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Market Segmentation

People are different. Ultimately we are all individuals so you can argue that each one is a unique market segment. But for practical purposes people can be grouped or segmented - geographically, by social class or income, by gender, by age, by marital status, by race or culture, by attitudes, maybe in other ways too. Not that you need to take all of these into account when you want to bring your product or service to market. Some of these ways of considering your market, however, will be relevant. The world is a big place and you have to find the corners of it that are frequented by your market. If you want to attract people who are interested in marketing, like this site does, you design the content in a certain way to appeal to the kind of people who might be interested.

If Artefact was selling arthritis relieving drugs, you would not have found this site - unless you were spending your time in senior lifestyle and healthcare sites or newsgroups on medical topics because that is where our banner ads or sigfiles would be. We would not package our pills with a '"Simpsons'"logo and theme because we would have researched our market and discovered (probably) that the market segment in which arthritis is most prevalent is one which does not readily identify with the Simpsons. But if we were selling slingshots for kids, Bart might very well be painted all over them!

You'll always find plenty of exceptions to any examples that may be put forward, of course. Your granny probably loves The Simpsons. The point is that you should play the percentages; marketing research and market segmentation help you to determine the percentages!

Bases for Segmenting Consumer

Markets Here is a table reproduced from an excellent book called Marketing Today by Gordon Oliver (Prentice Hall Europe 1995). The table provides a range of bases for segmenting consumer markets. What are you marketing? Which of these considerations apply to you? If you think none of them, then you are not thinking enough about your products or your customers.

BASES FOR SEGMENTING CONSUMER MARKETS
Geographic	National/Regional differences in taste and product usage
Demographics:	Composition Can differences be distinguished between groups in each of these categories that reflect differences in propensity to purchase, or in product usage? Age Lifecycle Education Sex Family
Socio-economic and income	Are consumption or media exposure related to social grade or income level?
Geodemographics	Does where we live condition how we live, and consequently relate to what we buy?
Benefits sought	Are there differences in the benefits sought by different people from the same products?
Usage rate and brand loyalty	Are those who consume a lot of the product different from those who consume a little? Can highly brand-loyal individuals be distinguished?
Psychographics	Is consumption better considered in the context of 'lifestyle' groups?
Situation	Does the situation in which consumption or purchase take place vary?
Responsiveness to marketing instruments	Do people respond differently to aspects of marketing activity? Are some more responsive to advertising or price? Do they use different distribution channels?

Source: Marketing Today by Gordon Oliver, Prentice Hall Europe 1995