Strategic Marketing: Planning and Control, Third Edition

Social grade Social status Occupations Examples Approximate

percentage

of households

A Upper middle class Higher managerial/ Doctors, lawyers, 3

professional professors, directors

B Middle class Intermediate Managers, teachers, 10

managerial computer programmers

C1 Lower middle Junior managerial, Foreman, shop assistants, 24

supervisory, clerical office workers

administrative

C2 Skilled working class Skilled manual labour Electricians, mechanics, 30

plumbers and other crafts

D Working class Semi-skilled and unskilled Machine operators, 25

manual labour assembly workers

E Subsistence None Pensioners, casual 8

workers, unemployed,

students

Figure 4.7
Jicnars social grade definitions

62 Strategic Marketing: Planning and Control

Socio-economic segmentation

In socio-economic segmentation factors such as occupation, educational

background, place of residence and income are used to classify individ-

uals into larger ‘social class’ groupings.

In the UK JICNARS classification of social class has been a common tool

to categorise an individual’s social class (see Figure 4.7). JICNARS

approach is heavily dependent upon income and occupation as the key

factors which are used in determining its six major social groupings.

This is the traditional type of socio-economic classification system that

has been used in the UK for censuses since 1911. The UK National

Statistics Office, however, is planning to use a new categorisation system

for the 2001 census (Rose and O’Reilly, 1999). This is as a result of the

major shifts in make up of the UK population. Currently 60 per cent of the

population are deemed to be middle class compared to 51 per cent in 1984.

The new categories also take account of the increased role in the work-

place of women who now occupy 18 per cent of all professional posts

compared with 4 per cent in 1984. Women, under the new system, will be

categorised in their own right rather than according to on their husband’s

occupation. The new classification was based on a survey of 65 000 people

across 371 occupations (see Figure 4.8).