Target Market Segmentation
A company cannot satisfy the needs and wants of all its potential customers. To do so would result in a massive drain in company resources. The broader your target market the more difficult it is to deliver a meaningful and unique benefit.
Market segmentation is simply the process of dividing a particular market into manageable sections, which display similar characteristics or behaviour.
There are a number of different ways to segment a market and these depend on the nature of the industry and the service or products being offered.
Some segmentation variables are:
- Demographics
- Psychographics
- Lifestyle
- Behavioural
- Income
- Lifecycle
- Geographic
- Vertical industry
- Social class
By targeting segments instead of entire markets, a company has a much better chance of delivering value to its customers and of receiving maximum rewards for its close attention to the needs of its target segment.