Strategic Marketing and the Four P's of Market Research

| According to the text, market segmentation is defined as identifying groups of consumers based on their common needs.Answer

By using Marketing strategy, organizations concentrate their resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and maintain a competitive advantage in its market (Wickipedia, pg1).Market segmentation is the process companies use to divide their market into groups of buyers and establish marketing tailored to individual groups. Market targeting is the process of actually choosing the market which poses the greatest profitability. Positioning involves product placement and helps marketers highlight their product over a competitor. The

According to Horner and Swarbrooke (2005: 39), Segmentation may be defined as the process of dividing a whole market into subgroups or segments for marketing management purposes. Market segmentation is the division of the overall market for a service into various categories with common characteristics. In response to different segments, organisations facilitate the available resources to achieve greater efficiency, in order to satisfy specific needs of customers.

• Market Segmenting- is known for targeting potential customers that are the best matches for services and products. This type of tool is important to businesses because it involves finding the different needs that exist with consumers. For example, some consumers prefer a fast paced environment while others are concerned with the space.

Market segmentation: The process of dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers who might require separate production or marketing mixes (Wells, Burnett, & Moriarty, 2006).

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).

Market segmentation is a marketing strategy that involves dividing a broad target market into subsets of consumers who have common needs and applications

What is Market Segmentation? According to Investopedia (n.d), market segmentation is a term used in marketing that refers to the aggregating of a potential buyer into groups, or segments, that share common needs and would respond similarly to a particular action in marketing. By utilizing market segmentation it enables Victoria’s Secret to target different categories of consumers who recognize the full value of certain products and services differently from one another. Furthermore, market segmentation is an extension of market research for the purposes of identifying targeted groups of consumers in order to tailor products and branding in a way that it is attractive to that group. There are three general criteria used to identify different market segments: homogeneity, distinction and reaction (Investopedia, n.d).

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 strategy involves dividing the market into different groups and how a market is segmented is based on certain variables. A Company must identify the parts of the market it can serve best in order to reach their specific target market as well as to achieve the maximum profitability. According to Prof. Dr. Christian Schuhart, several criteria used for different market segmentation include: demographical, socio-economical, psychographic and observable behavior segmentation.

The marketing segmentation concept allows a company to focus on a specific group of customers that it is best prepared and suited to satisfy. Rather than trying to be all things to all people, selecting a target market enables a company to tailor its offerings to more specific customer needs and preferences (Schewe & Hiam, 1998, p. 200). When a company focuses its efforts and capital (both tangible and intangible) on a more narrowly defined set of needs, it is more likely that the customers will get the product they desire. Companies that use the marketing segmentation concept typically have a more intimate knowledge of the customers they target, and customers usually relate better with companies that understand their interests. As such a relationship is built.

Market segmentation is an approach used by a company to select their target market and provide data for a marketing plan. “Market segmentation consist of a two-step process; naming broad product markets and segmenting these broad products-markets in order to select target markets and develop suitable marketing mixes” (Perreault, Cannon, & McCarthy, 2014, p.97). There are 4 categories pertaining to market segmentation; behavioral, geographic, demographic, and behavioral.

Segmentation is referred to as the procedure of partitioning the market into specific clusters of consumers who in essence share common needs and who might require separate products and marketing mixes. This marketing has become so common that even the organizations that possess mass marketing phenomena are using it (Vaske et al, 2009). The main purpose of using segmentation as a marketing mix strategy is to concentrate marketing force on dividing the available market to segments to gain a competitive advantage within those subdivisions or segments. This subdivision in turn helps the marketer to understand the target market`s demands, needs and wants. Basically, needs are depicted as essential human necessities, for example, food, water, and clothing among others. In essence, needs are the essential aspects in human life, and one cannot do without at all cost. On the other, wants are things that an individual can do without and as for the demands, are described as wants for specific products or services based on the ability of an individual to acquire them. Therefore, segmentation segregates the market into smaller groups of consumers or customers with different needs and behavior who may need marketing mixes. Similarly, segmentation is the single most important aspect of promotion, and it is

Market segmentation was to dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers with different needs, charactistics or behaviour who might require separate products or marketing mixes, the company will first

Although segmentation, targeting and positioning can be viewed as similar and parallel, it is important to distinguish these three concepts so to fully understand each of their roles.