[Mageia-dev] Identifying Target Markets

Fri Oct 1 00:50:56 CEST 2010

On Friday 01 Oct 2010 10:11:18 Wolfgang Bornath wrote:
+> Reading all this one thing comes to my mind: the world is not the same
+> all over the world. Same applies to your assessments of school
+> decisions, families and the Linux/WIndows issue.
+> 
+> Over here the public office of a state controlls what computers and
+> operating systems are used in schools, money is not a criteria there.
+> It is, of course, in the sense that many schools can not have
+> computers at all or just 10 machines for a school of 500 students. Ah,
+> yes, I'm talking about Germany, not somewhere in central Africa.
+> The public office makes deals with Microsoft (sometimes Mr. Gates
+> himself came to visit before a new contract was signed), the largest
+> local t-com provider sponsors the internet access and the schools have
+> no say in that.
+
+It used to be like that here too, but governments don't like exclusivity and 
+given the option they will contract other players with the right sort of 
+pressure.  Novell did it here in NZ, got the same deal as MickySoft.  
+Education departments respond to pressure from industry, simple
+
+> 
+> The families: if the kid wants a computer then either Dad buys a new
+> one and the kids get the old, or they buy a new one but mom has no
+> say, it's either Dad or the kids because the parents don't know
+> anything about computers.
+
+Nonsense, It's interesting I know quite a few German families here in NZ, 
+perhaps that's why they migrated, so the wife could make the majority of the 
+purchasing decisions.  ;)  I'm afraid that your impressions fly in the face of 
+all the real marketing intelligence. Dad or kids buy the computers because Mum 
+has been left out of the demographic, typical given the number of women in the 
+industry, but target that demographic and Mum becomes decision maker.
+
+In this day and age everyone knows about computers even if they don't know how 
+to operate them.  They also know the significance of computers in modern 
+society and In this target group they would invariably know how to work them.  
+I'm talking young parents here, they've likely had computers to work and play 
+with right through their Secondary school career and now they have school age 
+kids of their own who demand technology
+
+
+> 
+> One of the largest and fastest growing groups of computer users over
+> here are people of age, retired persons who visit computer courses in
+> the neighborhood center (I'm teaching there sometimes). They are a
+> target group also.
+
+Agreed wholeheartedly and guess what, many have Grandchildren and families 
+
+> 
+> I think the one you picked (young couples with kids) are those who are
+> the unlikeliest targets - Mom and Dad are working, perhaps with
+> computers, most times with Windows. Kids will learn their computer
+> knowledge in school, not at home because Mom and Dad have no time for
+> that.
+
+Nonsense, this group understands that education is nonstop process and for 
+their children to make the most of their educational opportunities then they 
+need the tools at home to do it.  It is a market that is ripe for the plucking 
+because the only people targeting them right now is Microsoft.  
+
+> 
+> See, this is quite different to the picture you are painting, and I
+> can imagine that it may be still different in other areas of the
+> world.
+
+Every place is unique, but not as unique as we'd all like to believe, one 
+thing that marketing tells you.  A good example is Micky Ds, the same 
+everywhere, with slight local variations. 
+
+> 
+> Therefore picking one target group for a worldwide project like this
+> is the wrong way IMHO.
+
+I am not picking one target group, I am identifying an untapped market and a 
+potentially large one.  It's also a small network of 4.2 people and more when 
+you include a third generation, and personal network is our weakest link and 
+MS's strongest  
+
+> 
+> wobo
+
+cheers
+GL
+
+
+-- 
+Graham Lauder,
+OpenOffice.org MarCon (Marketing Contact) NZ
+http://marketing.openoffice.org/contacts.html
+
+OpenOffice.org Migration and training Consultant.
+
+INGOTs Assessor Trainer
+(International Grades in Open Technologies)
+www.theingots.org
+