Marketing segmentation Essays - Marketing, Market Economics

Marketing segmentation Name Affiliation There are four major steps in designing a customer driven marketing strategy. They include market segmentation, differentiation, market targeting and positioning (Armstrong, et al 2013). Market segmentation Market segmentation can be defined as the process of dividing up the total market if all the people in the organization can sell its products or service. So this is the process of dividing up the total market into measurable, identifiable and discrete groups that share common characteristics or the needs and whose communication messages and reactions about products or services are similar (Armstrong, et al 2013). Market targeting The organization needs to start by first identifying a range of possible segments in the market and then start the targeting process. This process can be termed as a re-evaluation of the segments and the profiles that are matched against the resources and the core competencies to identify the attractive segments to target. It involves evaluating every market segment's attractiveness and selecting the market segment to enter (Armstrong, et al 2013). Differentiation In regards to differentiation there are some examples of product differentiation, they include channel differentiation, service differentiation, image differentiation and people differentiation. Promotion differentiation can be superior, distinctive, communicable, affordable, pre-emptive and profitable. Differentiation involves differentiating the market offing so that a superior customer value is created (Armstrong, et al 2013). Positioning The positioning of the product process involves making of fine adjustments to the service in accordance to the research conducted in the marketing planning process and the creation of an image of the service which meets the target market values. The position can be made up of the core competencies or the specific value requirements of the target group. For every target segment, adjustments are made in the market mix. Positioning involves arrangement of the market offing so as to occupy a clear, distinctive and a desirable place that is relative to the competing products to the target consumers (Armstrong, et al 2013). Question 2 behavioral segmentation In behavioral segmentation, the marketers divide the buyers into groups on the basis of the customer's knowledge and attitude towards the use of, or response to a product. Occasion: the occasion marks the time of the day, week, month, year or the other defined aspects of the life of a customer. The marketers can distinguish the buyers according to the occasion when a product is brought or when a product is brought. An example is air travel that is triggered by occasions that are related to vacation or business. The greeting cards are designed according to the festival season that trigger their buying like new year, Christmas, wedding anniversaries, valentine's day and teachers day and the birth of a child. Dry fruits, chocolates and sweets are specifically packed for the festivals like Diwali and Holi. Occasion segmentation helps in expanding the product usage (Armstrong, et al 2013). Benefits Not everybody gets the same benefits from the products they buy. The benefits based and needs based segmentation is used widely because it identifies the distinct market segments that clear marketing implications. An example in this case is shampoo that offers several benefits like basic cleaning, shine and bounce, conditioning, suitability for different hair types and dandruff control (Armstrong, et al 2013). User status Not everybody uses all the products. Every product has its potential users, non users and ex-users, regular and first time users. An example here is the blood donors that cannot rely on regular donors to supply them with blood, they should go ahead and recruit new first time donor and also be in a position to contact ex donors, this is done with different marketing strategy (Armstrong, et al 2013). Usage rate In the markets the segmentation is done according to light, medium and heavy product users. The heavy users are not so many but they account for a high percentage of the total consumption. An example here is the usage of cellular phones. The cellular phone service providers do the calculation of their average revenue per user and the heavy account user for a larger part of the revenue more than the casual users (Armstrong, et al 2013). Loyalty status Companies gain a lot by analyzing the