Where IKEA Stands Today and Why - Case Study Example

IKEA focuses on the market segment where these customers are identified. This creates a remarkable point for IKEA to continuously formulate promotional communication that would entice the benefits that these target customers desire. The firm’s targeting strategy is therefore concentrated. A concentrated targeting strategy allows marketers to facilitate a promotional message and direct it to a single and specific market segment (Pride and Ferrell 181). This makes IKEA dynamic in its attempt to create a competitive advantage in its industry.

To reach this competitive advantage, IKEA uses psychographic variables for segmenting the consumer market. Psychographic variables pertain to lifestyle, attitudes and personalities (Reid and Bojanic 136). It is clear based on the case that the firm uses the idea it has about the consumers’ attitudes, lifestyle and personality when it implements its targeting strategy. Furthermore, to enhance this strategy, the firm also incorporates the behavioral and benefits variables. Behavioral variables include the actual behaviors of the customers which could become the basis of what service to offer them (Reid and Bojanic 137). This leads to its emancipation of additional service thru its cavernous stores for hungry customers. In addition, IKEA clearly tries to win its target customers by offering them the benefits of their products. Benefits are very important because they could help the firm in its identification of appropriate information to use for its target market (Reid and Bojanic 139).

Conclusion
As a result of the above marketing strategies, IKEA today has become the leading home furnishings brand in the world with 330 stores in 40 countries and having dynamic actual and online interactions with its customers with around 154,000 co-workers (IKEA). It has aggressively expanded from its humble inception.