Psychographic consumer segmentation in the commercial real estate market: Methodological and practical aspects

Abstract

The commercial real estate market offers two facets: on the one hand, consumers face difficulties in making investment decisions, and on the other, developers are driven by the need to create investment products. The article presents a psychographic consumer segmentation methodology and tests it in conditions of the commercial real estate market. The theoretical framework of the study is classical marketing theory. The Enneagram method is applied to reveal consumers’ subconscious motives behind their behavioural characteristics and investment decision-making, in particular. Additionally, the LOV method is used to clarify investors’ values and motives. The empirical evidence of the research is the survey data from 10 experts in the field of marketing for construction obtained using the Delphi method and Thomas Saaty’s Analytic Hierarchy Process, as well as data from 53 actual and potential investors in commercial real estate. The author’s own consumer segmentation method is proposed, which is designed according to the specificities of the commercial real estate market. As part of the methodology testing, we have identified the types of investors and formulated a marketing programme for one of the priority types that provides for increasing the loyalty to, and recognition of, the organization among investors. The in-depth study of consumers’ personality types and values has substantially contributed to the development of an investment product and its successful promotion among potential investors.

Keywords

• segmentation
• psychographic segmentation
• personality typology
• enneagram
• lov method
• commercial real estate market
• consumer behaviour