MKTG 330 – Final research project

By Jeremie Dalin

Marketing 330 – Final Research Project

Topic: Biem – Butter Sprayer

Professor Ali Kara

By Jeremie Dalin

April 23rd, 2017

MKTG 330 – Final research project
By Jeremie Dalin
The following paper will introduce the various types of customer profiles, values and
influences that will have a positive impact on the adoption of our product.

The company, Bredva Inc., was created on October 30, 2014 by Doug Foreman. The founder,
Doug Foreman “has more than 40 years of experience in the food business and consumer
packaged goods industry” (Brevda Inc, 2017). The company spent several years developing
the Biem butter spray and raised the necessary funds via a crowd funding platform called
“Kickstarter”, raising “$200,000 more than the original goal” (Brevda Inc, 2017). His
invention also appeared on the TV show “Shark tank” in fall 2016, where he received an
offer worth $500,000.

The Biem butter sprayer is a product that allows customers to turn real butter into an easy to
spray liquid form. The proprietary heating mechanism heats just the right amount of butter as
desired by the user, while keeping the rest of the butter stick intact.

Our product targets two customer types. The primary target customers are individuals
between 35 to 65, who do lots of home cooking, prefer to eat home cooked meals and value
healthy nutrition. These customers are in the medium to high income bracket which allows
them to consider spending $129 on a single use kitchen accessory. They want the
convenience and efficiency of a product that allows them to save time, while improving their
cooking experience. They would use the product frequently.

The secondary type of customer that Brevda Inc, is targeting are individuals who are between
24 to 60 years old, do some light home cooking, sometimes eat out, and are highly conscious
about their health and dietary habits. These customers are in the medium to high income
bracket. They are interested in the latest and greatest gadgets for their kitchen more than its
practicality and efficiency. They see the Biem butter sprayer as a novelty item. They would
use the product occasionally.

We can classify our target customers even further with the use of various psychographic
elements such as the VALS types. For our product, we have identified three types of
character: Innovators, achievers and experiencers which make up our target customer
segments.

First, we have the innovators. This type of individual has the characteristics that match our
primary target customer. This individual seeks new experiences. A new product like the Biem
butter sprayer will allow them to fulfill this need with the purchase of our product.

They “are future oriented” (VALS Types, 2017), so a product like the butter sprayer allows
them to reduce preparation time in the kitchen, while increasing utilitarian and hedonic value
therefore allowing them to fully benefit from the purchase of our product. “Consumers whose
average time to adoption is shorter tend to own more innovative products” (Im, S., Bayus, B.
L., & Mason, C. H. (2003) making the innovator a great customer target for our
advertisement, marketing and sales strategies. These individuals are “receptive to new ideas
and technologies” (VALS Types, 2017). These individuals have been in the medium to high
income bracket, allowing them to purchase the product without constraint.

We then have the achievers. This customer segment will respond positively to the marketing
and advertising of our product because it is an individual who “values technology that
provides a productivity boost” (VALS Types, 2017), which is imperative for this customer
MKTG 330 – Final research project
By Jeremie Dalin
type. In addition, they have a “me first, my family first attitude” (VALS Types, 2017) which
enables them to always provide the best for their family, therefor furthering their intrigue
when a product allows them to save time and provide added value for the family home. In
addition, they “prefer to purchase prestige products” (Babin & Haris, 2016).

These individuals are in the medium to high income bracket, allowing them to purchase the
product without constraint.

Finally, we have the experiencers. This is the main characteristic of our secondary customer
target but also partly demonstrates traits of our primary target customer type. These
customers like to be the “first in on a trend adoption” (VALS Types, 2017). This is a strong
trait of this type of customer characteristic. They also tend to “want everything” (VALS
Type, 2017), so the Biem butter sprayer will be a great kitchen accessory addition for this
customer. They have the financial means to discover and purchase new products and are
strong candidates in our target customer marketing strategy.

Below you will find a chart presenting the different VALS characteristics for each type of
customers have.

Our target customers will exhibit many behavioral values. For our primary customer target,
these values will be composed of comfort, cleanliness and security to name a few. We have
identified the following:

Comfortable life - These customers want products and technologies that will make their lives
easier and more comfortable. A product such as the Biem butter sprayer will satisfy this need.
MKTG 330 – Final research project
By Jeremie Dalin
Cleanliness – Customers who cherish this value will find our product attractive because of the
ease of use and cleanliness associated with the use of our product.

Family security – In order to satisfy the needs of the family, customers demonstrating these
values will provide whatever is necessary to make their family and home life more
comfortable.

Imaginative – This value applies to customers with a great sense of creativity, who dare to be
different from others. They will find excitement in our revolutionary product.

For our secondary customer target, the following are values exhibited in this novelty seeking
customer.

Social recognition – The customers who want to follow the trend of other relatives, friends,
and acquaintances will find comfort in being recognized by their peers. Therefore, adoption
of our product is through means of social pressure. This customer group wants to be
recognized by its peers.

Broad minded – They are open to new experiences, products and situations. They will find
purpose in trying out our new product which will satisfy the need for a new experience.

Pleasure – These customers enjoy treating themselves and living leisurely. Adding a new
kitchen gadget such as the Biem butter sprayer will fulfill this trait.

An exciting life – These customers want the latest and greatest and will find exactly that in
our butter sprayer. It provides them with new technologies that will simplify their way of
cooking everyday foods.

Our target customers will obviously be individuals that rank poorly in regard to dogmatism.
“Highly dogmatic people are generally less receptive to new or unfamiliar stimuli, such as
new styles of music (Mikol 190) and new products (Coney 1972; Jacoby 1971)” (Raju, P.S.,
1980). This further strengthens our choice based on the earlier presentation of VALS
segments related to our target customers.

It is important to note that age can be negatively associated with new product adoption, but
the association is not clear (Raju, P.S., 1980). However, “education and income were
generally positively correlated with such behavior” (Raju, P.S., 1980).

Below are some relevant aspects of consumer influence and how they affect our target
customer’s behavior in potentially adopting our product.

Age is an aspect relevant to our product adoption. The age range of our target customers is
important due to several factors such as financial means. Since our product is priced above
$100, it is necessary for our customer range to include individuals who can afford to purchase
and spend this amount of money on a single use kitchen accessory. Of course, some
individuals will fall out of our age range of 25 to 65 years old, but these will be a relatively
minor percentage of our customers.

Gender is a criterion that plays a minor role but is still considered. We see a balance in both
female and male adoption rate of our product. Depending on cultural and ethnicity variations.
MKTG 330 – Final research project
By Jeremie Dalin

The regional aspect will have an influence on the adoption of our product. This is because
product positioning varies across regions. Different regions have different dietary habits and
some use dairy products more than others; it is therefore important to target individuals from
regions that have a higher use of diary-based products, specifically butter.

Ethnicity is a factor in the adoption of our product. Due to several cultural variations in
dietary habits, some ethnicities are more prone to consume higher amounts of butter.

These ethnicities will be highly valued compared to others because they represent a target
customer aspect that is important to our advertisement and marketing strategies.

According to the Canadian Dairy Information Center, French and German citizens consume
the most butter, with 8 Kilograms and 6 Kilograms annually. In comparison, Chinese and
Korea citizens consume the least amount with 100 grams each respectively per annum
(Government of Canada;Canadian Dairy Information Centre (2015) . This influence is high
when it comes to our target customers because we want to market our product to consumers
that consume butter on a regular basis.

Culture is another important influence in the adoption of our product. Of course, by culture
we mean “The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious or
social group” (Merriam-Webster.com). Individuals that follow a vegan, macrobiotic or
fruitarian diet for example will not be in our target mix due to the non-consumption of dairy
products, which butter is a part of. The aspect of culture plays a role in the adoption of our
product as Yalcinkaya states “Hofstede’s framework can indicate how differences in cultures
can affect social interactions that ultimately influence individuals’ adoption behavior.”
Yalcinkaya, G. (2008).

Social class is an influence that is positively associated with the sale of our product. Given
the fact that our product is priced above $100, it is important to target members of a social
class that have the means to spend this amount of money on such a product. Members of a
medium to high social class are our main target customers. Research has shown that early
adopters of new products have higher social status (Baker, 2001).

It is important to build a precise customer profile(s) for a new product launch. This enables
our company to ensure that the product is marketed towards segments that will purchase our
product, “Marketers will be able to refine their strategy by adjusting the attitudinal or
normative messages of the advertisement and sales promotion when targeting different
segments of the market” Fu, F. Q., & Elliott, M. T. (2013). Understanding the factors that
influence customer behavior and actions, our understanding of the demographic and
psychographic variables will allow us to profitably introduce, market and sell the Biem butter
sprayer.
MKTG 330 – Final research project
By Jeremie Dalin
Sources:

VALS™ | VALS™ Types | Innovators | SBI. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2017, from
http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/ustypes/innovators.shtml

Demographic and behavior snapshot of VLAS. (2015). Retrieved March 21, 2017, from
http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/demobehav_lg_2015.png

US Framework and VALS™ Types. (2015). Retrieved March 21, 2017, from
http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/ustypes.shtml

Babin, B. J., & Harris, E. G. (2016). Consumer behavior (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage
Learning.
Page 123

Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2017, from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/culture

Government of Canada;Canadian Dairy Information Centre. (2015, December 08). Per Capita
Global Consumption of Butter - Canadian Dairy Information Centre (CDIC). Retrieved
March 29, 2017, from http://www.dairyinfo.gc.ca/index_e.php?s1=dff-
fcil&s2=cons&s3=consglo&s4=tb-bt

Brevda Inc - About us. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2017, from https://biemspray.com/about-us

Im, S., Bayus, B. L., & Mason, C. H. (2003). An empirical study of innate consumer
innovativeness, personal characteristics, and new-product adoption behavior. Academy of
Marketing Science.Journal, 31(1), 61. Retrieved from
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du/docview/224894781?accountid=13158

Fu, F. Q., & Elliott, M. T. (2013). THE MODERATING EFFECT OF PERCEIVED

PRODUCT INNOVATIVENESS AND PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE ON NEW PRODUCT
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Williams, T. G. (2002). Social class influences on purchase evaluation criteria. The Journal
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Raju, P. S. (1980). Optimum Stimulation Level: Its Relationship to Personality,

Demographics, and Exploratory Behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 7(3), 272-282.
doi:10.1086/208815
MKTG 330 – Final research project
By Jeremie Dalin
Kassarjian, H. H. (1971). Personality and consumer behavior: A review. Journal of
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du/docview/1297332970?accountid=13158

Baker, M. J. (2001). Marketing: Critical perspectives on business and management. New

York;London;: Routledge.

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