When we divide any class or a subject, it is done on certain grounds. The base is created after considering the various fields and the characteristics of students, merit and so on. Similarly marketing segmentation is done on certain consistency that exists within the group.
So in order to make sure that the product, offerings reach the right consumers and customers it is necessary that we understand the base of segmentation and market targeting.
Marketing segmentation is an outcome of “Analysis of Consumer Demand”
ANALYSIS CONSUMER DEMAND
There are a verity of consumer demand pattern so how do u get to know what are those and how you could understand which product or service offered by your company tackles the right audience? After all the right audience / consumers are the buyers and its important to segregate them into different segments.
So What is Demand Pattern?
A demand pattern indicates the uniformity or diversity of various consumer needs and desire for particular category of goods and services. A Firm would face one of the following three demand patterns.
There are broadly three patterns that help determain segments:
Homogeneous Demand:
This is when the consumers have relatively uniform requirements, needs and desire for a good or service category.
Cluster Demand:
This is when a consumer’s needs or desire for a good can be classified into two or more cluster, each having different purchase criteria.
Diffused Demand:
Here consumer’s needs and desire are s diversified that clusters cannot be identified. See, here a firms marketing task would be more difficult as product differentiation is more costly. It even involves higher communication cost.
ESTABLISHING POSSIBLE BASE FOR SEGMENTATION
It is widely thought in marketing that segmentation is more of an art not science. The key is to find the variable, or variables that split the market into actionable segments.
Customer needs had been the fundamental criteria for market segmentation. To find the needs of consumers in a market it is necessary to understand market research. Profilers are basicaly the detailed (descriptive), measurable consumer characteristics like (place, age, male or female, the income) this can be used with segmentation.
The most common profilers used in customer segmentation include the following:
Profiler Examples:
Demographics:
- Age, Sex, Family size
- Income,education,occupation
- Religion, race, nationality
Geographic:
- Region of the country
- Urban, Rural
Behavioral:
- Product Usage: (light, medium, heavy usage)
- Brand Loyalty: (none, medium, high
- Type of usage (with meals, special occasions)
