policies, ending in the construction of a questionnaire survey. The second step covered a quantitative research applied in a large sample of customers of this segment, identifying, with the assistance of statistical software, patterns among groups of customers, choosing clusters that may have marketing strategies adapted to their consumption profile. Finally, a proposal for market the main products for one of this cluster were made, based on the research and step for implementation. The methodology consisted in an exploratory research using a quantitative approach applied to retailer´s shareholders, owners and managers. Some informal observations were made in order to complement results during the research. The proposal achieved the goals initially proposed and, if applied and expanded, will bring a positive impact and increased market share for the company.

Functional foods constitute a growing focus for research, product development and consumer interest in recent years. This study investigated the factors that affect willingness to pay for high fibre food on the market as well as respondents’ attitude towards the purchase of these products. The results indicated that those consumers in the high income group were more health conscious than their low income counterparts and willing to pay for high fibre products. The results showed that health risk perceptions as well as regulatory programmes affected consumers’ willingness to pay. The results also showed that at low percentage prices consumers were willing to pay for high fibre products. Gender and marital status did not seem to have an influence on willingness to buy for any of the selected products. Findings of the study could encourage food manufacturers to carry on with developments of functional foods since willingness to pay increased with increase in income. / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology

Consumer segmentation based on expenditure are usually done by using observedcharacteristics, such as age and income. This thesis highlights the problem with negativeexternalities which Venice suffers from, due to mass tourism. This thesis aims to assesswhether unobservable heterogeneity can be used to detect latent classes within tourismexpenditure. Segmenting the tourism market using this approach is valuable for policy making.Segmenting is also useful for the actors in the market to identify and attract high spenders. Inthat way, a destination may uphold a sustainable level of tourism instead of increasing touristnumbers. The method used for this approach is finite mixture modelling (FMM), which is notmuch used within consumer markets and therefore this thesis also contributes to tourismexpenditure methodology. This thesis adds to the literature by increasing the knowledge aboutthe importance of unobserved factors when segmenting visitors.The results show that four latent classes are found in tourism expenditure. Some of thevariables, which are significant in determining tourism expenditure, are shown to affectexpenditure differently in different classes while some are shown not to be significant. Theconclusions are that segmenting tourism expenditure, using unobserved heterogeneity, issignificant and that variables, which are barely significant in determining the expenditure ofthe population, can be strongly significant in determining the expenditure for a certain class.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:52:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5234.pdf: 2120689 bytes, checksum: 53ff74d4789cdec8e6f7522aa06d6def (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-27 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / The meat production chain is a major agro-industrial chains in Brazil and also in the world. Its survival is fundamentally based on its ability to generate and sustain competitive advantage, resulting in value to the final consumer. The per capita consumption of meat (beef, pork and chicken) is growing up in Brazil, and data show that in last twenty years there has been growth of 81%, achieving 80 kilos per capita in 2007. The studies that seek to understand consumer behavior can be translated into strategies and tactics that increase the competitiveness of the entire production chain, since through the purchase the customer transmits information about quality attributes he desires and its acceptability. This study investigated the behavior of the ultimate consumer of beef, pork and chicken in the city of São Paulo, in order to obtain information that support marketing strategies for companies in the sector. From a review of literature about food consumption behavior, focused on meat consumption, the lifting of national research on the topic, as well as a characterization of the productive chains of the three meats in question, were listed the main variables affecting the consumption of meat products. With this basis, a survey was conducted with 400 individuals in São Paulo, during the months of September, October and November 2012. The sample, stratified and probabilistic, was treated with univariate and multivariate analysis (factor and cluster), which allowed the grouping of similar variables and the investigation of dependence between them. It was observed that the bovine meat is preferred by the consumers, followed by the chicken and pork. For beef and pork, there was no relationship between frequency of consumption and income, which confirms the growing influence of nonprice factors on consumption at the expense of economic variables. The chicken meat was the best rated in the category impact on health, and its nutritional composition is best known by consumers. The principal place of purchase of the three meats consists at the supermarket, followed by the butcher. Five clusters of consumers were characterized with different consumption profiles, the economic, the conventional, the demanding, the moderate and the enlightened, performing at different frequencies for each meat in question. The study contributed as an overview of consumer behavior meat in São Paulo, where can be characterized different consumption profiles for each meat in question. Knowing these profiles becomes important once the consumer is the maintainer agent and the driver of financial trends of the entire production chain. / A cadeia de produção de carnes consiste numa das principais cadeias agroindustriais do Brasil e do mundo. Sua sobrevivência é fundamentalmente baseada em sua capacidade de gerar e sustentar vantagens competitivas, resultando em valor ao consumidor final. O consumo per capita de carnes (bovina, suína e de frango) se mostra crescente no Brasil, e dados mostram que, em vinte anos, houve aumento de 81%, chegando a 80,5 quilos per capita em 2007. A realização de estudos que busquem compreender o comportamento do consumidor pode se traduzir em estratégias e táticas que aumentem a competitividade de toda a cadeia produtiva, uma vez que através da compra, o cliente transmite informações sobre atributos de qualidade que deseja e sua aceitabilidade frente a eles. Este trabalho objetivou estudar o comportamento do consumidor final das carnes bovina, suína e de frango do município de São Paulo, a fim de obter informações que subsidiem estratégias mercadológicas para as empresas do setor. A partir de uma revisão de literatura sobre o comportamento do consumidor de alimentos, focada no consumo de carnes, do levantamento de pesquisas nacionais sobre o tema, bem como uma caracterização das cadeias produtivas das três carnes em questão, foram elencadas as principais variáveis influentes no consumo de produtos cárneos. Baseando-se nessas variáveis, foi realizado um survey com 400 indivíduos no município de São Paulo, durante os meses de setembro, outubro e novembro de 2012. A amostra, estratificada e de caráter probabilístico, foi tratada com Análises Uni e Multivariadas (fatorial e de cluster), as quais permitiram o agrupamento de variáveis similares e a investigação da dependência entre elas. Observou-se que a carne preferida pelos paulistanos é a bovina, seguida pela de frango e pela suína. Para as carnes bovina e suína, não foi estabelecida uma relação entre frequência de consumo e renda, o que confirma o crescimento da influência dos fatores extra-preço no consumo, em detrimento das variáveis econômicas. A carne de frango foi a melhor avaliada no quesito impacto sobre à saúde, e sua composição nutricional é melhor conhecida pelos consumidores. O principal local de compra das três carnes consiste no supermercado, seguido pelo açougue. Os consumidores foram segmentados em cinco clusters com perfis de consumo particulares, os econômicos, os convencionais, os exigentes, os moderados e os esclarecidos, apresentando-se em diferentes frequências para cada carne em questão. O estudo contribuiu com uma visão geral sobre o comportamento do consumidor de carnes do município de São Paulo, onde podem ser caracterizados diferentes perfis de consumo para cada carne em questão. Conhecer esses perfis se faz importante uma vez que o consumidor final consiste no mantenedor financeiro e agente direcionador de tendências de toda a cadeia produtiva.

Esta dissertação filia-se à teoria analítica do discurso proposta pelo filósofo Michel Pêcheux e tem como tema central discussões sobre o processo de estruturação do discurso acadêmico que aborda a segmentação do Turismo no Brasil. Com essa pesquisa, busco contribuir com o estudo do Campo do Turismo a partir de uma perspectiva crítica, com foco específico no estudo do segmento caracterizado como Turismo GLS. Para tanto, busquei em livros – publicados no Brasil e escritos na comunidade acadêmica nacional – textos que relacionassem Turismo com a Comunidade LGBT, objetivando a construção desse conceito de segmento. Dessa busca, relacionei três textos que compõem o corpus de análise, são eles; Angeli (2004 [1999]), Oliveira (2002) e Trigo (2009). A partir do recorte das sequências discursivas das materialidades e da mobilização de conceitos como Formação Social, Formação Ideológica, Lugar Discursivo, Formações Discursivas e Forma-sujeito, desenvolvi um caminho teórico que pretende problematizar a apropriação da sigla GLS – enunciada dentro do Movimento Social como um Lugar Discursivo – pelo Mercado e, consequentemente, pela Academia. A partir desses achados de análise também aponto para o tratamento conceitual dado ao Sujeito nos processos de segmentação do Turismo, processos esses, que remetem ao individualismo e ao pragmatismo, evidenciando que a segmentação ainda situa-se em perspectivas bastante reducionistas. Nesse esforço de problematizar o segmento, o texto resta em aberto, mobilizando outros questionamentos e propostas de novos arranjos na interface Turismo – Análise do Discurso. / Submitted by Ana Guimarães Pereira (agpereir@ucs.br) on 2017-02-22T12:35:16Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Mateus Vitor Tadioto.pdf: 850366 bytes, checksum: d7682b9c97166d505e84291c4588fb37 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-22T12:35:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Mateus Vitor Tadioto.pdf: 850366 bytes, checksum: d7682b9c97166d505e84291c4588fb37 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-22 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, CAPES. / This dissertation relates to the discourse analysis proposed by the French philosopher Michel Pêcheux and it has as the main theme the discussions on the structuration process of the academic discourse which addresses the segmentation of Tourism in Brazil. With this research, I aim to contribute with the study in the Field of Tourism from a critical perspective, with emphasis on GLS Tourism. For this purpose, I have searched in books (published in Brazil and written within the national academic community) for texts that relates Tourism with the LGBT Community, addressing to the construction of this concept. From this search, I have related three texts which assemble the analysis corpus: Angeli (2004 [1999]), Oliveira (2002) and Trigo (2009). From the view of the materiality‟s sequential discourses and the mobilization of concepts like Social Formation, Ideological Formation, Discursive Place, Discursive Formations and Subject-Form, I have developed a theorical method which intends to discuss the appropriation of the acronym “GLS” (expressed within the LGBT Movement as a Discursive Place) by the Market and, inevitably, by the Academy. From these analysis findings, I also point to the conceptual treatment given to the subject in the processes of segmentation of Tourism, which refer to the individualism and pragmatism, endorsing that the segmentation is still based on too reductionist perspectives. In this effort to question the segment, the text is left open, mobilizing other inquires and propositions of new arrangements within the Tourism – Discourse Analysis interface.