OLYMPIA PROVISIONS: CONSUMER PROFILE PROJECT
One of Olympia’s motivations in coming to us was to categorize their customers into distinct profiles based on preferences, tastes, lifestyles, and other descriptive factors. The company plans to use these profiles in guiding future marketing efforts by creating tailored communications and promotions for each individual profile.
In order to get to the root of who Olympia’s customer is and what they value, a survey was distributed and analyzed for trends. These results were further refined through exploring Claritas, MyBestSegments, ESRI Tapestry Segmentation Profiles, and Simmons OneView. In the end, our team was able to establish four unique profiles.
the SURVEY
A twenty-one-question survey was constructed and then distributed through Survey Monkey to Olympia Provision’s mailing list.
654 responses were collected over the span of eleven days
data trends: demographics
age
16% of respondents fell between the ages 25-34, 50% between 35 - 54, and 23% were 55+.
Contrary to the company’s original assumptions, women were the majority of customers at 56% of respondents.
gender
Roughly 62% of households that consume Olympia Provisions’ products make over $75,000 annually.
income
Of respondents, 75% were married, 49% do not have children, while the other 51% do have children.
household
data trends: geographics
zip-codes
56% of respondents are residents of the west coast - Oregon, 28%; California, 18%; Washington, 11%. Other statistically significant states were Illinois, Florida and New York.
data trends: behavioristics
Facebook is the most commonly used platform, preferred by 41% of respondents, while Instagram is close behind, preferred by nearly 32% of respondents.
social media
When entertaining guests, 39% of respondents prefer to prepare a home cooked meal, 37% prefer to throw a casual party or BBQ, and 19% prefer to dine out.
entertaining
The respondents were split nearly even between those who like to improvise when they cook and those who would rather follow a recipe. Interestingly, less than 1% of customers who choose Olympia Provisions don’t cook at all.
recipe usage
90% of respondents had purchased cured meats like salami from Olympia Provisions, while only 16% of respondents had purchased non-meat items like pickled vegetables.
popular products
91% of respondents turn to cheese as their go-to Olympia Provisions pairing. 50% of respondents choose to drink wine while enjoying Olympia Provisions products.
food + drink pairings
48% of Olympia’s customers shop at natural grocery stores like Whole Foods, New Seasons and Trader Joe’s.
grocery preferences
77% of respondents stated that one of their favorite activities was cooking. 68% responded that they love to travel and 67% prefer to read in their spare time.
hobbies
27% of customers buy Olympia Provisions products as a snack, and 26% make charcuterie boards. A low number of respondents choose Olympia to cater events or to bring to holiday gatherings.
reason for purchase
data trends: psychographics
When shopping for food, Olympia Provisions customers were primarily concerned with the taste (55%) and the quality (39%) of the product, while less than 5% of respondents were concerned about price. Of respondents, fewer than 1% were concerned with reviews or brand name.
concerns
75% of customers responded that they would be willing to pay more for something that was traditionally handcrafted and 67% would pay more for locally sourced products. 62% would also pay more for sustainably produced items.
price sensitivity
One-third of respondents were not familiar with Olympia Provisions’ company history or story.
company history
Of Olympia customers, 67% prefer to spend their money on experiences over things.
experiences
96% of customers stated that they enjoy experimenting with new foods and recipes.
adventurous eaters
58% of customers were not concerned with bargain hunting.
price sensitivity
88% of respondents treat themselves with specialty foods.
treats
70% of respondents refer to a shopping list when buying groceries.
shopping list
67% of respondents go out of their way to purchase goods from locally-owned stores.
local business
65% of respondents believe that what they choose to buy and who they choose to buy from can have a positive impact on the world.
responsible purchasing
data trends: recommendations
Based on the data collected, recommendations were constructed as to how to leverage the Olympia Provisions brand.
The majority of users are from the West Coast, indicating a strong brand presence in this region. But, customers in other parts of the country reported too-high of shipping costs and that finding Olympia Provisions’ products in store was difficult. We recommend forging relationships with more retailers on the East Coast and finding alternate shipping methods.
Wine and cheese are the two items most common pairings with Olympia Provisions products - consider using this information to offer tailored pairing suggestions specific to each product.
Few customers think of Olympia Provisions when catering an event or attending a holiday gathering - market Olympia Provisions as a party staple.
Product offerings - create recipes using Olympia Provisions products so consumers are able to confidently explore the product line.
Facebook and Instagram are the primary media for this target - consider using these platforms to promote events and share photos, as well as a place to share more about the history of Olympia Provisions, the process behind each product and meal pairing suggestions to engage the customer.
Because this audience spends the majority of their time entertaining at home, position Olympia products not just as a quick snack but as a kitchen staple.
The majority of customers purchase cured meats, and fewer purchase items like sausages and pickled vegetables. Focus marketing efforts on the alternatives.
Nearly a third of customers were unfamiliar with the history of Olympia Provisions - highlight the journey that brought Elias’ passion to fruition and makes Olympia Provisions what it is.
data trends: summary
By observing these data trends, we are able to gain an understanding as to who the Olympia Provisions’ customer is and what they care about. According to this survey, our largest target audience consists of affluent men and women of Generation X (born 1961-1981), followed by Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and Millennials (1981-1995). These consumers are well-off enough to purchase quality, handcrafted products without concern for price — they are not careless with their money but are willing to spend more on products which they believe are appropriately priced for their quality and authenticity.
Olympia Provisions’ customers are not just foodies. Yes, they love to eat but, more importantly, they love to cook. They value Olympia’s attention to traditional recipes and commitment to quality ingredients because they understand that that is what makes food worth eating. Aside from cooking, the Olympia Provisions customer loves to travel and read - two hobbies that entail observing culture and absorbing new ideas, suggesting the Olympia customer is an educated, conscious consumer. They don’t just choose products out of convenience or necessity — but because of what their purchase says about them and the things they care about — they see their values reflected in the brands they buy from and they believe in voting with their dollar.
CONSUMER PROFILE CREATION
After deep evaluation of the survey results, we are able to construct the following customer profiles. These profiles were created by tagging each survey respondent’s zip-code. These zip-codes were then separated into two categories, clustered and dispersed. Clustered zip-codes represented the most commonly occurring states (California, Oregon, Washington, New York, Illinois and Florida) and were weighted more heavily, while dispersed zip-codes represented the rest of respondents throughout the country. Each pertinent zip-code was entered into Claritas MyBestSegments Lifestyle Segmentation System and the top five segments were identified and tallied to find those which occurred most often — this same method was used to pull segments from ESRI’s Tapestry Segmentation system.
By using these two distinct segmentation tools, we were able to verify the results of both our survey and assumptions. After identifying the six most commonly occurring customer segments from each system, they were then clustered by similarity in zip code, age, income and lifestyle. Rather than relying on the information found in a single segment, we focused on four segments to paint a well-rounded picture of Olympia’s customer. The application of this method gave us the four profiles illustrated below.
conclusion
These four unique profiles were created with the intent of painting a clear picture of the lifestyles and motivations of Olympia Provisions’ customers. These consumers are not defined by one particular demographic such as age or gender, but rather encompass a tapestry of experiences across generations and locality, ultimately colliding at their love of food and having the means to pay for the quality items they seek. Olympia’s customer is not someone who jumps in line to try the next trendy restaurant or talked-about meal service; they are passionate about food - buying it, cooking it, and eating it. They are not afraid to experiment with flavors or try a new recipe, and go out of their way to buy local, natural foods. For this reason, creating a flavor profile for these consumers would be impractical. The people who are buying Olympia Provisions are not looking for a particular product to suit their tastes, rather they trust Olympia to be the authority and expose them to a new and exciting ingredient on their food journey.
Telling the “how” story as much as the “why” story is essential—the Olympia customer knows why Olympia is the best - it’s authentic, handcrafted and delicious. But do they know when to leave the skin on the salami? How to cook a Bratwurst for maximum flavor? What the tradition of charcuterie plates is? The Olympia Provisions team must take advantage of each opportunity presented to educate the consumer about how to cook with and serve Olympia products, and expose them to Olympia’s wide array of products.
the team
account manager: Sharon Wyatt | strategists: Taylor Wood, Kevin Nickoloff and Savannah Galindo | copywriters: Howard Kennedy and Steven Peeler| art directors: Danielle Emeka, Amy Hodges and Savannah Quarum