Abstract
Abstract
Purpose - Intend to improve the knowledge base concerning the growing green market population.
Objectives - Assess the potentiality of targeting the green consumers in France and in India, by understanding their behaviors and expectations. We also tried to analyze the attitudes of customers towards advertising and Internet. Finally we analyzed the relevance of using segmentation relying on profile value.
Methodology - In order to meet properly to our objectives, we used both quantitative and qualitative methods, focusing on the first one as we needed to make correlations between different variables (attitudes, opinions...).The data were collected thru chiefly an online survey carried out mainly among French and Indian persons. The qualitative analysis was conducted thru two interviews conducted to collect comments, ideas and recommendations concerning the topic and the realization of the survey.
Results - The survey showed that consumer population is "greening": more than three out of four people are claiming to be part of the two first greener segments, and 85% of them consider that environmental friendly products or services are partially solutions to climate change issues. Most (98%) of the 458 respondents are concerned by environmental issues, independently of age, country location or sex. And 83% agreed to pay premium for green products or services but need to maintain their lifestyle with no compromise on either performance or quality. Three out of three tells that "green" advertising does not meet their expectations: 65% thinking that ads should propose solutions to protect environment and 44% thinks that it should inform them. Finally Internet and relatives are the mostly used additional source of information prior a potential buy of a regular product or service. Differences in buying and consuming behaviors, depending on profile-value segmentation, were analysed to help market targeting by corporate brands.
Research limitations/implications - A greater sample and the use of more sophisticated software analytical tool would have improved the accuracy of findings. Marketing efforts to answer the individualism and freedom of consumers has to be made taking into account the emergence of new Internet technology.
Originality/value - The study is valuable because it brings new data and information to the base of knowledge concerning this booming green market segment, which marketing had left to the side because of the difficulty to fragment them into significant segments due to their particular values and behaviors.
Keywords - Green, Marketing, s, Segmentation, IBM, IT.
Paper type - Research paper.
