Marketing is the art of knowing how to sell a product and getting it directly to the hands of the consumers. Of course in order to do this, one has to know which group of customers he should actually zoom in on. The art of determining which group of people a marketer should push his product to is the art of making a market segmentation strategy.
In order to develop good strategies, a marketing person should always first consult the Maslows Hierarchy of Needs because this will be his basis on what kind of people he must target for his product. The levels of this hierarchy are the basic needs, safety needs, belonging, self esteem, and of course self actualization. The product that will be sold must fall into either one of these categories of needs and it is up to the marketer to determine which one.
From the hierarchy, one will be able to know what type of product he is to sell. He will either be marketing a convenience product, an unsought product, a shopping product, or a specialty product. If one would connect these to the hierarchy, he can see that the convenience products satisfy the basic needs, the unsought ones satisfy the safety needs, the shopping ones for the belonging, and the specialty ones handle the self esteem and self actualization.
By knowing what category the product would fall under, it is actually very simple to determine which consumers should be targeted. Determining the demographics of a certain group is the next step in the process. Basically, one has to determine the gender of the market, the age range, and the income bracket in which they belong in.
When one has already determined the demographics of the target segment, then it is time to go a little bit more micro when it comes to the consumer. Now the psychographics would involve the lifestyle of the consumer and how the mind of the consumer would work. Basically, psychographics would cover the activities, interests, behavioral patterns, and opinion of the consumer.
Zooming in on the interests and behaviors of the consumer would enable the marketer to be able to solve the brand loyalty issue. Brand loyalty means the bond that the customer has with a certain brand. By taking a look at the lifestyle of the consumer, the marketer may now connect the brand to his lifestyle so that he will keep on using the brand.
With the help of the price, product, place, and promotion strategies, one may now be able to come up with a strategy in targeting the specific group of people to sell the product to. Basically, one has now already determined the target segment at this point. From there, a great plan for zooming in on them can be made.
So as one can see, making a market segmentation strategy not only takes a look at the consumers but also at the product. Basically, one has to take a look at the product then the specific customer that should be serviced. It is a process that goes from broad to specific.
In order to develop good strategies, a marketing person should always first consult the Maslows Hierarchy of Needs because this will be his basis on what kind of people he must target for his product. The levels of this hierarchy are the basic needs, safety needs, belonging, self esteem, and of course self actualization. The product that will be sold must fall into either one of these categories of needs and it is up to the marketer to determine which one.
From the hierarchy, one will be able to know what type of product he is to sell. He will either be marketing a convenience product, an unsought product, a shopping product, or a specialty product. If one would connect these to the hierarchy, he can see that the convenience products satisfy the basic needs, the unsought ones satisfy the safety needs, the shopping ones for the belonging, and the specialty ones handle the self esteem and self actualization.
By knowing what category the product would fall under, it is actually very simple to determine which consumers should be targeted. Determining the demographics of a certain group is the next step in the process. Basically, one has to determine the gender of the market, the age range, and the income bracket in which they belong in.
When one has already determined the demographics of the target segment, then it is time to go a little bit more micro when it comes to the consumer. Now the psychographics would involve the lifestyle of the consumer and how the mind of the consumer would work. Basically, psychographics would cover the activities, interests, behavioral patterns, and opinion of the consumer.
Zooming in on the interests and behaviors of the consumer would enable the marketer to be able to solve the brand loyalty issue. Brand loyalty means the bond that the customer has with a certain brand. By taking a look at the lifestyle of the consumer, the marketer may now connect the brand to his lifestyle so that he will keep on using the brand.
With the help of the price, product, place, and promotion strategies, one may now be able to come up with a strategy in targeting the specific group of people to sell the product to. Basically, one has now already determined the target segment at this point. From there, a great plan for zooming in on them can be made.
So as one can see, making a market segmentation strategy not only takes a look at the consumers but also at the product. Basically, one has to take a look at the product then the specific customer that should be serviced. It is a process that goes from broad to specific.
