Identification of target customers for sustainable design

Abstract

The first step for any company when it starts producing a new product is to identify its target customers and to understand and satisfy their actual needs. Recently, customers have been taking into consideration the societal, economic and environmental issues when examining a product. To keep up with these important issues, this research focuses on identifying the eco-friendly customers for sustainable design, profiling the target customers, and making it clear who the eco-friendly customers are and what characteristics they share. This was achieved by employing survey questionnaires and interviews, investigating not only environmental requirements but also sustainable ones (environmental, social and economic). The data was analyzed by using the Process macro and two-way interaction effect method. The research resulted in developing and adjusting the analysis method for identifying eco-friendly customers for sustainable design, as opposed to only identifying eco-friendly customers. This research enables companies to effectively target eco-friendly consumer markets by the utilization of segmentation analysis for promoting companies’ marketing strategies. The findings of this study show that eco-friendly customers are most likely people with higher educational levels and higher income. Moreover, the study proposes that additional research should be done exploring effective ways to increase students’ knowledge and awareness about environmental issues.