Introduction: Through this paper, the authors Daniel Yankelovich and David Meer direct the attention to the true purpose of Market Segmentation – “Discovering Customers whose behaviors can be changed or whose needs are not being met”. Through analysis the authors describe how the Segmentation, if properly applied, would guide companies in tailoring their products & services to the groups most likely to purchase them. Good segmentations identify the groups most worth pursuing – The Underserved, the dissatisfied and those likely to make first time purchase. Good Segmentations are “Dynamic” in the sense that they recognize that the 1st-time purchaser may become underserved or dissatisfied if his/her need changes. Historical Perspective – …show more content…
For example, Babies R Us’ decision to offer cleaning supplies was in response to identification of changing needs of its customers. - Focus on Actual Customer behavior: Meaningful segmentations encompass the predictive power of actual purchase behavior – heaviness of use, brand switching, retail format or channel selection. When Apple decided to introduce iPhone with different purchase model it identified its customers need for change and Apple’s introduction of iPhone 3GS shows how keenly Apple analyzes its Customers’ behaviors - Make sense to top executives: Meaningful Segmentation will always make intuitive sense to senior managers. - Accommodate or anticipate changes in markets or behavior: Effective segmentations are dynamic since they concentrate of consumers’ needs, attitudes and behavior which can change quickly and they are reshaped by market conditions. The decision by many fresh food stores to offer Organic Produce was in response to changing consumer behavior. This strategy has helped these stores to capture a market segment that would have otherwise gone to Whole Foods for their needs. And the strategy of Whole Foods to display origin of produce was in response to needs of consumers who want to buy locally grown produce “Gravity of decision” spectrum: This focuses on form of consumer behavior that should be of greatest interest to marketers – The relationship of consumers to a
Segmentation and Target Market PaperJonathan GraceMKT/571October 21, 2014Dr. Johnny MorrisSegmentation and Target Market PaperThis plan was put into in 1936, establishing the Government Employees Insurance Company, the company known and respected today as GEICO. GEICO was primarily directed toward federal employees and certain groups of enlisted military officers. Lillian Goodwin actively marketed the company to this group of consumers and within a year, GEICO had written over 3,700 policy holders and employed 12 staff members.
understanding consumers’ needs, how groups of consumers differ from one another, and how consumers decide among products. The market need would be for specialty girls’ childrens clothing The following would be segmentation of the clothing market to help better understand the consumer (potential buyers): Geographic Segmentation Global Region or Country: India, Ect...
So many companies segment their customers by size and other such criteria because this approach is easy to carry out, and the companies falling into these gross categories do tend to have similar needs. But to have a truly actionable segmentation scheme, you must divide your customers into much more precise groupings based specifically on their needs.
As a marketer, it is essential to understand the customer-driven marketing strategy to create values for target customers. A market segmentation is a process that analysis markets into specific target consumers by their characteristics and behaviours. This will help marketers to identify the target consumer which is suitable for the product. There are four substantial segmentations which consist; segmenting consumer markets, business markets, international markets and requirements for effective segmentation. The main focused would be segmenting consumer market and appropriate use for targeting consumers with the case study of Boost Juice.
In order to market the product into the market successfully, marketers need to have some marketing strategy to enter the desired market and make profit. Market segmentation is the process of dividing a market into subsets of consumers with common needs or characteristics (Schiffman et al., 2011). Understanding the market size and segmentation is valuable, but the keys to effective targeting is to know just how valuable specific consumer groups are, and being able to quantify the impact of consumer trends ( Berry, 1999).
Macy’s identification of their differentiation and positioning strategies for Macy’s new cooking classes is crucial to serve customers base. Differentiating the marketing mix for the cooking class will not only meet customer needs, but it will build a competitive advantage. In addition, positioning the cooking classes to a unique target market of customers suited to their cooking needs. Recognizing differentiation strategies also creates a clear path of market mix blending to meet Macy’s goals and objective of the service.
The segmentation has been done on the basis of buying behavior of the customers. Knowledge of segment buying behavior can help redirect marketing resources for profit gain.
As every customer has unique needs and expectations towards certain products, the ultimate goal of market segmentation is to organize customers into groups which allows targeting of customers with similar needs of and response to the products. The key is to minimize differentiation within each segment
Market segmentation is usually regarded as one of the main elements of marketing, with benefit segmentation commonly referred to as the most meaningful form of segmentation. Even though the importance of segmentation is broadly accepted, limited research, do exist about cosmetic medical products (Mohr, Sengupta, & Slater 2010, 79). There are very few real examples of segmentation studies available. This article has focused on Johnson and Johnson products marketing strategy globally. The spread of global culture is normally facilitated by the rise of global capitalism, the proliferation of transitional corporations, homogenization of global consumption, and widespread aspiration for material possessions. International market researchers have discussed the breadth of convergence of cultural values across countries.
The world is made up of different people, therefore segmentation provides consumers products that fulfil their individual needs. Martin (2011) states that companies have to try different segmentation variables either alone or in combination because often the best choices arise from using various strategies. There are few ways to segment a market, therefore, companies must think innovatively and be willing to re-segment if needed.
“One of the most important strategic concepts contributed by the marketing discipline to business firms and other types of organizations is that of market segmentation” (Myers, 1996).
‘Market segmentation represents an effort to identify and catergorise groups of customers and countries according to common characteristics’ (Keegan and Green 2016, p.228). For any business, it is crucial that they segment their market accordingly or they will risk forgoing sales opportunities. Fahy and Jobber (2015) identify the objective of market segmentation as distinguishing groups of customers with similar requirements so
“A task force concluded, the past segmentation did not fully address the emerging shift in customer needs” “(Xiameter Case Study). Dow Corning had to thus try different segmentation variables, alone and in combination to find the best way to view the market structure. (Kotler et al, 2008).
The process of communicating the value of a product or service to customers, for the main purpose of selling that product or service is known as marketing. The science of choosing target markets through market segmentation and analysis, and understanding consumer behavior while providing superior customer value to the customers is termed as Marketing Management. It can be looked at as one of the most important of the organizational functions and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering the value to their customers or potential customers, and a customer relationship management that benefits the organization in a variety of ways.
To segment markets, we must know about customers and collect the data and use market information in brands. As shown in the following figure, companies normally use the following segmentation bases(variables) for segmenting market: profile (e.g. who are my market and where are they?); behavioral (e.g. where, when, and how does my market behave?); and psychological criteria (e.g. why does my market behave that way?). (Elizabeth C.Thach, 2006)