Segmentation, targeting and positioning

Segmentation

Nowadays, many organisations have to segment their target audience in order to market to them as many of them do not have the resources to market to everyone. Therefore many organisations tend to break down consumers and divide them into different groups in regards to their similar characteristics.

According to Brassington, there are many ways consumers can be divided such as geographic segmentation, demographic segmentation, psychographic segmentation. However, two main ways consumers are divided are demographic and geographic segmentation.

Geographic segmentation is when consumers are divided into groups according to their location which can to be useful for small businesses as they have limited resources. Additionally, this type of segmentation have advantages like it assist organisations to develop efficient systems for consumer contract and distribution.

Whereas demographic segmentation is when consumers are divided regarding their descriptive like their sex, age, race etc. Also consumers tend to be divided into group in relation to their incomes, occupation family structure etc.

In other words segmentation involves discovering what types of consumers exist and dividing them to into groups. The above picture illiustrates population of consumers being segmentated different categories regarding their perception.

Targeting

Targeting depends on many factors such as where there is a gap in the market, how efficiently other organisations are serving people in their target market. As well as other factors affect it like how big is the segment, how much growth can be expected in the segment.

For example, the retailer called Zara would be targeting consumers which are sophisticated, elegant as their stores and their clothes range is a bit more up market then retailers like River Island. Due to materials which the clothes they sell are manufactured from are of a better quality than retailers like River Island, Primark etc.

Position

Schiffman & Kanuk (1994), Positioning products is important as a product will be competing with similar products and brands of those products. As in the chocolate industry certain chocolates such as thorntons, ferrero rochers, lindt are targeting and position higher in the market than chocolates which cadbury's manufacture or a owned brand chocolate from a supermarket.

It is important to position your products in the right position so that the consumers in the segment you are targeting will buy it. The reason being, you can not have ferrero rochers position low whether it is in the market as its qulity and taste is to goods for it to be positioned lowly.