Marketing Pillars - Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning and Differentiation

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marketing pillars - segmentation, targeting, positioning and differentiation

While there may be theoretically 'ideal' market segments, in reality every organization engaged in a market will develop different ways of imagining market segments, and create product differentiation strategies to exploit these segments. The market segmentation and corresponding product differentiation strategy can give a firm a temporary commercial advantage. Criteria for Segmenting

An ideal market segment meets all of the following criteria: * It is possible to measure.
* It has to be large enough to earn profit.
* It has to be stable enough that it does not vanish after some time. * It is possible to reach potential customer via organization's promotion and distribution channel. * It is internally homogeneous (potential customers in the same segment prefer the same product qualities). * It is externally heterogeneous, that is, potential customers from different segments have different quality preferences. * It responds similarly to a market stimulus.

* It can be reached by market intervention in a cost-effective manner. * Useful in deciding on marketing mix
Market segmentation is a marketing strategy that involves dividing a broad target market into subsets of consumers who have common needs and applications for the relevant goods and services. Depending on the specific characteristics of the product, these subsets may be divided by criteria such as age and gender, or other distinctions, like location or income. Marketing campaigns can then be designed and implemented to target these specific customer segments.

Basis for segmenting consumer markets
Geographic segmentation
The market is segmented according to geographic criteria—nations, states, regions, countries, cities, neighborhoods, or zip codes. Geo-cluster approach combines demographic data with geographic data to create a more accurate profile of specific. With respect to region, in rainy regions you can sell things like raincoats, umbrellas and gumboots. In hot regions you can sell summer wear. In cold regions you can sell warm clothes.

Demographic Segmentation
Demographic segmentation consists of dividing the market into groups based on variables such as age, gender, family size, income, occupation, education, religion, race and nationality. As one might expect, demographic segmentation variables are amongst the most popular bases for segmenting customer groups. This is partly because customer wants are closely linked to variables such as income and age. Also, for practical reasons, there is often much more data available to help with the demographic segmentation process. Psychographic Segmentation

Psychographics is the science of using psychology and demographics to better understand consumers. Psychographic segmentation: consumers are divided according to their lifestyle, personality, values. Aliens within the same demographic group can exhibit very different psychographic profiles. "Positive" market segmentation

Market segmenting is dividing the market into groups of individual markets with similar wants or needs that a company divides into distinct groups which have distinct needs, wants, behavior or which might want different products & services. Broadly, markets can be divided according to a number of general criteria, such as by industry or public versus private. Although industrial market segmentation is quite different from consumer market segmentation, both have similar objectives. All of these methods of segmentation are merely proxies for true segments, which don't always fit into convenient demographic boundaries. Consumer-based market segmentation can be performed on a product specific basis, to provide a close match between specific products and individuals. However, a number of generic market segment systems also exist, e.g. the system provides a broad segmentation of the population of the United States based on the...
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