The age-specific frequency evaluation which was carried out analogue to the
gender-specific frequency evaluation revealed the following age-specific differences
regarding the requirements made of a knife with a fixed blade:
.
The group of 26 to 50-year-old participants turned out to be the most critical
customer group. This could be seen on the one hand in that they ranked a
significantly lower number of product attributes queried as being attractive
(six attractive requirements versus nine attractive requirements in the A1 age group
and eight attractive requirements in the A3 age group) and on the other hand, that
this age group selected the highest number of must-be/basic requirements (six
must-be/basicrequirements versusfive inthe A1agegroup and three must-be/basic
requirements in the A3 age group).
.
The age group of participants up to the age of 25 years turned out to be the customer
group to select the most attractive features – nine in all. The cutlery producer has
thus the possibility to bind initial customers and young consumers to the company
over the long term by taking their needs into consideration when developing and
designing the product. Special mention should be made here of the product
attributes “symbol showing use” and “positive test rating”. Whilst these product
attributes were ranked in the requirements category by the other two age groups as
being indifferent, for the younger participants, they represented an inducement to
purchase. It can be easily assumed that this can be put down to the fact that younger
persons have little experience in using knives either at work or in the home.
The relative frequency evaluation revealed not only the named differences but also the
following segment-independent similarities.
The following four product attributes were judged unanimously by participants of
both genders and in all age groups as being must-be/basic requirements. Segment-wide
grouping as “must-be/basic requirements (M)”: