Marketing Segmentation is one of the steps that goes into defining and targeting specific markets. The process of dividing a market in a different group of buyers who require different products or marketing mixes.
In the Marketing Segmentation a key success factor in today's market is to find subtle differences to give a company the marketing edge.
Marketing opportunities are increasing, when segmented groups of customers and clients with different needs and desires are recognized. Markets can be segmented or who have used a variety of factors. The bases for segmenting consumer markets are:
Bases demographic (age, family size, life cycle, occupation)
Geographical basis (states, regions, countries)
Bases of behavior (product knowledge, use, attitudes, responses)
A company must analyze the needs and desires of different market segments before determining its own niche. To be effective Marketing Segmentation. You must have the following things in mind:
Segments or target markets must be open for business.
Each segmented group must be large enough to provide a solid customer base.
Each segmented group requires a separate marketing plan.
Large companies segment their markets by conducting extensive market research projects. This research is often too expensive for small businesses to invest, but there are ways for small businesses to segment their markets.
A small business can do the following to obtain knowledge and information on how to segment their markets:
Use the resources of the date and secondary qualitative research. You can use the following resources for external secondary data:
Trade and association publications and experts.
Basic research publications.
Measuring external services
Conduct informal factor and cluster analysis by:
Viewing marketing efforts and key competitors copy them.
Talking to key trade buyers new product launches.
Conducting needs analysis of qualitative research with individuals and groups.
There are many reasons for the marketing division into smaller segments. At any time you suspect there is significant and measurable differences in the market should take account of Marketing Segmentation.
Marketing Segmentation Strategies. Customer segmentation is a common marketing jargon. It is said that every company must first segment its customers, choose the target segment and should try to meet your needs.
In this era of web 2.0, when business is online and e-commerce is increasing its share in the wole dramatically, the question arises:
Do companies know how to segment customers based on their pattern of Internet use? or Is it supposed to "All visitors are created equal"? or Have there been any research to understand consumers based on their Internet usage pattern? If companies do not have this primary information, how business is expected to do? Consider this questions to do effective Marketing Segmentation strategies.
How are supposed to reap the benefits of the Internet?
The answer is being provided by a study by McKinsey and Media Metrix, which identifies the segmentation of Internet consumers for the first time in their patterns of use.
According to the study, the different categories, along with brief descriptions are as follows:
1) Simplify: "End-to-End" The people looking for convenience. They spend on average 7 hours per month, but has the longest line of tenure. Therefore, if an Internet marketer wants to have steady sales in this segment, you must provide end-to-end convenience and ease of access, availability of information, etc.
2) The surfers: login with a specific purpose in mind, shopping for gifts, for example. According to the study, representing 8% of the population of active users, but account for 32% of time online. To attract and keep surfers, a website needs a cutting edge design and features, regular updates, a strong brand online, and an assortment of products and services.
3) Connectors: As its name implies, use the Internet to connect people through different means. Although connectors account for 36% of the population of active users, 40% of them have been online less than two years, and only 42% have made online purchases (compared to an average of 61%).
4) the negotiators: These people are driven by the search for offers. 52% of visitors to eBay is made up of this category. To remove the sales in this segment, the site should only use them on the rational level, but also emotional, satisfying their needs of competitive pricing, the excitement of the "search" and the desire community.
5) Routiners: Its main function is to go online for information. As its name implies these people are routine visitors are offshoots of news. These people visit fewer domains, but spend almost twice as much time per page than others. Routiners want superior content and meaning that they are receiving "something special".
6) Sportster: Uses of the Internet, mainly for sports and entertainment-related information. They spend an average of 7.1 hours (compared to 9.8 average). The challenge for companies is to turn this on income use, usually by moving the content visitors "free" to a paid subscription.
As the study shows that everyone has different needs and usage pattern taking a look at their behavior. And therefore the knowledge of these behaviors, it is an advantage for online merchants to target their customers in a much more streamlined. Consider these procedures for an effective Marketing Segmentation in Internet.
Undifferentiated Marketing or Mass. Making Marketing Segmentation. Under this strategy, the seller tries to attract a large market with a unique marketing strategies. While this method offers advantages in terms of reduced development costs and production, as only one product is marketed, there are few markets in which all customers who seek the same benefits. While this approach was popular in the early days of marketing (eg, Ford Model-T), few companies now see this as a viable strategy.
Differentiated or Marketing Segmentation. Marketers choosing this strategy of trying to attract several smaller markets with a unique marketing strategies for each market. The basic concept is that large markets can be divided into several sub-markets and the organization chooses different marketing strategies to reach each sub-prime market is going. Most large consumer products companies follow this strategy, offering multiple products (eg, running shoes, basketball shoes) into a broader product category (eg, footwear).
Concentrated or niche marketing. This strategy combines segmentation and marketing communications using a unique marketing strategy to attract one or more very small markets. It is primarily used by small businesses that have identified small sub-segments of a larger segment that are not well served by large companies that follow a segmented marketing approach. In these situations, a smaller company can do very well marketing a single product to a target market in the strict sense.
Customize or micro-marketing. This marketing strategy ultimate goal attempt to lure potential customers with individualized marketing programs. For the segmentation of micro-marketing to be effective, the seller must, to some extent, allow customers to "build-your-own" products. This approach requires a broad technical capability for advertisers to reach individual customers, allowing customers to interact with the seller. The Internet has been the catalyst for this strategy of target marketing. As more companies learn to use the Internet micro-marketing is expected to thrive. Consider this steps to use good your Marketing Segmentation.
Marketing segmentation Known as the division of a market into different homogeneous groups. Instead of offering the same mix of many different clients marketing, marketing segmentation allows companies to adapt the marketing mix for specific markets, customer needs best suited. Not all marketing mix elements necessarily change from one segment to another. For example, in some cases, only the campaigns would be different.
A marketing segmentation should be:
measurable
accessible by communication and distribution channels
different in their response to marketing mix
durable (not changing too fast)
important enough to be profitable
A market can be segmented by different criteria, and industrial markets are somewhat different segments of the consumer, as described below.
Consumer Marketing Segmentation
A basis for segmentation is a factor that varies between groups within a market, but is consistent within the groups. We can identify four major bases in the consumer market segment:
Geographic segmentation is based on regional variables, such as region, climate, population density, and the rate of population growth.
Demographic segmentation is based on variables such as age, gender, ethnicity, education, occupation, income and family status.
Psychographic segmentation based on variables such as values, attitudes and lifestyle.
Segmentation of behavior is based on variables such as usage rate and patterns, price sensitivity, brand loyalty, and the benefits sought.
The best basis for segmenting the market will depend on the particular situation and are determined by the marketing research, market trends, and management criteria.
Marketing Segmentation
Although many of the foundations of consumer market segmentation can be applied to companies and organizations, the different nature of business markets often leads to the segmentation of the following bases:
Geo - depending on variables such as the regional concentration of customers, the regional rate of industrial growth, and international macroeconomic factors.
Client type - based on such factors as the size of the organization, its industry, its position in the value chain, etc.
Buyer behavior - based on factors such as loyalty to suppliers, usage patterns and order size.
Profiles of the segments
The marketing segmentation identified are summarized profiles, often gives a descriptive name. From these profiles, the attractiveness of each segment can be evaluated and selected a target marketing segmentation.
Marketing segmentation is the identification of market shares that are different from each other. The segmentation enables the company to better meet the needs of your prospects.
The need for marketing segmentation
The marketing concept requires understanding customers and satisfying their needs better than the competition. However, customers have different needs, and is rarely possible to satisfy all customers, treating everyone equally.
Mass about marketing segmentation
concerns the treatment of the market as a homogenous group and offering the same marketing mix to all customers. Mass marketing allows economies of scale through mass production, mass distribution and mass communication. The drawback of mass marketing is that the needs and preferences are different and the same offer is unlikely to be seen as optimal by all customers. If companies ignore the needs of different customers, another company is likely to enter the market with a product that serves a specific group, and companies lose their business incumbant.
Marketing Segmentation are actions on the other hand recognizes the diversity of customers and not try to please everyone with the same treatment. The first step in the target market is to identify the different market segments and needs.
Requirements of market segments
In addition to having different needs, segments of practice to be evaluated against the following criteria:
Identifiable: the differentiating attributes of the segments must be measurable so that they can be identified.
Accessible: the segments should be accessible through the communication and distribution channels.
Substantial: the segments should be large enough to justify the resources required for that purpose.
Special needs: to justify the individual offerings, the segments must respond differently to different marketing mixes.
Durable: the segments should be relatively stable to minimize the cost of frequent changes.
A good marketing segmentation will lead to industry members that are internally homogeneous and externally heterogeneous, which is as similar as possible in the segment, and as different as possible between the segments.
