Marketing segmentation is one of the most important strategic concepts in the marketing discipline as well as for the Business . The overall objective of using a Market segmentation strategy is to improve the company’s competitive position and better serve the needs of customers.
The marketing concept calls for understanding customers and satisfying their needs better than the competitors, but different customers have different needs, and it is rarely possible to satisfy all customers by treating them alike.
Market segmentation is the division of a market into different groups of customers with distinctly similar needs and product/service requirements. Or to put it another way, market segmentation is the division of a mass market into identifiable and distinct groups or segments, each of which have common characteristics and needs and display similar responses to marketing actions.
The concept of market segment is based on the fact that the market of commodities are not homogeneous but they are heterogeneous. Market represent a group of
customer having common characteristics but two customer are never common in their nature, habits, hobbies income and purchasing techniques.
Mass marketing refers to treatment of the market as a homogenous group and offering the same marketing mix to all customers. Mass marketing allows economies of scale to be realized through mass production, mass distribution, and mass communication. The only drawback of mass marketing is that customer needs and preferences differ and the same offering is unlikely to be viewed as optimal by all customers. That is, absence of Human Touch.
Target marketing on the other hand recognizes the diversity of customers and does not try to please all of them with the same offering. The first step in target marketing is to identify different market segments and their needs.
Lets clear this topic by take some practical examples:
Not all individuals have similar needs. A male and a female would have varied interests and liking towards different products. A kid would not require something which an adult needs. A school kid would have a different requirement than an office goer. Market Segmentation helps the marketers to bring together individuals with similar choices and interests on a common platform.
Market Segmentation helps the marketers to devise appropriate marketing strategies and promotional schemes according to the tastes of the individuals of a particular market segment. A male model would look out of place in an advertisement promoting female products. The marketers must be able to relate their products to the target segments.
Market segmentation helps the marketers to understand the needs of the target audience and adopt specific marketing plans accordingly. Organizations can adopt a more focussed approach as a result of market segmentation.
Market segmentation also gives the customers a clear view of what to buy and what not to buy. A Rado or Omega watch would have no takers amongst the lower income group as they cater to the premium segment. College students seldom go to a Zodiac or Van Heusen store as the merchandise offered by these stores are meant mostly for the professionals. Individuals from the lower income group never use a Blackberry. In simpler words, the segmentation process goes a long way in influencing the buying decision of the consumers.
An individual with low income would obviously prefer a Nano or Alto instead of Mercedes or BMW.
Market segmentation helps the organizations to target the right product to the right customers at the right time. Geographical segmentation classifies consumers according to their locations. A grocery store in colder states of the country would stock coffee all through the year as compared to places which have defined winter and summer seasons.
Segmentation helps the organizations to know and understand their customers better. Organizations can now reach a wider audience and promote their products more effectively. It helps the organizations to concentrate their hard work on the target audience and get suitable results.
Since companies have finite resources it is not possible to produce all possible products for all the people, all of the time. The best that can be aimed for is to provide selected offerings for selected groups of people, most of the time. This process allows organizations to focus on specific customers’ needs, in the most efficient and effective way.
The marketing concept calls for understanding customers and satisfying their needs better than the competitors, but different customers have different needs, and it is rarely possible to satisfy all customers by treating them alike.
Market segmentation is the division of a market into different groups of customers with distinctly similar needs and product/service requirements. Or to put it another way, market segmentation is the division of a mass market into identifiable and distinct groups or segments, each of which have common characteristics and needs and display similar responses to marketing actions.
The concept of market segment is based on the fact that the market of commodities are not homogeneous but they are heterogeneous. Market represent a group of
customer having common characteristics but two customer are never common in their nature, habits, hobbies income and purchasing techniques.
Mass marketing refers to treatment of the market as a homogenous group and offering the same marketing mix to all customers. Mass marketing allows economies of scale to be realized through mass production, mass distribution, and mass communication. The only drawback of mass marketing is that customer needs and preferences differ and the same offering is unlikely to be viewed as optimal by all customers. That is, absence of Human Touch.Target marketing on the other hand recognizes the diversity of customers and does not try to please all of them with the same offering. The first step in target marketing is to identify different market segments and their needs.
Lets clear this topic by take some practical examples:
Not all individuals have similar needs. A male and a female would have varied interests and liking towards different products. A kid would not require something which an adult needs. A school kid would have a different requirement than an office goer. Market Segmentation helps the marketers to bring together individuals with similar choices and interests on a common platform.
Market Segmentation helps the marketers to devise appropriate marketing strategies and promotional schemes according to the tastes of the individuals of a particular market segment. A male model would look out of place in an advertisement promoting female products. The marketers must be able to relate their products to the target segments.
Market segmentation helps the marketers to understand the needs of the target audience and adopt specific marketing plans accordingly. Organizations can adopt a more focussed approach as a result of market segmentation.
Market segmentation also gives the customers a clear view of what to buy and what not to buy. A Rado or Omega watch would have no takers amongst the lower income group as they cater to the premium segment. College students seldom go to a Zodiac or Van Heusen store as the merchandise offered by these stores are meant mostly for the professionals. Individuals from the lower income group never use a Blackberry. In simpler words, the segmentation process goes a long way in influencing the buying decision of the consumers.
An individual with low income would obviously prefer a Nano or Alto instead of Mercedes or BMW.
Segmentation helps the organizations to know and understand their customers better. Organizations can now reach a wider audience and promote their products more effectively. It helps the organizations to concentrate their hard work on the target audience and get suitable results.
Since companies have finite resources it is not possible to produce all possible products for all the people, all of the time. The best that can be aimed for is to provide selected offerings for selected groups of people, most of the time. This process allows organizations to focus on specific customers’ needs, in the most efficient and effective way.
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