Tag: research
Purchasing Behavior in GA & BA Part One: Demographics
Working in conjunction with AVweb, BDN Aerospace Marketing recently surveyed 2,500+ general and business aviation professionals to better understand who they are, and how and why they make purchasing decisions.
Respondents ranged from self-described line pilots and private pilots to directors of maintenance and CEOs. All are involved in aviation, working in businesses ranging from real estate and security to agriculture, mining, software, architecture, construction and much more. It’s a diverse and interesting group that largely self identifies as purchasing decision makers. If you market to these individuals, this high-level overview should be helpful, and more details are available on request.
Today our focus is defining and understanding this group of respondents, and we will start by saying this: they are old. In fact, older than we expected, and as marketers, we must be keenly aware of this finding.
We already know that the GA and BA communities are aging. The Aircraft Owners and Operators Association (AOPA) reports that between 1990 and 2010, the average age of U.S. pilots, for example, increased from 40.5 to 44.2, and that number continues to rise, “posing serious challenges for the industry.” Our respondents, who represent more than just pilots, were older still. Those in business aviation are notably younger than those in general aviation, but still aging. Less than 20 percent of the BA respondents are under 50 and that number drops to less than 10 percent for GA.
In the group surveyed, the vast majority of respondents were 50 or older, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore the under-50s. These younger people do play a role as influencers and decision-makers, and we need to understand and market to them now, preparing for the time when they represent the majority.
Older respondents in GA are much more likely to be part of an organization with an individual decision maker and to describe themselves as a primary decision maker.
While there is much more team decision making within the BA segment, about half of these respondents say they make the final decisions. Further analysis showed that younger respondents are more likely to describe themselves as influencers in an organization where team decision-making is the norm.
Based on all of these findings, marketers looking for quicker sales in either segment may want to focus on older prospects who are generally better off financially and are also in a position to make individual decisions without team or committee consultation.
Younger respondents (those under 50) tend to have a larger presence in functions such as manufacturing, marketing and with dealers. Fifty-somethings are strong in engineering, marketing and with dealers. And the oldest respondents dominate senior leadership, finance, purchasing and procurement and aircraft ownership.
Not surprisingly, aircraft owners and operators dominate GA while there are a significant number of self-described senior leaders in BA. Once again, the older prospects are likely to be the most attractive targets for marketers, depending on what is being sold.
Survey findings are most reflective of respondents with a focus on fixed wing businesses in the GA and BA segments, but rotary wing and commercial aviation were relatively well represented. If you market to these groups, this information should prove valuable.
Coming up next week: See what respondents value most in products, in services, and in suppliers (hint: it’s not brand or reputation) and see how priorities change based on age and market segment.
To further improve and approach your marketing in a more strategic fashion, download this easy-to-use marketing planner. It’s one of the most popular resources we offer.
7 Research Questions that Can Change Your Marketing Forever
BDN believes in research both for the industry and for our clients. And you should, too.
Please don’t discount research because you think you understand your audience. No one in our field can afford to base marketing decisions and investments on guesswork or assumptions about audience definition, needs and preferences. You have to know.
This Forbes article, “Why Knowing Your Audience is the Key to Success,” advises that “a solid market research campaign plays an important role in a successful marketing initiative by giving you the information you need to focus in on your audience and content.” And that’s really the point — gathering the right information to make your marketing more effective.
However, research is a complex topic that should not be approached lightly. If you’re thinking about conducting research of your own, it’s important to ask the right questions. Whether you are doing one-on-one interviews, focus groups, or an online written survey, here are 7 types of questions you’ll want to include in your research initiative.
- Who, specifically, are the decision makers for purchasing your products/services? Procurement people? Pilots? Maintenance personnel? Others? Prioritize them, separating by market segment if needed.
- What role do they play in purchasing decisions? Are they influencers? Sole decision-makers? Part of a committee or team?
- How do your targets make decisions? What factors are most important to them? Do they value price above all else? Strive to understand everything you can about their decision-making process and tailor your marketing to match.
- What are the demographics of your audience? Consider asking about gender, age, and geographic location, for example. Cross-tabulating this information with other findings can provide valuable insight.
- What does the audience know or believe about your company and products versus competitive offerings? Are they aware of your business and product line? Do they have a positive impression? Understanding awareness and perceptions will fundamentally shape your campaign strategy and tactics.
- What are the pain points, problems and challenges they face? For example, if they are challenged by unreliable products — and if reliability drives their decision-making — you have gained a valuable leverage point that can set you apart from the competition. Also, consider including an option for respondents to write in comments. These can be incredibly helpful.
- Where and how do they learn about products and services that may be of interest to them? From Google to advertising, print collateral to dealers, learning what channels are most influential can guide how and where you invest limited marketing budgets.
Want to learn more? Don’t miss this in-depth piece from B2B International.
And watch this space next week, when we begin presenting original research detailing how purchasing decisions are made within the general and business aviation markets.
Aerospace Advertising: What We Learned
When it comes to advertising, there’s one thing we can all agree on — things are changing.
Our month-long look at advertising was filtered through the lens of aerospace marketing professionals who shared their thoughts, experiences and insightful comments.
There were no true eureka moments — some findings were predictable and many a bit surprising — but we did learn a lot and uncovered several valuable takeaways.
While the survey shows that print is still important, the comments add some revealing caveats. Some marketers support print but characterize it as somewhat of a “necessary evil,” acknowledging that it is “unaccountable, expensive and slow,” yet driven by the belief that it is still necessary to reach older decision-makers.
Digital is valued because it is “trackable, targeted, and interactive,” and we are encouraged that marketers value measurement. Respondents are increasing their digital spending and most agree that digital advertising will ultimately displace print. The only real question is when it will happen. The cost difference between print and digital was mentioned quite frequently — BDN predicts that gap will close. As digital demand increases, prices will, too.
The comments make it clear that for the time being, print and digital are both important. As one respondent said, “an integrated strategy involving digital and traditional communications works best,” and this is a position BDN generally agrees with.
With clear goals and a smart strategy, the correct mix of tactics is generally quite clear, and for us, this is the key takeaway. Start with a sound strategy and the tactics will take care of themselves. This complete marketing plan template — customized for aerospace and defense — can help.
To see complete survey results, click here. To view marketers’ preferred publications, click here. And to read respondent comments, click here.
Don’t forget — this listing of 300+ A&D-specific media is a useful tool for advertisers. Download yours here.
People’s Choice: A&D Marketers ID Preferred Publications
Because our industry is served by more than 300 aerospace and defense publications, a comprehensive survey determining individual preferences is simply not feasible.
Instead, to identify and understand trends, we asked an open-ended question: “If you could only choose to advertise in a few industry publications (print or digital), what would they be?” By not requiring respondents to refer to a list of choices, we hoped to uncover trends in a more organic fashion.
Here’s what we learned, based on the number of write-in “votes” (shown below) for each publication, and congratulations to the top five: Aviation International News, Vertical, AOPA Pilot, Aviation Week & Space Technology, Flying, and Rotor & Wing.
So, what do you think of the list? Is it consistent with your experiences? Whatever your opinion, we’d love to hear from you in the comments section and facilitate a dialogue about the role of advertising in aviation, aerospace and defense marketing.
Next Up:
Our series on the “The Role of Advertising in Aerospace and Defense Marketing,” will continue next week as we share verbatim comments from more than 100 industry marketing professionals who took our survey. Watch for it on April 19.
Don’t Forget:
A more substantial overview of survey findings is available here. Also, if you find our blog and other resources to be useful, please share them with a friend!
We asked: Does the future of aerospace include advertising?
Advertising — once the mainstay of BDN’s business — is now a source of ongoing discussion, debate and uncertainty within the Aerospace and Defense industry. Our team routinely fields a great many advertising-related questions from clients and colleagues. We find that in general, people want to know if advertising is relevant, effective and worth the investment — and they often want to know about industry trends and understand what their peers are or are not doing.
This survey, “The Role of Advertising in Aerospace and Defense Marketing,” was designed to get a sense of trends and how advertising is used and viewed in our industry today. Based on more than 150 responses, from marketers covering a broad array of industry segments, it is not a scientific but is certainly suggestive. We hope you find it useful.
Key Finding: Advertising is in decline, and people who once advertised are no longer advertising.
While 93% of respondents said they have advertised in the past, just 72% say they advertise now.
Key Finding: In general, the majority of advertising budgets are increasing or staying the same. Fewer budgets are declining.
Key Finding: The majority of respondents think print advertising is still relevant and effective in our industry, but many are unsure.
Key Finding: While print is still important to respondents, digital is growing in importance, with spending split fairly equally between print and digital.
Next Up: Our series on the “The Role of Advertising in Aerospace and Defense Marketing,” will continue next week as we reveal industry marketers’ preferred publications. Watch for the People’s Choice results on April 12.
Don’t Forget: BDN’s Complete Guide to Aerospace & Defense Media is a great resource for industry advertisers. Download it here.