For the convenience of studying the material, we divide the article market segmentation into topics:
For segmentation of the market of consumer goods (CPT), the main criteria (features) are:
geographical,
demographic,
socio-economic,
psychographic.
Geographic features include: the size of the region, population density and size, climatic conditions, administrative division (city, village), remoteness from the manufacturer's enterprises. This criterion was used in practice earlier than others, which was due to the need to determine the space of the enterprise.
Demographic characteristics- age, gender of the consumer, family size and life cycle, number of children - are among the most commonly used segmentation criteria. This is due to the availability of their characteristics, as well as the presence of a significant correlation between them and demand.
Market segmentation criteria
The criteria for market segmentation are understood as signs by which consumers differ from each other or, conversely, can be combined into one group (segment).All signs (criteria) of segmentation can be divided into five large groups:
Geographic;
demographic;
socio-economic;
psychographic;
technological.
Let us consider in more detail the segmentation criteria included in each of these groups.
geographic criteria. The name of the group speaks for itself. These criteria determine the differences (similarities) between consumers on a geographical basis.
Geographic criteria include:
Region size;
population density;
climatic conditions;
administrative division (region, city, village, etc.);
remoteness from the central and regional warehouses of the company.
demographic signs.
This group of market segmentation criteria includes:
Age of consumers;
floor;
family size and structure, number of children.
At present, according to demographics, such groups of consumers as children, youth, middle-aged people, large families, etc. are usually distinguished.
Socio-economic features
This group of criteria is very extensive. These include, for example, the following:
Education;
income level;
position held;
professional affiliation;
living conditions.
Psychographic signs
If the above criteria are objective, then psychographic features reflect the subjective attitude of consumers to goods and services.
Psychographic criteria include:
Lifestyle (interests, organization of recreation);
personal qualities;
motives of consumer behavior (orientation towards a low price, a long service life of the product, high quality, etc.);
reaction to innovations (innovators, conservatives, intermediate types of reaction).
Technological criteria
These criteria are applicable mainly for the segmentation of consumers of industrial products. These include:
Industries (transport, engineering, etc.) in which consumers work;
the size of the consumer enterprise;
form of ownership of the enterprise-consumer.
The main requirements for segmentation criteria are:
The possibility of measuring the value of this criterion in the conditions of the study;
the ability to really differentiate consumers according to this criterion.
Consumers grouped according to this criterion should respond in a similar way to the actions of the company. In other words, segmentation by this criterion should have a marketing meaning (for example, it hardly makes sense for an online store to segment buyers of educational literature according to the climatic conditions of the regions in which they live, but it makes direct sense to segment them according to the level of education and professional affiliation).
Signs of market segmentation
Segmentation sign is an indicator of how this segment is distinguished in the market.The main segmentation criteria are:
Segment capacity, on the basis of which the number of potential buyers is calculated, and, in accordance with this, the required production capacity;
- channels through which the distribution and marketing of goods or services will be carried out, and which provide information on how to form a distribution network;
- stability of the market, with the help of which it is possible to determine to what extent it is advisable to load the company's capacities;
- profitability, reflecting the degree of profitability of the organization in a particular market segment;
- compatibility of the market segment with the market of the main competitors, on the basis of which it is possible to make an assessment of the high or low potential of competitors, as well as decide whether it is worth incurring additional costs, focusing on this segment;
- assessing the working experience of a certain (sales, production or engineering) in a certain market segment, as well as taking appropriate measures;
- Competitiveness of the selected segment.
The main distinguishing features of market segmentation by consumer categories are based on:
Geography
- demographics
- psychographs
- behavioral criteria.
The main distinguishing features of market segmentation by product groups are:
Price
- functional and specifications
The main distinguishing features of market segmentation by competing organizations:
are the quality characteristics of the product,
- its market promotion
- price and marketing channels.
The correct choice of the most effective market segment is carried out on the basis of a comprehensive study of all the results of evaluating market segmentation by customers, products and competitors. All these types of segmentation are complementary.
Service market segmentation
The basis of the entire planning system in market conditions is sales forecasting. Therefore, the first task of the company's management is to determine in accordance with demand, and only on the basis of an assessment of the sales market, it is possible to start planning the production and financial activities of the company.In addition, the growing role of state regulation of the social and labor sphere may be due to the strong influence of a number of non-economic factors, among which demographic processes are of particular importance.
In relation to the labor market, segmentation is a breakdown of the supply of labor and demand for it into groups that respond in the same way to the same motive for employment. The objects of segmentation can be employers, employees, and recruitment agencies.
The tasks of labor market segmentation can be:
Analysis of market opportunities, identification of the labor supply and demand for it, assessment of prospects for the development of the labor market for the purpose of subsequent assessment of labor and forecasting of demand for labor;
study of the labor market in terms of its quantitative and qualitative characteristics, as a result of which labor-deficient and labor-intensive geographic regions, population cohorts can be identified according to various age criteria, the level of professional and qualification training, persons in need of activities of special employment promotion programs, population groups with a variety of motives for behavior in choosing, attitudes towards the processes of releasing the labor force, retraining and other processes in the field of employment;
carrying out employment policy measures, taking into account the interests of various groups of the population, including the employed and the unemployed, trade unions, employers, the state, municipalities and other public institutions; there are opportunities for ranking these activities, which is especially important when pursuing an employment policy in conditions of limited financial opportunities. General economic crisis;
development of programs for the training and retraining of personnel, the preservation and expansion of jobs, geographic mobility, the development of methods for stimulating labor and labor demand;
positioning in target labor markets, for example, the labor markets of a particular city, town, certain professions, sectors of the economy, etc.;
stimulation of activity and a certain contingent of workers.
As in conventional product markets, in the labor market, different approaches to segmentation are possible. Single segmentation focuses on a specific market segment (search for employees individual professions for specific industries with specific properties of the workforce) and forms the basis of target marketing. Marketing strategies target a specific, well-defined group of employers through a highly specialized marketing program. There is one salary range adapted for one group of employees. Multiple segmentation is focused on two or more clearly defined groups of employers and is associated with the consideration of distinctive features for certain groups: young professionals, women, etc. On the basis of these traits, marketing plans focused on each segment are developed.
Finally, mass marketing suggests maximizing employment and reducing the number of unemployed as the main goal in the labor market. The target market here is a wide range of consumer-employers who demand labor of mass professions.
Since the reproduction of the labor force is carried out mainly in the territorial aspect, the regional segmentation of the labor market plays a decisive role in studying the structure of labor supply. In this regard, such segments as relatively prosperous areas, backward (agrarian-stagnation), areas of new industrial development, etc.
In each such segment, a specific system of external factors is formed that influenced the level and structure of the labor force unit, such as:
Ethnocultural, influencing the gender and age characteristics of the involvement of the able-bodied population in social reproduction, the intensity of demographic reproduction processes, the quality of labor potential, etc.;
regional and economic, determining trends in the distribution of productive forces, the development of natural resources, economic potential and the degree of development of social and social and cultural infrastructures, etc.;
socio-political, related to the retonal policy of the state, the allocation of territories for priority development and free economic zones, investment policy, social programs;
natural and climatic, etc.
In accordance with this, relatively prosperous, economically developed areas become the object of attraction for migration flows; on the other hand, they are characterized by intense anthropogenic pressure on the natural environment, low intensity, and in some cases degradation of demographic processes and, in connection with this, a deterioration in the sex and age structure of the population and a decrease in the psychophysiological parameters of the labor potential, as a result of which specific gravity marginal contingents that are not competitive enough in the labor market.
Agrarian-reversing areas are characterized by a low level and pace of development of industry and social, traditionally high birth rate, which forms a powerful demographic pressure on the labor market, poor quality of educational training, a decrease in the psychophysiological parameters of labor potential for a number of reasons, which leads to an increase in involuntary unemployment of the able-bodied population, especially young people entering working age, and the associated increase in social tension. Interethnic conflicts and forced migration outflow of non-indigenous people.
In addition, when segmenting the regional labor market, the structure of settlement (urban, suburbanized and rural population, agglomeration ties, intensity of pendulum migration, expanding the territorial boundaries of the labor market) should be considered. Within the region, there are megacities, single-industry (single-industry) cities, old, medium-sized cities with fuzzy specialization, so-called urban-type settlements, and rural settlements. In the composition of the labor market in the countryside, it is useful to distinguish between non-agricultural and agricultural.
Each of these groups may have specific characteristics of demographic behavior, respectively, and a gender and age structure, a different degree, for example, of the employment of able-bodied women in social production, and a different quality of labor potential. On the other hand, the mobility of the labor force determines its migration. Including seasonal, and makes the intra-country (national) and global labor markets a reality. There are also macro-regional (cross-country) labor markets, for example, in fact, the common CIS market (due to the visa-free regime, the real language of interethnic communication, and established traditions).
The segmentation of the labor market is not limited to regional features. Already at the regional level, it is influenced by such factors as the socio-demographic structure of the population, the level and structure of employment of the economically active population, and the professional and qualification structure of the hired labor force, which ultimately forms the supply in the labor market. Consideration of the age and sex structure of the selected settlement groups makes it possible to identify within their framework such segments that form labor supply, such as young people entering working age, working-age population, people with limited working capacity and socially unprotected, people before retirement and retirement age. These groups are characterized by varying degrees of participation in social production, the need for a targeted social policy in relation to them, and so on.
In some cases, segmentation along ethnic lines is of interest. Where certain traditions of labor behavior and specialization are associated with this. The change in the ethnic composition of the population and the labor force leads to new aspects of the labor supply. For example, the emigration of the Russian-speaking population from various CIS republics has led to the loss of key personnel in industry, science, education, and medicine; serious problems for Russia and other post-Soviet countries are generated by the emigration of Jews and Germans. Immigration to the country increases the overall supply of labor and intensifies competition in the labor market.
Considered classification and structuring labor resources is objective, it is a classification "from below". Along with it, structuring "from above" is of paramount importance for the segmentation of the labor market, from the point of view of employers and their requirements.
First of all, the employers themselves can be conditionally divided into groups with not only different requirements for the workforce, but also the ability to compete in attracting exactly the kind of personnel they need:
Enterprises that produce products that are in demand, competitive and paid for by the consumer and, accordingly, have successful financial and economic results;
enterprises producing non-competitive products, in respect of which procedures may be launched;
trying to adapt to the market situation, draw up and implement a business plan for the financial recovery of the enterprise, they occupy an intermediate position between the first and second groups;
a special group, which includes state, municipal enterprises, as well as joint-stock companies and limited liability companies (as a rule, with a share in), whose products are socially significant, competitive, but the demand for it is insolvent - enterprises of the electric power industry, the coal industry, municipal transport, railway passenger transportation and other industries that are on subsidies and / or have unpaid government order;
agricultural large-scale commodity farms.
It makes sense to segment employers by behavioral factors. In such a classification, recruitment agencies are interested, in relation to which employers act as clients. Factors to be taken into account may include: the regularity of attracting new employees in the direction of the employment service; requirements for candidates for a vacancy; the degree of commitment to the service brand (i.e. to this agency) and etc.
segmentation professional structure labor supply can be carried out with the following groups:
Professions of highly qualified, creative and intellectual labor, the demand for which is growing;
mass through professions of intersectoral application and stable demand, the need for which is determined by trends in the economy;
unattractive professions of heavy, low-skilled manual and hazardous labor that do not meet the socio-cultural and psycho-physiological requirements of the modern workforce, which have so far been characterized by an acute shortage of personnel and the low quality of labor potential;
professions, the need for production in which falls as a result of structural and technological restructuring, which forces the released workers to undergo retraining;
non-prestigious and low-paid professions.
Like physical goods, goods circulating on the labor market can be classified according to a time parameter depending on the type of contract:
"durable use", at the conclusion of perpetual; more often these are employees of the so-called primary labor market, later some of them may form the core of the company; they have some advantages in the execution of labor agreements and in income, in order to terminate an employment contract with them at the initiative of the administration, it is necessary to follow a number of procedures, including compensation payments in case of redundancy;
"limited term of use", with the conclusion of a contract for a period of one to several years; such a system is traditional for the sphere of science and higher education, but in recent years it has been spreading very widely, as it provides the employer with greater freedom of action; at the same time, the considerations in favor of long ones, outlined in the previous paragraph, are ignored and not even very perceived in accordance with the prevailing and very typical belief that “we have no irreplaceable”
"temporary use" - temporary workers, part-time workers, pensioners (contracts with them can be renegotiated annually), seasonal workers
"one-time services" related to the conclusion, paid services, etc.
Classification according to the type of demand correlates with the considered classification:
A labor force of constant demand is brought in frequently, without much hesitation and with minimal effort to find (junior service person, workers of mass professions);
pre-selection workforce through questionnaires, testing, interviews. Competitive selection, evaluation and comparison between candidates, but in terms of professional suitability (highly skilled workers, top managers, consultants, scientists);
labor force of special demand people who have specific knowledge and skills, experience, to attract which employers are willing to spend extra effort and money: experienced real estate specialists, experienced accounting analysts, auditors, leading designers, technologists, personal security guards;
passive demand labor force - categories of workers that the employer is not always aware of or knows about, but usually does not think about hiring them: specialists in advertising and advertising, safety engineers, public relations managers.
Target market segmentation
Target segment is a homogeneous group of consumers in the firm's target market with similar needs and buying habits in relation to the firm's product.The selection of target markets is one of the key tasks of marketing. Aggregated (mass), differentiated and concentrated (focused) approaches are possible. In the last two cases, the procedure of market segmentation, selection of target segments and positioning is carried out. The target market allows you to purposefully carry out the marketing efforts of the enterprise.
Marketing efforts on the principle of "watering can" are addressed to the entire market in order to attract the attention of potential consumers to the company's products. Marketing efforts on the principle of "funnel" allow you to concentrate all attention on the target market segment, achieving the maximum effect on sales, market share and consumer attitudes towards the company's products. Aggregate marketing is used when a business can ignore segment differences and address the entire market at once. It focuses on the common needs of all consumers and tries to maximize the sale of consumer goods.
In this case, the company develops a marketing strategy and tactics that are attractive to the largest possible number of consumers. Marketing costs are relatively small. There is no need to conduct in-depth market research. As a rule, mass distribution, mass advertising, etc. are used.
Differentiated marketing focuses not on the entire market, but on several segments that differ in their requirements. The main marketing efforts are focused on product differentiation, price, distribution, promotion, etc. With this approach, when a variety of products, ways to sell them, etc. increases, the enterprise penetrates deeper into the needs of various consumer groups, satisfies them better, seeks to strengthen its position in the market. At the same time, marketing costs increase, which is associated with the development of an assortment, marketing research, a variety of advertising, a complication of the sales process, etc.
Concentrated marketing adapts as much as possible to the requirements of individual specific target consumer groups. This approach is especially attractive for further market penetration in order to attract new consumers, when the main segments are saturated, a competitive situation has developed, and further market capture is limited.
The company better understands the features and requirements of the selected target market segment, enjoys great popularity in it. The task of the enterprise is not so much to maximize the sales of products, but to achieve stability, a sufficient market share, consumer loyalty, etc.
Segmentation reveals the potential opportunities of the company in the market. The company then selects the most attractive segment or segments that should serve as the target of the marketing strategy to achieve the desired results.
Market coverage options
A firm can use one of three market coverage strategies: undifferentiated marketing, differentiated marketing, and concentrated marketing. The arrows in the figure mean that the company has developed a marketing mix - a marketing mix aimed at a specific segment or market as a whole. The marketing mix was developed on the basis of research of the entire market or a specific segment.
Purpose of market segmentation
The main goal of segmentation- ensure targeting of the product being developed, produced and sold. Through it, the basic principle of marketing is realized - consumer orientation.Market segmentation makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of means and methods of advertising, price regulation, and the forms and methods of sale used. Its meaning lies in the fact that the enterprise does not spray, but concentrates its efforts on the “direction of the main blow” (the most promising segment for it).
Thus, market segmentation is, on the one hand, a method for finding parts of the market and determining the objects (primarily consumers) to which the marketing activities of the enterprise are directed. On the other hand, it is a managerial approach to the process of making decisions by an enterprise in the market, the basis for choosing the right combination of elements of marketing mixes.
Marketing practice shows that market segmentation:
* allows you to meet the needs of customers in a variety of goods to the maximum extent;
* provides rationalization and optimization of the company's costs for the development, production and sale of goods;
* helps to develop an effective marketing strategy based on the analysis and understanding of the behavior of potential buyers;
* contributes to the establishment of realistic and achievable goals of the company; target need market segmentation
* makes it possible to raise the level of decisions made, providing their justification with information about the behavior of buyers in the market at the present time and forecasts of their behavior in the future;
* provides an increase in the competitiveness of both the product and the company;
* allows you to evade or reduce the degree of competition by moving to an undeveloped market segment;
* involves linking the company's scientific and technical policy with the needs of clearly identified specific consumers.
Market segmentation is certainly one of the most important marketing tools. Success in the competitive struggle depends on how correctly it is carried out. However, segmentation is not a purely mechanical process. To be effective, it must first of all be carried out according to certain criteria.
Market Segmentation Strategies
There are three types of strategies:1) undifferentiated;
2) differentiated;
3) concentrated.
An undifferentiated marketing strategy is a firm's strategy that focuses on the commonality of interests and preferences of buyers, and not on differences in needs and attitudes. The goal is to develop products and a marketing program that will satisfy as many customers as possible. In other words, the goal of the firm is achieved by finding a line of compromise. The company adheres to the standardization and mass production of goods. This strategy is very economical. However, it is not recommended to use it for enterprises of the same industry, since there may be fierce competition in large segments.
A differentiated marketing strategy is a company strategy that simultaneously targets several market segments with the development of separate offers. This strategy more fully reflects the market situation, and, therefore, provides large sales volumes and a low level of risk. On the other hand, large investments, production and management costs are necessary, therefore the strategy of differentiated marketing is feasible mainly for large companies.
A concentrated marketing strategy is a strategy for focusing a firm's efforts on one or more profitable market segments. Especially, it is attractive in cases where the resources of the enterprise are rather limited. This strategy is preferred for small and medium-sized firms. It consists in the fact that one or more products are offered to the market, which are accompanied by targeted marketing programs. At the same time, it is necessary to pay great attention to the reputation of your company, the prestige of your product, constantly analyze selected segments, monitor the dynamics of market share, and take measures to prevent the emergence of new competitors.
The main arguments in favor of market segmentation are:
1) the possibility of providing a better understanding of not only the needs and requirements of buyers, but also knowing your potential or real consumer “in person” (personal characteristics, motives for behavior in the market, etc.); result - the product is more in line with the requirements of the market;
2) the possibility of a better understanding of the nature of competition;
3) the emergence of the possibility of concentrating limited resources and organizational capabilities on more profitable areas of their use;
4) study of the most promising buyers;
5) the ability to take into account the characteristics of various market segments.
Principles of market segmentation
There is no single method of market segmentation. The marketer needs to experiment with segmentation options based on different variables, one or more at a time, in an attempt to find the most useful approach.The most commonly used principles are:
1) geographical segmentation;
2) segmentation by demographic principle;
3) segmentation according to the psychographic principle;
4) segmentation according to the behavioral principle.
1. Geographic segmentation
Geographical segmentation involves dividing the market into different geographical units: states, states, regions, counties, cities, communities.
The firm may decide to act:
1) in one or more geographical areas;
2) in all areas, but taking into account differences in needs and preferences determined by geography.
Some firms further break down major cities into smaller geographic areas.
2. Segmentation by demographic principle
Demographic segmentation consists of dividing the market into groups based on demographic variables such as gender, age, family size, family life stage, income level, occupation, education, religion, race, and nationality. Demographic variables are the most popular factors that serve as a basis for different consumer groups. Demographic characteristics are easier to measure than most other types of variables.
How exactly certain demographic variables are used to segment markets.
A) Age and stages of the family life cycle. The needs and capabilities of buyers change with age. Even a 6-month-old baby already differs in its consumption potential, and yet variables of age and stage of the family life cycle can be unreliable.
b) Gender. Gender segmentation has long been applied to clothing, hair care products, cosmetics and magazines.
c) Income level. Another old market dividing technique is applied to goods and services such as cars, boats, clothing, cosmetics, and travel.
d) Segmentation by several demographic parameters. Most firms segment the market based on a combination of 2 or more demographic variables (for example, a boarding house takes care of blind people, takes care of maintaining their psychological state, provides professional education).
3. Segmentation by psychographic principle
In psychographic segmentation, buyers are divided into groups based on social class, lifestyle, or personality characteristics:
A) Public class. Belonging affects a person's preferences for cars, clothes, household supplies, and leisure activities.
b) lifestyle. Lifestyle has an impact on people's interest in certain goods. Brand and generic sellers are increasingly segmenting markets based on lifestyle. And if the company does not announce, to representatives, what kind of lifestyle the product is intended for.
c) Personality type. Personality variables are also used by salespeople as a basis for market segmentation. Manufacturers give their products personal characteristics that correspond to the personal characters of consumers.
4. Behavioral segmentation
Segmentation based on behavioral characteristics divides buyers into groups depending on knowledge, attitudes, the nature of the use of the product and the reaction to this product:
A) Reasons for making a purchase. Buyers can be distinguished among themselves on the basis of the idea, the purchase or the use of the product. Cause-based segmentation can help firms increase product usage.
b) Benefits sought. One powerful form of segmentation is to classify customers based on the benefits they seek from a product.
Benefit-based segmentation requires identifying the core benefits that people expect from a particular class of products, the types of consumers seeking each of those core benefits, and the core brands that share some of those benefits. There are 4 segments according to varieties: economy, therapeutic effect, cosmetic effect, taste. The audience of each segment had demographic, behavioral and psychographic characteristics inherent only to it.
c) User status. Many markets can be segmented into non-users, former users, potential users, new users, and regular users.
Large firms seeking to gain a large market share are particularly interested in attracting potential users, while smaller campaigns seek to win regular users for their brand.
d) Intensity of consumption. Markets can also be divided into groups of weak and active consumers of goods. Active users often make up a small part of the market, but they account for a large percentage of the total consumption of a product.
Be able to: active consumers of the product, general demographic and psychographic characteristics, as well as general adherence to advertising media.
Public marketing organizations often face the active consumer dilemma in their work.
e) Degree of commitment. Market segmentation can be carried out according to the degree of consumer commitment to the product.
1) Unconditional adherents. These are consumers who buy the same brand of goods all the time.
2) Tolerant adherents. These are consumers who are committed to 2-3 brands
3) Fickle adherents. These are consumers who transfer soybean preferences from one trademark to another.
4) Wanderers. These are consumers who do not show commitment to any of the branded products. Scheme of buying behavior. Suggests that we have a disloyal consumer who either buys any brand currently available, or wants to buy something different from the existing range.
Any market consists of different numerical combinations of buyers of these four types. Brand loyalty market. This is a market in which a greater percentage of buyers demonstrate an unconditional commitment to one of the brands available on it.
E) The degree of readiness of the buyer to perceive the product.
At any given time, people are in varying degrees of readiness to make a purchase. Some of them are not aware of the product at all, others are aware, the third are informed about it, the fourth are interested; the fifth - want it, the sixth - intend to buy it.
g) Attitude to the product. The market audience can be enthusiastic, positive, indifferent, negative or hostile to the product. The more clearly relationships can be identified with demographic variables, the more effective an organization can be in reaching the most promising potential customers.
Basic principles for segmenting industrial markets
The customer is a segmented market variable.
A) Large customers. Each is serviced by a separate division headed by a nationwide manager who manages the sales tokens.
b) Customers served through dealers.
Smaller customers are served by the firm's sales staff directly in the sales areas, working in close contact with dealers - holders of privileges to trade in goods.
The concept of market segmentation
The basis of the planning system in market conditions is sales forecasting. Therefore, an important task of the company's management is to determine the volume of sales in accordance with demand, and only on the basis of an assessment of the sales market, it is possible to start planning the production and financial activities of the company.Sales market assessment- a set of measures aimed at studying the trade and marketing activities of an enterprise and studying all the factors affecting the production process and promoting goods from producer to consumer. The market, as a rule, is formed by groups of consumers with completely different needs and desires. Every business is aware that its products may not please all customers. Therefore, with the help of marketing, a sales market segment is determined based on information about potential consumers, regions in which there is demand, prices that buyers are willing to pay for goods, distribution channels, and competition.
Market segmentation- the main marketing method by which the company divides it, taking into account the results of the analysis on certain grounds, into certain segments of consumers. It is carried out for the subsequent allocation of target segments that require a different approach in the strategy for developing new types of products, organizing promotion and distribution.
Market segmentation strategy allows the company, taking into account its strengths and weaknesses when choosing marketing methods, to focus on those that will ensure the concentration of resources in those areas of activity where the company has the maximum advantages. The size of the company's share in a particular market is the most important factor in its commercial success. An increase in the market share is accompanied by an increase in the company's profit share (an increase in market share by 10% ensures an increase in the profit margin by an average of 5%).
There are two traditional approach to the development of a segmentation strategy:
Start with a study of the prevailing on traditional types of products, identifying actual and potential consumers and differences in their attitudes towards new types of goods;
start with the formation of an idea of what variables characterize a particular segment of consumers.
A segment is defined as a group of individuals who have the same need for these products and are characterized by approximately the same gender, age, wealth level and other biosocial characteristics.
Market segment- this is its part, formed according to the criteria of consumer preference, or a set of consumers who react in the same way to the same set of marketing incentives.
Market segmentation- the division of consumers into groups based on differences in needs, characteristics or behaviors that may require certain products or marketing complexes.
In market segmentation, companies subdivide large heterogeneous markets into smaller segments that can be effectively covered by goods and services depending on the specific preferences of consumers. Since the needs of each buyer are specific, each buyer can potentially be considered as a separate market. Therefore, the seller should ideally develop a separate offer for each. However, more often than not, consumer product firms prefer mass production of one product for all buyers - mass marketing. Compared to mass marketing, segmented marketing provides consumers with additional benefits.
The firm seeks to highlight specific market segments by tailoring its market offerings to meet the needs of consumers in one or more market segments. By targeting its products, distribution channels, and customer engagement programs to those customers it can best serve, a company will be more efficient in the marketplace.
Usually market segments- These are large groups of consumers that can be easily identified in a particular market. Marketing at the level of market niches concentrates on the subgroups that exist within these segments. Niche- this is a narrowly defined group of consumers, obtained as a result of dividing a segment into sub-segments or identifying groups of consumers with pronounced characteristics. Based on the fact that a niche firm has deeply studied its customers, it can satisfy their needs so effectively that they are willing to pay higher prices for the company's goods and services. Occupation of a niche means for small firms the ability to compete by focusing limited resources on serving narrow market niches that are not of interest to competitors.
An in-depth study of the market implies the need to consider it as a differentiated structure depending on consumer groups and consumer properties of the product, which in a broad sense defines the concept of market segmentation.
Market segmentation is, on the one hand, a method for finding parts of the market and determining the objects to which the marketing activities of enterprises are directed. On the other hand, it is a managerial approach to the process of making decisions in the market by an enterprise, the basis for choosing the right combination of marketing elements. Segmentation is carried out in order to maximize the satisfaction of consumer requests in various goods, as well as to rationalize the costs of the manufacturer for the development of a production program, the release and sale of goods. Market segmentation can allow a company to maximize profit per unit rather than total revenue by targeting a specific segment.
Market segmentation and positioning
Practical positioning - establishing how these products differ from similar products of competitors. The difference is determined using a "map" of the competitive position in the coordinates of features that are essential for the consumer.Typically, product positioning is done using maps divided into 4 quadrants (fig.). The sales value of each product can be expressed as the area of the corresponding circle.
A typical example of product positioning, taking into account consumer clusters
Positioning is a set of measures due to which in the minds of target consumers this product takes its own place in relation to other similar products.
The position of a product in the market consists of three components:
The first is the choice of the positioning attribute, i.e. some usefulness of the product for the client, which can become an emotional reason for buying it in this particular company;
- secondly, positioning is carried out for the selected target segment, since for different audiences the most attractive positioning attributes will be different;
- thirdly, positioning should take into account the position of competitors who offer goods for the same target segment.
The basic principles of positioning can be formulated as follows:
Be consistent, using the chosen position, sticking to the chosen direction once, do not change the position for a long time. In this case, customers will know and appreciate the firm. The constituent positions may change from time to time, but not the position itself; otherwise, the firm will mislead customers;
- daily people perceive great amount information - written and oral. With such an influx of it, it is very important that the position of the company be presented to customers in an accessible and simple way, but at the same time expressively and in a peculiar way. If the position of the company is simple and expressive, it will help to concentrate on the advantages of the enterprise;
- all components of the business, including decisions about the range of goods and services offered, about customer service personnel, about methods of advertising, methods of distribution, the follower must express the chosen position.
The positioning attribute is that key advantage of the product that allows the consumer to satisfy his needs in the best way, distinguishes this product from competitors' products and is a source of motivation for his purchases.
From the point of view of the buyer, the characteristics of the product are not yet the benefits received from the purchase of the product. To convince the buyer that the purchase of this particular product will be useful, it is necessary to show that only a product with such characteristics is able to satisfy one or another of his needs. You can choose a key advantage for positioning a company based on a multi-attribute product model. The key advantage that persuades customers to purchase must be believable and be supported by objectively existing product characteristics.
Selecting an attribute for positioning starts with identifying the nature and potential of segments and benefits. Consumers will unite into groups (clusters) according to the benefits they expect to receive from the use of a product or service (figure).
Considering positioning based on quality generates inflated expectations from the use of the product. Consumers develop expectations based on past experience, the price they paid, and other factors. In this case, the satisfaction of needs depends on the difference between the service that consumers expect from the product and the service they actually received. A product is rated as very good if it exceeds such expectations. The difficulty lies in the fact that every positive experience creates an expectation for more. best quality in future. Consequently, the ability to pleasantly surprise and satisfy the consumer decreases as such expectations are created, and the chances of unpleasantly surprising and disappointing the consumer increase.
Market Segmentation Process
To plan and implement market segmentation, you must first determine the goals of segmentation analysis.At the same time, "control questions" are formed that allow identifying the target settings for market analysis:
1. What are the market segments that the company's products can be targeted at.
2. What is the difference between "new" segments and traditional buyers?
3. What is the capacity of potential target markets for the products?
4. What is the potential cost-effectiveness of serving these markets?
5. How are these segments determined (names, size, key socio-economic variables) that characterize their condition.
6. What are the specific features of individual segments?
7. What is the geography of potential consumers?
8. How much money is needed to develop different markets now and in the future?
9. What market segments are competitors claiming?
10. What a unique niche ( competitive advantage) can take advantage of the enterprise?
11. What previous market segmentation research can be used?
12. How useful are the previous market segmentation strategies?
13. Who are the main consumers of your products and services?
14. What technical characteristics and features of the product attract consumers?
15. What are the alternative strategic and tactical decisions in the field of marketing organization?
16. Do your products and services meet the needs of the market segment, do the products need to be modified?
17. How can you further stimulate demand in the target market?
18. What is the sensitivity of the main market segments to changes?
19. What is the role of distribution channels for this market?
20. How should consumer behavior be recorded and monitored to determine the effectiveness of a marketing strategy?
Not every market is subject to segmentation.
There are four key factor that determine the effectiveness of the subsequent market segmentation:
The possibility of a comparative assessment of the market relative to other markets, the measurability and identification of the market.
The identified promising market should be large enough to distinguish at least two types of consumer behavior. The selected segments should be large enough so that the program for the formation of targeted marketing, designed for these segments, acquires real meaning.
Existence of sales promotion tools suitable for influencing potentially existing market segments.
Responsiveness of consumers to external influences. Will prospects respond to your marketing initiatives?
Preliminary market research should confirm that there are real needs of this group of customers for specific goods produced by the enterprise.
Market segments should be formed in accordance with the following criteria:
1. Homogeneity of consumers assigned to each of the segments. Consumers included in the segment must match the reference set of features. Taking into account the similarity of the socio-economic characteristics of customers, it is possible to predict the similarity in their purchasing behavior.
2. Stable differences between segments. Segments should be significantly different from each other, have their own, inherent only to them, motivations for purchasing goods, the identification and accounting of which should be the goal of a marketing specialist.
3. Sufficiently large segment sizes. Extreme fragmentation of markets (singling out too many mini-markets) is costly and can lead to an ineffective marketing strategy.
4. Completeness of information about each identified segment. The data collected during segmentation analysis should be of practical interest to the manufacturer and easily converted into an effective marketing strategy.
5. Segmentation can be based on "physical" (ie geographical, demographic, socio-economic characteristics) or behavioral characteristics.
The main directions for using market segments in order to develop a marketing strategy are as follows:
Selection and assessment of the market for the company's products. A segment is measured according to such criteria as size (quantitative components of its consumers), growth dynamics, consumer spending per thousand people, the degree of saturation with a given product, the level of competition, the level of offer of product modification, etc. Each of these indicators will help to highlight the most promising segment.
Assessment of the level of competition. Special studies are undertaken to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the company's competitors in each segment.
Development of new products. Comparison of cash with the needs of the market segment (in dynamics) will help to identify reserves of demand, and determine the direction for the development of new types of products.
Determination of consumer preferences.
The better the segmentation of the market, the more accurately market research programs and advertising can be focused and avoid spending time and money on those segments that do not have sufficient potential for a given product.
When forming the production range, it should be taken into account that an alternative to market segmentation is the differentiation of manufactured products.
Segmentation efficiency is especially high under the following conditions:
Large market sizes
low sensitivity of consumers to differences in goods,
achievement of the saturation stage in the life cycle of the manufactured product,
a large number of competitors.
If market segmentation provides starting points for creating a product, then product positioning includes a whole range of marketing elements (product, price, service and advertising policies) through which it is necessary to inspire consumers that, unlike other products, your product is created for him. This set of marketing elements is the concept of the marketing mix.
Types of market segmentation
Market segmentation requires a detailed study of the requirements imposed by the consumer on the product, as well as knowledge of the characteristics of the purchasing motivations of the consumers themselves.Segmentation is divided into the following types depending on its nature and on the type of consumer of goods (services).
1. Depending on the nature of segmentation:
1) macro-segmentation - the division of markets into regions, countries, their degree;
2) microsegmentation - the formation of consumer groups of one country (region) according to more detailed characteristics (criteria);
3) segmentation in depth - the segmentation process begins with a wide group of consumers, and then it is gradually deepened (narrowed) depending on the classification of end consumers of any group of goods (services); e.g. cars, cars, luxury cars;
4) segmentation in breadth - the segmentation process begins with a narrow group of consumers and gradually expands depending on the scope and use of the product (service); for example, skates for professional athletes, skates for amateurs, skates for young people;
5) preliminary segmentation - the study of the maximum possible market segments;
6) final segmentation - the final stage of market research; here the most optimal segments for the market for the company are determined, in which it will develop its market strategy in the future.
2. Depending on the type of consumers:
1) the process of segmenting consumers of consumer goods (services);
2) segmentation of consumers of goods for industrial purposes;
3) segmentation of consumers of two types of goods.
However, in practice, each type of market segmentation is not used separately. As a rule, market marketers use a combination of these types in their analysis.
Segmentation of the real estate market
Specific segments of the real estate market are characterized by the type of use of the property, location, income potential, typical characteristics of tenants, investment motivation and other features recognized in the real estate exchange process. In turn, real estate markets are influenced by a variety of social, economic, governmental and environmental factors.Analysis of market trends and price dynamics requires market segmentation.
The main segments of the real estate market:
Depending on the object (market of land plots, buildings and structures);
depending on the purpose and use case of the property (market office buildings, residential real estate market, warehouse real estate market, mixed-use real estate market);
depending on the ability to generate income (the market for profitable and non-profit real estate);
depending on the type of operations (lease market and sale market);
primary and secondary market.
The real estate market has a complex structure. You need to do different market segments:
By property type(residential, office, industrial, warehouse, multifunctional real estate), all types of which have a common feature - according to their functional purpose, they are designed to conduct a specific business. Examples of such property are hotels, restaurants, bars, sports and recreation centers, dance halls, etc. The value of this type of property can be assessed in terms of its commercial potential.
By different regions(e.g. regions with stable high employment, regions with new high employment, regions with cyclical employment, traditionally low employment, new low employment).
By instrument in real estate (the market of pre-emptive lease rights, the market of mixed debt obligations, the market of mortgages, equity, etc.).
The structuring of the real estate market, its classification according to certain criteria is determined by the goals of the analysis, depending on which the priorities and importance attached to one or another parameter under consideration change. For example, it is advisable for potential investors to classify the real estate market depending on the investment instruments used.
The appraiser, in addition to the above market structure, needs to classify real estate objects according to the degree of readiness:
Finished objects;
objects requiring reconstruction or major repairs;
unfinished items.
The real estate market is divided into segments based on the purpose of real estate and its attractiveness to various market participants. The segments, in turn, are divided into sub-markets according to the preferences of buyers and sellers, which are influenced by social, economic, government and environmental factors. The study of real estate market segments is carried out on such parameters as location, competition, as well as supply and demand, which are related to general conditions real estate market.
The division of the real estate market into separate segments is carried out in accordance with the prevailing needs of market participants, investment motivation, location, period of actual operation of the object, physical characteristics, design, features of real estate zoning.
The principles of classification of objects underlying the segmentation of real estate markets are subject to the specific tasks of the valuation procedure and require a comprehensive consideration of the characteristics of the property being valued.
Depending on the purpose (direction of use) of the property, the market can be divided into five segments:
1. Residential real estate (multi-family houses, single-family houses, apartments and rooms).
2. Commercial real estate (office, retail, industrial, commercial, warehouse buildings, hotels, restaurants).
3. Industrial real estate (industrial enterprises, research institute buildings).
4. Undeveloped land plots for various purposes (urban lands, agricultural and hunting grounds, nature reserves, mining areas).
5. Special-purpose real estate (objects that have restrictions on their use due to the specifics of their design characteristics, such as churches, airports, prisons, etc.).
Depending on the condition of the land, the real estate market can be divided into:
1. Built-up land plots.
2. Undeveloped land suitable for further development.
3. Undeveloped land plots not suitable for subsequent development.
Depending on the nature of the usefulness of real estate (its ability to generate income), they are divided into:
1. Profitable real estate.
2. Conditionally profitable real estate.
3. Non-income real estate.
Depending on the degree of representation of objects:
1. Unique objects.
2. Rare objects.
3. Widespread objects.
Depending on the economic activity of the regions:
1. Active real estate markets.
2. Passive real estate markets. Depending on the degree of readiness:
1. Undeveloped land plots.
2. Finished objects.
3. Unfinished buildings.
4. Objects in need of reconstruction.
Each of the listed real estate markets, in turn, can be divided into specialized sub-markets. Submarkets are segmented according to consumer preferences in relation to real estate price, management complexity, income, depreciation, environment, narrower specialization, etc. Thus, the agricultural real estate market can be subdivided into pasture, livestock farms, forest lands, land, orchards and pastures for large cattle.
The process of identifying a specific object within a more major market called segmentation. The process of market segmentation usually consists in the allocation of the property being valued into an independent subclass in accordance with the identified characteristics of the property being valued.
The sub-market is divided into smaller segments as a result of determining the different preferences of buyers and sellers regarding size, design, price range, location, etc.
Real estate appraisers study geographic, demographic, socioeconomic, psychological and production characteristics real estate market in the context of the general economic and regional situation.
Segmentation of the tourist market
This is the division of the market into parts (segments), which are characterized by common consumer requirements. Any of these segments can be chosen as a target market. Segmentation of the tourism market can provide answers to questions about the behavior, interests, beliefs, perceptions, values and needs of each segment.
The most common is geographical criterion. Segments based on this criterion are tourists who travel long distances for the purpose of relaxing in a resort; regional visitors (tourists who reside within the region where this tour center is located and can arrive there within four hours) and tourists who are local residents. Proximity to the destination is an important factor: in general, the closer a destination is to its target market, the more likely it is to attract a large number of visitors. To develop a tour center, tour organizations usually apply with advertising appeals to residents of large settlements located nearby.
Self-absorbed seeker of pleasure;
- active and purposeful personality;
- a representative of the business community;
- "blue collars";
-traditional homebody.
Business personality. Has at his disposal more free to buy a second home and an expensive vacation, in contrast to an active, purposeful person. But she prefers to travel short distances and is less mobile, as she has a permanent place of residence and a well-formed family. Reader of business magazines, newspapers, viewers of news briefs, television specials on travel and nature.
"Blue Collars". Live in small towns or on the outskirts of large cities, have strong beliefs about social values (sense of patriotism, morality and the need for hard work). An excellent vacation is considered to be a vacation with the family in tents. They love hunting and fishing. Of all television sports programs, football is preferred.
By segmenting, tourist enterprises identify groups of customers united according to some criteria. Each of the market segments should correspond to a specific tourist offer. This approach allows not only to meet the existing demand, but also to adjust it.
International market segmentation
As the world economy increases, the opportunities to create demand for universal goods increase, which entails the need for segmentation at the international and even global level. Its purpose is to identify groups of buyers in different countries and / or regions with the same expectations and requirements in relation to goods, despite cultural and national differences. These segments, even if they are small in each country, as a whole can represent very attractive opportunities for an international firm.Identification of supranational segments.
International market segmentation can be defined as the process of identifying specific segments of potential consumers as a group of countries or groups of individual buyers with similar characteristics that are likely to exhibit similar buying behavior.
There are three different approaches to international segmentation:
1. identification of clusters of countries with demand for similar products;
2. identification of segments present in all or many countries;
3. entering different segments in different countries with the same product (Takeuchi and Porter, 1987, pp. 138-140).
Segment the international market by a group of countries.
The first, simplest variant of international segmentation is to address a group of countries that are economically and culturally homogeneous. Many products do not need significant modification for each country and are quite compatible with the expectations of buyers from countries with similar climatic, linguistic, infrastructural, commercial and informational conditions.
This is the situation, for example, in the Scandinavian countries or the German-speaking countries of Europe, in some Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America, in North America and in the countries of Southeast Asia. Naturally, some adaptation remains necessary to account for cultural differences.
This approach, however, has three significant limitations:
(a) it is based on country characteristics and not on buyer-specific variables;
(b) it assumes a high level of homogeneity within the selected countries, which is rarely the case;
(c) it neglects the possibility of homogeneous consumer segments extending beyond the selected countries.
As regionalism develops in Europe, this segmentation becomes less and less satisfactory. Indeed, with the disappearance of European borders, an increasing number of firms are redefining their geographic market, moving away from countries and focusing on natural areas of commercial interest.
Sell to supranational, or universal, segments.
The findings from the study should be summarized in a client status report. This report also contains processed statistics about the groups that exist on the market. Conventional market research techniques regarding segmentation can be used to attack the consumer market. This would include both demographic and psychographic variables. As a first step, the bank could layer its accounts using customer demographics and bank data, such as rates, across transactions to determine if the accounts are profitable. As a rule, high rates on deposits, as well as accounts with low rates on transactions, are very profitable, as well as accounts with significant debt obligations. Non-profit accounts include accounts with a high transaction rate.
The segmentation of competing banks and other financial institutions should be based on the following information:
Financial position;
the size of the authorized and;
location of main offices or branches;
range of services;
service quality;
market segments served;
market share in each segment;
use of the latest advances in banking technology;
image;
level of automation;
credit standards;
personnel qualification;
service cost;
advertising effectiveness;
sales efficiency banking services;
advantages/disadvantages of the market;
efficiency of market segmentation;
the names and biographical details of the directors and senior staff;
strengths when acting in the market (dominating or possessing something unique); innovation (in services, delivery, promotion, marketing);
promotional efforts; alliances in a new market;
main accounts.
By means of data collection, a dossier is compiled for each competitor. It sums up the whole study and gives an idea of its strengths and weaknesses. The competition is too serious to be taken lightly.
Segmentation of the tourism market
In the Russian market of tourist services, there is a significant saturation of enterprises, competition between them is intensifying. Most enterprises have limited financial, human and other resources and therefore cannot disperse their efforts to meet the needs of all customers. To organize efficient and profitable activities, tourism enterprises use market segmentation.Market segmentation is the division of the market into parts (segments), which are characterized by common consumer requirements. Any of these segments can be chosen as a target market. Segmentation of the tourism market can provide answers to questions about the behavior, interests, beliefs, perceptions, values and needs of each segment.
The method of segmentation of the tourist market, proposed by V. Saprunova, most fully meets the objectives of tourism activities. This method is based on the constituent components of supply and demand for a tourist product. Demand segmentation is proposed to be carried out according to geographical, social and psychological criteria.
The most common is geographical criterion. Segments based on this criterion are tourists who travel long distances for the purpose of relaxing in a resort; regional visitors (tourists who reside within the region where this tour center is located and can arrive there within four hours) and tourists who are local residents. Proximity to the destination is an important factor: in general, the closer a destination is to its target market, the more likely it is to attract large numbers of visitors. For the development of any tour center, tour organizations usually apply with advertising appeals to residents of large settlements located nearby.
Social Criteria- this is the age, gender, profession of the tourist - the head of the family, the size of the settlement where the tourists permanently reside, the number of family members accompanying the tourist, the type of family, nationality, religious beliefs, the income of the family as a whole and per one of its members, the presence or absence of family personal vehicles. Women's, professional, specialized tourism (for bank employees, agricultural workers, various industries), as well as youth tourism and tourism of "juniors" are gaining importance.
With psychological-behavioral (psychological) segmentation, consumers are divided into groups according to lifestyle characteristics and goals regarding their free time, according to personality characteristics and behavioral characteristics, as well as stereotypes regarding the consumption of a tourist product. These criteria of tourist behavior include the motive of the trip, psychological picture tourist, seasonality, organization and form of travel used vehicles, means of accommodation, duration of the trip, remoteness of the tourist destination, as well as sources of financing for the trip, consultants and intermediaries in making a decision on making a tour trip.
Many segments of the tourism market are divided into smaller sub-segments. For example, in recreational tourism it is vacation tourism and tourism for the purpose of treatment. It is often difficult to draw a clear line between individual segments in terms of motivation: business tourism can be combined with educational, sports - with recreational.
For example, the segmentation of the tourism market according to the criterion of lifestyle makes it possible to identify the following consumer groups:
Self-absorbed seeker of pleasure;
- active and purposeful person;
- a representative of business circles;
- "blue collar";
- traditional homebody.
Self-absorbed seeker of pleasure. A young man doing monotonous, uninteresting work seeks satisfaction from real and imagined outdoor activities. He likes to go fishing and hunting, go in for sports, is fond of expensive sports cars. He has a decent income, but all purchase decisions are made by him spontaneously. Doesn't plan for the long term. A regular viewer of sports, adventure and other similar TV programs.
Active and purposeful person. Uses all his abilities and energy for promotion, shows great interest in his work. A liberal with modern views on many aspects of life, self-confident. Is in a constant search for new sensations, active activities (for example, skiing, sailing on a yacht, traveling abroad). Reads magazines in order to keep abreast of all events and latest trends modern culture. Watching sports television programs, entertainment shows and news reports.
Business personality. Has more free money at his disposal to buy a second home and expensive vacations, unlike an active, purposeful person. But she prefers to travel short distances and is less mobile, as she has a permanent place of residence and a well-formed family. Reader of business magazines, newspapers, viewers of news briefs, TV specials on travel and nature
. "Blue Collars". Live in small towns or on the outskirts of large cities, have strong beliefs about social values (sense of patriotism, morality and the need for hard work). An excellent vacation is considered to be a vacation with the family in tents. They love hunting and fishing. Of all television sports programs, football is preferred.
Traditional homebody. His main problem is his inability to keep up with the rapidly changing world. An adherent of old traditions, expects the same from other people. He tries to get the most out of every ruble he spends. Avoids everything that involves risk and will never make purchases on credit. TV comedy viewer. The main source of information about the latest events in the world for him are news broadcasts on television.
The listed segments give a superficial description of consumers. When dividing the tourism market according to generalized characteristics, the segments obtained by the criterion of lifestyle represent groups of consumers with completely different needs and values. Each segment represents a major market for which a specific tour product is being developed. Socio-demographic data reveals the physical and financial abilities and limitations of each segment. The lifestyle description gives an idea of the needs and demands of each segment. Each media segment's usage data shows the means by which an advertising campaign can be carried out to inform that segment.
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Market segmentation is a universal way of dividing any industry into homogeneous groups. This process is applied not only to consumers to determine the target audience. Segmentation helps to analyze the assortment of all manufacturers on the market, build a map of competitive groups and determine the boundaries of price segments. In this article, we will take a closer look at seven universal ways to segment a product market.
Product segmentation of the market helps to look at any industry from a strategic angle. Combining all market products into homogeneous groups helps to conduct a qualitative analysis of the market situation, identify the most popular product groups in the industry, assess the capacity of each segment and make a forecast of its growth dynamics, identify key market trends and, as a result, develop a working long-term assortment strategy.
7 Basic Segment Search Methods
In world practice, there are 7 main methods for segmenting the assortment on the market: by product groups, by basic functions / characteristics of the product, by volume and size of the product, by type of product packaging, by manufacturer, by price segments, as well as a combination of several parameters.
The first principle - product groups
Product groups are large categories of goods, united by purpose and principle of use. Product groups are a more detailed view of the industry as a whole. Product groups in which the company's product is not represented are in fact good sources of business growth. Entering new product groups, as a rule, does not lead to a decrease in sales of sales of the current assortment, as it covers completely new needs of the buyer.
For example, the commodity groups of the household appliances market are: washing machines, refrigerators, kettles, televisions, etc.
The second principle - according to the purpose of the goods
This type of segmentation is the most common and widely used. This method of segmenting the market into groups of goods is based on the key functions and characteristics of goods that the consumer takes into account when buying. The more detailed the segmentation by the main functions of the goods, the easier it is to find free market niches for the development of the company.
Here is an example of segmenting the chocolate market:
- by color and composition: dark, milky, white
- by consistency: airy and not airy
- in appearance: bar, bar, candy, other shapes
- according to tastes: pure chocolate, with nuts, with fruits, etc.
The third principle - by price segments
This type of market segmentation is important for understanding the established price boundaries of the market. Over time, clear boundaries of price segments are established on the market, which tell the buyer about the quality of the product, its complexity, uniqueness and premium. Based on the level of their income, expectations from the effectiveness of the product or desire to confirm their social status, the buyer chooses a product from one of the established price segments. If a customer wants a basic product, they are more likely to buy the product at the lowest price. If the quality of the product, the guaranteed result and status are important to him, he is more likely to pay attention to more expensive products.
The most common example of price segmentation: low-price segment or economy segment, mid-price segment, high-price segment, premium segment.
If the firm fails to segment the market, the market will segment the firm.
P. Doyle, American marketing specialist
Market segmentation in modern market conditions is one of the most important marketing problems. Every company must understand that its products may not please all customers. There are too many of these buyers, they are widely scattered and differ from each other in their tastes and needs. In order to meet these different needs, manufacturing organizations seek to identify consumer groups that are likely to respond positively to the products offered and target their marketing activities primarily to these consumer groups.
Therefore, many firms both abroad and in Russia currently adhere to a policy of market segmentation, developing new products specifically to meet the wishes of specific consumer groups.
This work aims to set out the main provisions of segmentation, to highlight the views of both Western and domestic researchers on the problem of segmenting markets for individual goods, to trace the patterns of choice of goods for certain categories of consumers.
The work consists of four chapters. The first chapter discusses the essence of segmentation, its criteria, methods and principles. In the second chapter - signs of market segmentation of individual products. The signs of segmentation of consumer goods and the signs of segmentation of industrial goods are described in detail. The third chapter explains what is targeted segmentation and product positioning; how to choose a target segment and target market. And, finally, the fourth chapter is devoted to describing how the above theoretical calculations are applied in Russia. On what grounds is our segmentation of product markets carried out and what are the forecasts for the future.
Familiarity with these issues will allow you to get a fairly complete idea of what segmentation is and what its role is in modern market conditions.
1 THE ESSENCE OF MARKET SEGMENTATION
Any market consists of buyers who differ from each other in their tastes, needs and desires. Therefore, any company must understand that with a variety of demand, and even in a competitive environment, each person will respond differently to the goods offered. Any company needs to consider the market as a differentiated structure depending on consumer groups and consumer properties of the product. Implementation of a successful commercial activities in market conditions involves taking into account the individual preferences of different categories of buyers. This is what constitutes the basis of market segmentation.
Market segmentation is the choice of a strategy for dividing the market into separate segments that differ from each other in different sales opportunities for the manufacturer's products, that is, this breakdown of the market into clear groups of buyers, each of which may require separate goods 1 (9, p. 55). By segmenting, the company divides the market into separate segments, which are most likely to be characterized by the same response to marketing incentives.
A market segment is a specially identified part of a market, a group of consumers, products or enterprises that have certain common features (9, p. 55).
Market segmentation is one of the most important marketing tools. The success of the company in the competitive struggle largely depends on how correctly the segment of the market is chosen.
The objects of segmentation are consumers, goods and firms themselves. Despite the possibility of segmenting the market for various objects, the main focus in marketing is on finding homogeneous groups of consumers who have similar preferences and respond in the same way to marketing offers. Thus, the main goal of segmentation is to ensure the targeting of the product. Through it, the basic principle of marketing is realized - consumer orientation.
Market segmentation makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of means and methods of advertising, price regulation, and the forms and methods of sale used. Its meaning lies in the fact that the company does not spray, but concentrates its efforts on the most promising segment for it.
Thus, market segmentation is, on the one hand, a method for finding parts of the market and determining the objects (primarily consumers) to which the company's marketing activities are directed. On the other hand, it is a managerial approach to the process of making a decision in the market by a firm, the basis for choosing the right combination of elements of the marketing mix.
Marketing practice shows that market segmentation:
allows you to meet the needs of customers in a variety of goods to the maximum extent;
provide rationalization. And optimization of the company's costs for the development, production and sale of goods;
helps to develop an effective marketing strategy based on the analysis and understanding of the behavior of potential buyers;
contributes to the establishment of realistic and achievable goals of the company;
makes it possible to raise the level of decisions made, providing their justification with information about the behavior of buyers in the market at the present time and forecasts of their behavior in the future;
provides an increase in the competitiveness of both the product and the company;
allows you to evade or reduce the degree of competition by moving to an undeveloped market segment;
involves linking the scientific and technical policy of the company with the needs of clearly identified specific consumers.
But, despite all these advantages, market segmentation has its drawbacks. First of all, these are high costs associated, for example, with additional market research, with the preparation of options for marketing programs, the provision of appropriate packaging, the use of various distribution methods.
Segmentation can have both advantages and disadvantages, but it is impossible to do without it, since in the modern economy each product can be successfully sold only to certain market segments, but not to the entire market.
Segmentation of any market can be carried out in a variety of ways, according to a variety of principles and methods, taking into account a variety of features and criteria.
The first step in segmentation is the selection of segmentation criteria and signs of market segmentation. V.P. Khlusov in his book "Fundamentals of Marketing" emphasizes the difference between these two concepts. He defines a sign as a way to highlight a particular segment in the market. And the criterion is a way to assess the validity of the choice of a given market segment for an enterprise (firm) (9, p. 62).
1.1. Segmentation criteria
Market segmentation can be carried out using various criteria. Marketing researcher V.P. Khlusov identifies the following most common segmentation criteria:
Quantitative parameters of the segment. These include: the capacity of the segment, that is, how many products and at what total cost can be sold, how many potential consumers are there, what area they live in, etc. Based on these parameters, the enterprise must determine which production capacities should be focused on this segment, what should be the size of the distribution network.
Availability of the segment for the enterprise, i.e. the ability of the enterprise to obtain distribution and marketing channels for products, the conditions for storage and transportation of products to consumers in this market segment. The enterprise must determine whether it has a sufficient number of distribution channels for its products (in the form of resellers) or its own distribution network, what is the capacity of these channels, whether they are able to ensure the sale of the entire volume of products produced taking into account the existing capacity of the market segment, whether the system is sufficient or reliable delivery of products to consumers (are there any cargo handling, etc.). The answers to these questions provide the company's management with the information necessary to decide whether it has the opportunity to start promoting its products in the selected market segment or whether it still has to take care of forming a distribution network, establishing relations with resellers or building its own warehouses and stores. .
Segment materiality, i.e. determination of how realistic this or that group of consumers can be considered as a market segment, how stable it is in terms of the main unifying features. In this case, the management of the company will have to find out whether this market segment is growing, stable or declining, whether it is worth orienting production capacities to it or, on the contrary, it is necessary to re-profil it to another market.
Profitability. Based on this criterion, it is determined how profitable it will be for the company to work in a selected market segment. Typically, a company to assess the profitability of a particular market segment uses standard methods for calculating the relevant indicators: the rate of return, return on invested capital, the amount of dividends per share, the amount of growth in the total mass of the enterprise's profit, depending on the specifics economic activity specific enterprise.
Compatibility of the segment with the market of the main competitors. Using this criterion, the management of the enterprise should get an answer to the question to what extent the main competitors are ready to give up the chosen market segment, to what extent the promotion of the products of this enterprise affects their interests here. And if the main competitors are seriously concerned about the promotion of the company's products in the selected market segment and take appropriate measures to protect it, then the company must be prepared to incur additional costs when targeting such a segment or find a new one for itself, where there will be competition (at least initially) weaker.
Efficiency in the selected market segment. This criterion means, first of all, checking whether the company has the proper experience in the selected market segment, how fig, production and sales personnel are ready to effectively promote products in this segment, how prepared they are for competition. The company's management must decide whether the company has sufficient resources to work in the selected segment, to determine what is lacking here to work effectively.
Protection of the selected segment from competition. In accordance with this criterion, the company's management must evaluate its ability to compete with possible competitors in the selected market segment. It is important to determine who can become a competitor in the chosen segment in the future, what are its strengths and weaknesses, what are the company's own competitive advantages, on which areas of economic activity it is necessary to concentrate the main efforts and resources in order to develop strengths and identify weaknesses and etc.
Only after receiving answers to all these questions, assessing the potential of the enterprise according to all criteria, it is possible to make decisions as to whether this market segment is suitable for the enterprise or not, whether it is worth continuing to study consumer demand in this segment, continue collecting and processing additional information and spend new resources on it. The listed criteria are also important in the case when a company analyzes its positions in a previously selected market segment. Taking into account segmentation, in fact, the market capacity for the company can be determined.
1.2 Segmentation principles
Marketing researcher E.V. Popov in his article “Market Segmentation” identifies five principles for successful market segmentation” (10, p. 77):
Differences between segments, customer similarities, measurability of customer characteristics, large segment size, reachability of customers.
The principle of difference between segments means that as a result of segmentation, groups of consumers that differ from each other should be obtained. Otherwise, segmentation will be implicitly replaced by mass marketing. The segment consumer similarity principle provides for the homogeneity of potential buyers in terms of consumer attitudes towards a particular product. Consumer similarity is necessary so that an appropriate marketing plan can be developed for the entire target segment.
The requirement for a large segment means that the target sales segments must be large enough to generate sales and cover the costs of the enterprise. When assessing the size of a segment, one should take into account the nature of the product being sold and the size of the potential market. So, in the consumer market, the number of buyers in one segment can be measured in tens of thousands, while in the industrial market, a large segment can include less than a hundred potential consumers (for example, for cellular and satellite communication systems, for consumers of power engineering products, etc.).
The measurability of consumer characteristics is necessary for targeted field marketing research, as a result of which it is possible to identify the needs of potential buyers, as well as to study the reaction of the target market to the marketing actions of the enterprise. This principle is extremely important, since the distribution of goods "blindly", without feedback from consumers, leads to the dispersion of funds, labor and intellectual resources of the seller.
The principle of reachability of consumers means the requirement for the availability of channels of communication between the selling company and potential consumers. Newspapers can be such channels of communication.
Magazines, radio, television, outdoor media, etc. Reachability of consumers is necessary for organizing promotional campaigns, otherwise informing potential buyers about a particular product: its characteristics, cost, main advantages, possible sales, etc.
The basis of the market segmentation procedure, along with the application of segmentation principles, is the reasonable choice of the appropriate segmentation method.
1.3 Segmentation methods
The most common methods of market segmentation are the method of grouping by one or more characteristics and the methods of multivariate statistical analysis.
The grouping method consists in the sequential breakdown of a set of objects into groups according to the most significant features. A feature is singled out as a system-forming feature (a consumer who intends to purchase a product, a product owner), then subgroups are formed in which the significance of this criterion is much higher than for the entire set of potential consumers of this product. By successive splitting into two parts, the sample is divided into a number of subgroups.
Figure 1. shows a diagram of sequential breakdowns by AID methods (automatic interaction detector), which is widely used in segmentation procedures at the present time. Such methods of enumeration of options are often used in market segmentation. Some marketing researchers consider such methods as a priority method for choosing a target market.
For the purposes of segmentation, multidimensional classification methods are also used, when the division occurs according to the complex of analyzed features simultaneously.
Rice. 1 AID classification scheme
The most effective of them is the methods of automatic classification, or otherwise cluster analysis. In this case, the classification schemes are based on the following assumptions. Consumers that are similar to each other in a number of ways are combined into one class. The degree of similarity among consumers belonging to the same class should be higher than the degree of similarity among people belonging to different classes.
Using this method, the problem of typification is solved with the simultaneous use of demographic, socio-economic and psychographic features, the essence of which will be considered in the second chapter of this work.
As an example, we can consider solving the problem of market segmentation by constructing a consumer typology, which refers to the division of consumers into typical groups that have the same or similar consumer behavior. Building a typology is the process of dividing the studied set of objects into groups that are quite homogeneous and stable in time and space.
2 SIGNS OF SEGMENTATION OF THE MARKETS OF GOODS
The signs of segmentation differ depending on the purpose of the goods (consumer and industrial purposes).
2.1 Signs of segmentation of consumer goods
Many domestic and Western marketing researchers, including marketing professor F. Kotler, identify four main features of consumer goods segmentation: geographical, demographic, psychographic and behavioral.
But the generally accepted division that A.P. gives is closer to me. Durovich in his book Marketing in Entrepreneurship. To these four features, he adds one more: socio-economic.
Thus, for the segmentation of the consumer goods market, the main features are: geographical, demographic, socio-economic, psychographic and behavioral features.
Geographic segmentation of the market involves dividing the market into different geographical units: countries, states, republics, cities, regions, etc., taking into account the size and location of the region, population size and density, climatic conditions, and administrative division. At the same time, groups of buyers with the same or similar consumer preferences, determined by residence in a particular territory, are considered.
A whole country or a group of countries with some political, ethnic or religious community can be considered as a geographical segment. An example of such segments can be the countries of the Middle East, Central America, the Baltic States, the CIS, etc. A whole continent (for example, Latin America) can be a geographical segment.
When segmenting by geography, a firm may decide to operate: 1) in one or more geographic areas, or 2) in all areas, but taking into account differences in needs and preferences determined by geography.
Geographic segmentation is the simplest. It was used in practice earlier than others, which was due to the need to determine the spatial boundaries of the enterprise. Its application is especially necessary when there is a climatic difference in the market between regions or features of cultural, national, historical traditions, as well as consumer habits and preferences.
demographic signs. Demographic segmentation is the division of the market into groups based on demographic variables such as gender, age, family size, stage of the family life cycle, number of children, marital status, etc. (see Table 1).
Demographic variables are the most popular features that serve as the basis for distinguishing consumer groups. One of the reasons for such popularity is that needs and preferences, as well as the intensity of consumption of a product, are often closely related precisely to demographic characteristics. Another reason is that demographic characteristics are easier to measure than most other types of variables. Even in cases where the market is not described from a demographic point of view (but, for example, on the basis of personality types), it is still necessary to make a connection with demographic parameters.
Table 1
Market segmentation by demographics
|
Signs of segmentation |
Possible segments |
|
Age |
Up to 6 years; 6 - 12; 13 - 19; 20 - 29; 30 - 39; 40 - 49; 50 - 59; 60 and older |
|
Floor |
Male, female |
|
Family size (persons) |
12; 3–4; 5 or more |
|
Life cycle stages |
Single life stage, newlyweds without children; young spouses with children under 6 years old; young spouses with children over 6 years old; elderly spouses; lonely, etc. |
An important demographic feature of segmentation is the age of consumers. Needs and opportunities change with age. The number of people in each age group determines not only the existing demand for many types of goods, but also the prospects for its development. In addition, it should be borne in mind that the desires of young people are more non-plastic and it is easier for this segment of consumers to form new needs, tastes and preferences.
In addition to age, gender differences in consumers are fundamentally important in many cases. Gender segmentation has already been done for clothing, hair care products, cosmetics, and magazines. From time to time, the possibility of segmentation based on gender is also discovered by other market players. Good example the cigarette market. Most brands of cigarettes are used by both men and women without distinction. However, "Women's" cigarettes, such as Virginia Slims, Vogu, are increasingly appearing on the market with the appropriate flavor, in appropriate packaging and accompanied by advertising that emphasizes the image of the femininity of the product.
Throughout his life, the same person changes his tastes, desires and values. Naturally, these changes are reflected in consumer behavior. Since a person is surrounded by a family, it is advisable for the purposes of segmentation to divide his entire life cycle into stages, taking into account changes in the family circle. The classic differentiation of consumers, taking into account the sequence of important stages in the life of an adult, is used in their book "The Life Cycle and Financial Opportunities of Consumers" by John B. Lansing and James N. Morgan (see Table 2).
People change what they buy over the course of their lives. Thus, the complete family at the first stage is the main buyer of washing machines, televisions, food for small children and toys. At the same time, a complete family at the third stage is a consumer of expensive radio-electronic equipment and luxury items.
Most firms segment the market based on a combination of two or more demographic variables. An example of such a characteristic is the marital status and age of the head of the family (the recipient of the main family income).
Socio-economic features suggest the allocation of consumer groups based on the commonality of social and professional affiliation, education and income. Thus, the socio-cultural sphere creates a certain range of interests and preferences in relation to consumer goods. Belonging to a certain social stratum obliges a person to play a decisive role in society, which in one way or another will influence his purchasing behavior. Many firms, taking into account the segmentation of consumers on the basis of belonging to a particular social group, use targeted advertising to form demand and stimulate sales of certain goods.
table 2
Segmentation of consumers by life cycle stages
|
Life cycle stage |
Possible segments |
|
Unmarried, bachelor period |
Young people living separately |
|
Newly created families |
Newlyweds without children |
|
Complete family, 1st stage |
Young couples with young children under 6 |
|
Complete family, stage 2 |
Young couples with children aged 6 and over |
|
Complete family, stage 3 |
Married couples living with minor children |
|
"Empty Nest", stage 1 |
Elderly couples with whom working children do not live |
|
"Empty Nest", Stage 2 |
Elderly couples with whom children do not live, pensioners |
|
Elderly singles |
Widowed persons with whom children do not live |
The type of activity (profession) is also a factor influencing the demand of the buyer and his behavior in the market. It will be different for a working engineer, for a worker of different qualifications, for an economist and philologist, and so on. Therefore, marketing specialists need to carefully examine the relationship between professional groups of people and their interests in acquiring a particular product. The firm, on the other hand, can orient the production of its products based on specific professional groups. The profession plays a special role in the process of market segmentation of "intellectual" goods, for example. These are books, media.
Education is closely related to the profession, but at the same time, these are not identical concepts. Having the same education, people can have different professions. Specialists have found that as the level of education changes both as an individual and in social groups, a reorientation of demand in the market should be expected.
income level. Another age-old division of the market in relation to such goods as cars, boats, clothing, cosmetics, etc., is segmentation based on income level. Income differentiation divides consumers into low, middle and high income groups. Each category has different resources to purchase goods. Thus, a consumer with a high income has more opportunities to choose and buy the offered goods. The amount of income affects the consumer in other ways. For example, it is not at all necessary that when income increases, consumption for all product groups increases accordingly. Thus, the relative share of funds used for food is decreasing, while incomes for recreation and entertainment are increasing. The distribution is also affected by the number of family members. Provided that their income is the same, the consumption of each person in a small family may be higher than in a large one.
Therefore, marketers must pay a lot of attention to predicting trends in income, savings, taxes. This is especially true for the current situation in our country. At the same time, it is necessary to have sufficiently flexible pricing, change in the assortment and quality structure of goods offered to the market, because practically none of them can be created for the entire population. Thus, the range of products offered should be designed for the "purse" of the buyer of each segment.
Demographic characteristics are very closely related to the socio-economic and can be combined with each other in a certain way, forming the combined parameters of the segments. For example, a boarding house takes care of blind people, takes care of maintaining their psychological state, and provides vocational training. However, due to limited capacity, the boarding house is not able to provide assistance to all blind people of different social status. On fig. Figure 2 shows an example of multifactorial segmentation of these individuals by gender, age, and income level (4, p. 260).
And the boarding house chose to serve low-income, working-age blind men because management believes it can best meet the needs of this particular group of potential clients.
Rice. 2 Segmentation of the blind by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics
Subjective specific features of segmentation are psychographic and behavioral.
Psychographic segmentation combines a whole range of buyer characteristics. It is generally expressed by the concept of "way of life" and is a model of a person's life, which is expressed in hobbies, actions, interests, opinions, a hierarchy of needs, a dominant type of relationship with other people, etc.
An analysis carried out by one American made it possible to distinguish the following groups of people according to a certain way of life:
"desperate" - people who live without meaning in life, who have a tendency to move away from society (4%);
"supported" - people who are still losers in life, but maintain ties with society in order to escape from poverty (7%);
"belonging" - people who are very conservative, honoring customs, do not like to experiment, prefer to adapt rather than stand out (33%).
"competitive" - people with ambitions, striving "to the top", always wanting to achieve more (10%);
"prosperous" - people who consider themselves happy, "grown" into the social system, satisfied with life (23%);
"I - to myself" - people, most often young, self-absorbed, capricious (5%);
“survivors” are people with a rich inner life who accept her for who she is (7%);
"socially creative" - people with a high degree of responsibility who want to improve social relations (9%);
"integrated" - people with a fully mature psychology, combining the best elements of internal aspirations and external, social (2%).
This classification is valuable for marketing because it is based on the idea that each person goes through different stages of lifestyle. So far, such studies have not been carried out in Russia, although the need for them is obvious.
Abroad, studies of market segments have long been practiced, taking into account personality types and lifestyles. So, for example, the American marketer R. Ekoff and J. Emshoff managed to identify four personality types of beer consumers (see Table 3) and help Ankhozer-Bush develop a competitive advertising campaign to cover each of these groups (4, p. 262).
Table 3
Segmentation of beer consumers by personality type
Consumer type |
Personality type |
Consumer habits |
|
Drinker in company |
Driven by our own needs and especially the need to achieve success and the desire to manipulate others to get what we want |
A controlled person who can sometimes get drunk, but is most likely a non-alcoholic. Drinks on weekends, holidays, usually in the company of friends. Drinking beer is considered one of the ways to achieve social recognition. |
|
Drinker to restore tone |
Sensitive and responsive. Adapts to the needs of others. Usually a middle aged person. |
Self-controlled, who rarely gets drunk. Drinks after work with close friends. |
|
drinking a lot |
Sensitive to the needs of others. Often a loser who blames himself for this. |
Drinks a lot. At times he loses control of himself, can get very drunk. Drinking beer for him is an escape from reality. |
|
Drinking out of control |
As a rule, does not feel sympathy for others, blaming for his failures on the lack of himself on the part of others |
He drinks a lot, often gets drunk, often becomes an alcoholic. Drinking beer for him is a form of escapism. |
E.P. Golubkov in his work "Marketing Research: Theory, Methodology and Practice" identifies the following behavioral signs of segmentation: by the circumstances of application; based on benefits; based on user status; based on intensity of consumption; based on the stage of readiness of consumption to make a purchase (2, p. 43).
Behavioral signs of segmentation (see Table 4) are the most descriptive and, according to many experts, are the most logical basis for the formation of a market segment. Behavioral segmentation involves dividing the market into groups depending on such characteristics of consumers as the level of knowledge, attitudes, the nature of the use of the product or the reaction to it, etc.
Table 4
Segmentation of consumers according to their behavior in the market
Segmentation by circumstances of use - dividing the market into groups in accordance with the circumstances, reasons for the emergence of an idea, making a purchase or using a product. For example, abroad, orange juice is usually consumed at breakfast. However, orange growers are trying to expand demand for oranges by stimulating orange juice consumption at other times of the day.
Segmentation based on benefits - dividing the market into groups depending on the benefits, benefits that the consumer is looking for in the product is one of the main vital needs, for the other - only an element of a certain image.
User status also characterizes the degree of regularity of using a product by its users, which are divided into non-users, former users, potential users, novice users and regular users. For example, you can focus your market activity on turning novice users into regular users.
Consumption intensity is an indicator on the basis of which markets are segmented into groups of weak, moderate and active consumers of certain goods. Obviously, it is more profitable to serve one market segment than several small segments of weak customers.
The degree of loyalty, i.e. consumer commitment to a particular brand of product. It is usually measured by the number of repeated purchases of products of this brand.
According to the degree of customer loyalty to the product, F. Kotler and A.P. Durovich distinguish the following segments: 1) unconditional adherents; 2) tolerant adherents; 3) fickle adherents; 4) "wanderers".
Buyer readiness stage is a characteristic according to which buyers are classified into ignorant about the product, well-informed about it, interested in it, willing to buy it and not intending to buy it.
A.P. Durovich. Depending on the attitude of the buyer to the product, he proposes a division into the following segments: 1) ignorant, who knows nothing about the product; 2) informed - knows only that the product exists; understanding - has an idea about the merits of the product, its functions and the needs it satisfies, but is not sure that it is superior to competing products; 4) convinced - realized the advantages of the proposed product, but for some reason (financial situation, seasonality of consumption, etc.) does not buy it yet; 5) active - acquires and uses the goods (3, p. 135).
The choice of the correct segmentation attribute significantly affects the final results of commercial activity. For example, when developing a market strategy and tactics for the implementation of the Mustang car model, Ford Motors (USA) chose the age of buyers as the basic segmentation criterion. The model was intended for young people who want to buy an inexpensive sports car. However, having launched the car on the market, the company's management found to their surprise that the model was in demand among buyers of all ages. The conclusion suggests itself that not the youth, but “psychologically young” people should have been chosen as the basic segment group. This example shows us how important it is to do right choice segment, taking into account the various signs of segmentation, because the successful operation of the company depends on it.
2.2 Signs of product segmentation
industrial purpose
As a basis for segmenting markets for industrial goods, you can use most of the same features that are used when segmenting markets for consumer goods. Consumers of manufacturing goods can be segmented geographically and along a range of behavioral variables, based on the benefits they seek, user status, intensity of consumption, degree of commitment, willingness to accept and attitude towards the product.
When segmenting the market for industrial goods, E.P. Golubkov identifies such features as: geographical position; type of organization purchasing the goods; the amount of purchases; direction of use of purchased goods (2, p. 44).
In the textbook "Marketing" edited by A.N. Romanov said that for the segmentation of the market for industrial goods, economic and technological criteria are of paramount importance, which include:
|
industries |
(industry, transport, Agriculture, construction, culture, science, healthcare, trade); |
|
|
forms of ownership |
(state, private, collective, foreign states, mixed); |
|
|
field of activity |
(R&D, main production, production infrastructure, social infrastructure); |
|
|
enterprise size |
(small, medium, large); |
|
|
Geographical position |
(tropics, Far North) |
|
Important features of segmentation are also the frequency of orders for these goods, the specifics of the procurement organization (delivery terms, payment terms, payment methods), forms of relationships (6, p. 57).
A.P. Durovich believes that in the market of industrial goods, where consumers are enterprises, where consumers are enterprises, geographical segmentation is to some extent combined with production and economic segmentation. He refers to specific features of production and economic segmentation (3, p. 134)
industry to which the enterprise belongs: agriculture, oil production and refining, metallurgy, etc.;
technological processes used at the consumer enterprise.
The second group of signs characterizes the specifics of the organization of procurement, especially consumer requests: the presence of specific problems in the field of procurement of means of production (for example, productivity, power, speed, completeness, etc.); terms of payment and forms of relationship with suppliers (one-time purchases, long-term relationships, etc.).
With this group of signs of segmentation, technical and applied ones are closely related.
When segmenting the market for industrial goods, brand-demographic characteristics can be widely and effectively applied. Thus, information about the main production assets, the capital of the enterprise, the dynamics of the volume of production and its range give an idea of both the current production and commercial program and the prospects, and therefore, the existing and potential needs of the enterprise for certain goods.
As for the consumer goods market, the segmentation of industrial goods is carried out on the basis of a combination of several features. It is important that the segments are not too small. On fig. Figure 3 shows a fragment of the results of a sequential three-stage segmentation of the aluminum consumer market. 
Rice. 3 Three-step market segmentation
3 TARGET MARKET SEGMENTATION AND PRODUCT POSITIONING
The segmentation of the market in the process of segmentation is usually carried out in two stages. At the stage of macrosegmentation, the product market is identified, at the subsequent stage of microsegmentation, the goal is to identify individual segments of buyers in the previously identified product market.
3.1 Choice of target market
One of the most important stages of market segmentation, after determining the criteria, methods and features of segmentation, is the choice of the target market. The choice of the target market must be given serious attention, since the effectiveness of all subsequent activities of the enterprise depends to a large extent on the choice made. In Lamberne's monograph, this stage of market segmentation was called macrosegmentation, as opposed to microsegmentation, dedicated to the choice of the target segment.
The main points of macro-segmentation in accordance with the results of Lamburn's work are as follows: the implementation of a market segmentation strategy should begin with the definition of the firm's mission, which describes its role and main function in the future, consumer oriented. The head of the firm should ask three fundamental questions: “What business is the firm in?”, “What business should be in?”, “What business should not be in?”.
Hence, the concept of a firm's target or base market arises, which is a significant group of consumers with similar needs and motivational characteristics that create favorable marketing opportunities for the firm.
According to Abell's work, a firm's target market can be defined in three dimensions (10, p. 79):
technological, describing technologies that can satisfy the needs of the market (“how?”);
functional, certain functions of which must be satisfied in this market (“what?”);
consumer, which determines the groups of consumers that can be satisfied in a given market (“who?”).
Graphically, this can be represented by a three-dimensional scheme (see Fig. 4).
Using this approach, it is possible to distinguish between three different structures: the market for one technology (industry), the market for one function (technology market) and the product market.
An industry is defined by technology, regardless of its associated functions or consumer groups. The concept of an industry is itself traditional. At the same time, it is the least satisfactory, as it is oriented towards supply rather than demand. Thus, such a category is appropriate under the condition of high homogeneity of the considered functions and consumer groups.
A product market is at the intersection of a group of consumers and a set of features based on a specific technology. It corresponds to the concept of a strategic business unit and responds to the realities of supply and demand.
The choice of a market coverage strategy is made on the basis of a competitiveness analysis for each segment. The following different target market strategies can be chosen by the enterprise:
Concentration strategy - the company gives a narrow definition of its field of activity in relation to the product market, function or group of consumers.
Functional Specialist Strategy - Enterprises prefer to specialize in one function but serve all customer groups interested in that warehousing function.
Customer specialization strategy – the company specializes in a certain category of customers (hospitals, hotels, etc.), offering its customers a wide range of products or complex equipment systems that perform additional or interrelated functions.
The strategy of selective specialization is the release of many goods in different markets that are not interconnected (a manifestation of production diversification).
Full coverage strategy - offering a complete range that satisfies all consumer groups.
In most real cases, target market strategies can be formulated in two dimensions: functions and customer groups, as firms most often own only one specific technology surrounding their industry affiliation.
If the firm owns different technologies, then the choice of the target market and strategies for its coverage will also be determined by the technological dimension of the market.
After choosing the target market, it is advisable to move on to its more detailed segmentation.
3.2 Selecting the target segment
After selecting the target market, the firm must decide how many segments the company should focus on, in other words, select target market segments and develop a marketing strategy.
Target market segment - one or more segments for marketing activities enterprises.
At the same time, the form should, taking into account the chosen goals, determine the strengths of competition, the size of markets, relations with distribution channels, profits and its image of the company.
The goals of the enterprise can be set both quantitatively and qualitatively. They may concern the introduction of new products or the penetration of well-known products into new market segments. At the same time, the segment must have sufficient demand potential to be selected as the target segment. In addition, the target segments must be stable, allowing sufficient time to implement the chosen marketing strategy.
The choice of the target segment can be decided by one of the following segment differences and one type of product can be released to the entire market, providing it with marketing means of attractiveness in the eyes of consumers of all groups. In this case, a mass marketing strategy is applied. This strategy is referred to as a big sales strategy. The main goal of mass marketing is maximum sales. Penetration into a large number of segments is associated with a wide capture of the entire market and requires significant resources, so this strategy is usually used large enterprises. Successful mass marketing requires that the majority of buyers feel the need for the same properties of the product. Methods of mass distribution and mass advertising are used, one price range, a single marketing program aimed at various consumer groups. However, as the market saturates, this approach becomes less productive.
Secondly, it is possible to concentrate the efforts and resources of the manufacturer on one market segment (a specific group of consumers). AT this case a concentrated marketing strategy is applied. This strategy is attractive with limited resources, for small enterprises. The enterprise concentrates efforts and resources where it has the opportunity to use its advantages, providing savings on the specialization of production and a strong market position due to the remote degree of uniqueness and individuality in meeting needs.
The concentrated marketing strategy allows the company to maximize profit per unit of output, with few resources to compete with big firms in specialized market segments.
The marketing strategy of the enterprise is based on the exceptional nature of its products, but here, too, the influence of competitors is dangerous, but here, too, the influence of competitors is dangerous and the risk of large losses is significant.
It is more reliable to work on several segments that form the target market of this enterprise.
The third way to select a target market segment is to cover several segments and release for each of them its product or its variety. Here, a differentiated marketing strategy is applied with a different marketing plan for each segment. Covering multiple market segments requires significant market segments requiring significant enterprise resources and capabilities to produce and market different brands and products. At the same time, the release of several types of goods, oriented to several segments, allows you to maximize sales.
So, the choice of any of these three market coverage strategies is determined by:
the number of identified and potentially profitable segments;
enterprise resources.
If the resources of the enterprise are limited, then the strategy of concentrated marketing, apparently, is the only possible one.
In some cases, an enterprise starting with a mass or concentrated marketing strategy is able to reach undeveloped consumer segments (for example, switching from the production of universal shampoo (mass marketing) to the production of special shampoos for different types of hair for children). Or vice versa, having firmly established itself in one segment, the company expands its activities, mastering a new segment. So, along with the release of products for children, Johnson & Johnson sells shampoos for women over 40 years old. In some cases, firms use both mass and concentrated marketing in their strategy.
Often in the process of segmentation, certain parts of the market are found that manufacturers, for one reason or another, neglect. The consumers that make up these segments do not fully satisfy their desires and preferences. An example is goods for certain categories of consumers: pensioners, teenagers, etc. This situation is called a market window. A manufacturer seeking to close this “window” can have great success.
Market segments in which the company has secured a dominant and stable position are commonly called a market niche.
The creation and strengthening of a market niche, including by searching for market windows, is ensured only through the use of market segmentation methods. Market segmentation establishes differences in demand, and the product adapts to the needs of buyers.
3.3 Product positioning
After determining the target market segment, the enterprise must study the properties and image of competitors and assess the position of their product in the market. Having studied the positions of competitors, the company decides on the positioning of its product, i.e. ensuring the competitive position of their product in the market. The positioning of the product in the selected market is a logical continuation of finding target segments, since the position of the product in one market segment may differ from how it is perceived by buyers in another segment.
In some works of Western marketers who consider positioning within the framework of marketing logistics, it is defined as the optimal placement of goods in the market space, which is based on the desire to bring the product as close as possible to the consumer. Advertising professionals use the term "positioning" to refer to selecting the best position for a product in a product display, such as a window display.
If segmentation gives the characteristics that a product should have in terms of desires and preferences, then positioning convinces consumers that they are offered exactly the product that they would like to purchase.
Positioning includes a set of marketing elements with the help of which people need to be convinced that this is a product created specifically for them, so that they identify the proposed product with their ideal.
Here you can note the main strategies for positioning goods in the target segment:
positioning based on excellent product quality;
positioning based on a particular way of using the product;
positioning based on the benefits of purchasing a product or on solutions to a specific problem;
positioning focused on a certain category of consumers;
positioning in relation to a competing product;
positioning based on a gap with a certain category of goods.
To gain a strong position in the competition, based on the results of the positioning of its products, the company highlights the characteristics of the product and marketing activities that can distinguish its products from competitors' products in an advantageous way, i.e. differentiates its products, i.e. differentiates its products.
Moreover, different directions of differentiation can be chosen for different products.
So, marketer E.P. Golubkov identifies productive differentiation, service differentiation, staff differentiation, and image differentiation (2, p. 50).
Productive differentiation is offering products with features and designs that are better than those of competitors. For standardized products (chicken, oil products, metal) it is practically impossible to carry out product differentiation. For products such as automobiles, household appliances, following this market policy is common.
Service differentiation is the offering of services (speed, delivery reliability, installation, after-sales service, customer training, consulting, etc.) that are related to the product and are higher in level than those of competitors.
Personnel differentiation is the recruitment and training of personnel who carry out their functions more effectively than the personnel of competitors. Well-trained personnel must meet the following requirements: competence, friendliness, reliability, responsibility, communication skills. He must inspire confidence.
Differentiation of the image - the creation of an image, an image of an organization or products that differ for the better from competitors. For example, most well-known brands of cigarettes have similar taste and are marketed in the same way. However, Marlboro cigarettes, due to their unusual image, according to which only strong, “cowboy-like” men smoke them, have about 30% of the world cigarette market.
Depending on the characteristics of specific products and the capabilities of the company, it can simultaneously implement from one to several areas of differentiation.
When determining the position of a product on the market, the method of constructing positioning maps is often used in the form of a two-dimensional matrix, on the field of which the products of competing firms are presented.
On fig. Figure 5 shows a map of the positioning of products of competition for products of competing products in a specific target market in two parameters: price (horizontal axis) and quality (vertical axis).
In circles, the radii of which are proportional to the volume, the implementations indicate the names of competing firms. The question mark characterizes the possible choice of a position in the market for a new firm, based on an analysis of the position in this market of other firms. The choice made is justified by the desire to take a place in the target market, where there is less competition. In this case, these are products of relatively high quality, sold at average prices.
Rice. 5 Map of product positioning in terms of "quality-price" parameters
Based on the decision made, this company must carry out a set of works on the development, market testing and launch of the selected product. There is no 100% guarantee of successful implementation of the decision made. It is also necessary to evaluate the chances of success.
Thus, the positioning of the product in the target segment is associated with highlighting the distinctive advantages of the product, meeting specific needs or a certain category of customers, with the belief in the excellent quality of the product, as well as with the formation of a characteristic image of the product or company.
4 features of SEGMENTATION of the goods market in Russia
Above, we examined the basics of both Western and domestic theories of segmentation of the goods market. Which of these approaches is applicable today in Russian marketing practice?
Let's start with segmentation based on traditional socio-demographic and geographic features.
Any plan for an advertising and marketing campaign in the United States or any other industrialized country necessarily includes a "geographic section", which gives exact data on the number of households with a certain income level in a particular city and state. To compare the marketing potential of regions, multifactorial indices are widely used - the population size, the total monetary income of the population and the region and the distribution of this income, the total volume and index of retail sales of certain types of goods. The main thing here is the index of retail sales, since it is on its basis that one can predict the potential capacity of the regional market (see Table 5) (5, p. 72).
A multi-factor index that most accurately characterizes the marketing potential of a region in the US is calculated by the weighted average of three factors: 1) the percentage of actual consumer income; 2) the percentage of retail sales and the percentage of the population.
For Russian conditions geographic segmentation is of particular importance - the growing trend towards regionalization in recent years leads to the creation of closed and dissimilar markets and closed "consumer worlds". As applied to Russia, the methodology for calculating the multifactorial consumer index of the region was proposed by Leonid Laptev and Oleg Mitichkin (ORFI) (5, p. 73).
Table 5
An example of determining the potential capacity of regional markets for the United States
|
Region |
Total Retail Sales ($ million) |
Retail Sales Index |
Sales potential (in million dollars). |
|
Great Lakes Illinois |
129657 37691 |
19,6 |
9800 2850 |
According to their methodology, the following indicators are used to calculate the multifactorial consumer index of the region: the number of families in the region, the average family spending on the purchase of food (non-food) products, the average salary in the region, the ratio of the average salary to the subsistence minimum in percent.
An example of calculating a multi-factor consumer index for those regions in Russia is given in the table (see Table 6).
Leonid Laptev and Oleg Mitichkin note that in addition to assessing the sales potential of consumer goods, their multifactorial index can also be used to calculate the capacity of markets for industrial goods. For example, in relation to the market of paper and paper products, the multi-factor index of the region will represent the weighted average of several indicators: the percentage of printing enterprises in the region to their total number in Russia, the ratio of the volume of printing production in the region to the all-Russian indicators.
Table 6
An example of calculating a multi-factor consumer index for three regions of Russia
|
Region |
Number of families |
Average monthly expenses |
Average salary (thousand rubles) |
Living wage (thousand rubles) |
The ratio of the average salary to the cost of living |
consumer index |
|
Nizhny Novgorod |
1060000 |
2,317 |
||||
|
KOMI |
325000 |
1,517 |
||||
|
Murmansk |
316000 |
1,457 |
With regard to the calculation of consumer demand, the greatest difficulties will arise in practice with obtaining reliable data on average salary and living wage in the region. There is nothing surprising in this - segmentation by income level is basic and more difficult in conditions and more difficult in conditions of a sharp property stratification that has occurred in our society. The situation is paradoxical in that for advertising and marketing campaigns on a huge variety of products, segmentation by income level can be practically self-sufficient. Such indicators as gender, age and family income make other socio-demographic characteristics (education, social status, type of occupation, etc.) is redundant. That is, the target audience obtained on the basis of income level turns out to be so narrow that it no longer requires further division with the help of additional socio-demographic characteristics.
So, for example, the potential market for foreign tourism, air travel or financial services of commercial banks today is within the limits of only 10% of the most highly profitable part of the population of Moscow. Exploring the communicative behavior of the highly profitable part of the population of Moscow, the V raoloi research center limited itself to 17% of the capital's residents. The remaining 83% of the population of Moscow can serve as a target audience for advertising campaigns for washing powder, Coca-Cola, chocolates, coffee, chewing gum, shampoo, which we actually see on our TV screens. This is the striking difference between marketing practice in Russia and Western. In Russia, developments in the field of the theory of consumer behavior are far behind. When to characterize target audience advertising company in just three indicators - income level, gender and age - the question of segmentation by benefits, buying behavior or lifestyle no longer arises. The reason is the absence of the middle class - a potential buyer of most quality goods and the main object of advertising influence. The middle class exists in Russia as a kind of "phantom" in the mass consciousness. In the course of surveys about class affiliation, the following data were obtained (5, C, C. 76). 1% of the respondents considered themselves to be in the “upper” class, 37% – in the “middle” class, 44% – in the “lower” class, 18% found it difficult to answer.
Thus, the conclusion about the emerging potential unaffordability of many ordinary food products by low-income buyers, whose share reaches half of the population, is confirmed by the data of the researchers. Thus, according to the VTsIOM data (see Table 7), the regular consumption of the most popular goods is as follows.
Table 7
Share of consumption of various goods
Russian buyers
|
Product |
Share of consumers as a percentage of the population |
|
Chocolate candies |
|
|
Chocolate bars |
|
|
Chewing gum |
|
|
Mineral water |
|
|
Cold drinks like "Cola" |
|
|
Other soft drinks |
|
|
fruit juices |
|
|
Tea |
|
|
Coffee |
|
|
Vodka |
|
|
Beer |
|
|
Cigarettes |
|
|
Soap |
|
|
Toothpaste |
|
|
Shampoo |
|
|
washing powder |
This table shows that half of Russia's residents never or almost never buy fruit juices, mineral water, soft drinks, beer, a quarter of our country never buy coffee and chocolates. All this testifies to the very low consumer potential of the vast majority of the population.
Thus, it can be seen that marketers may need models for segmenting by benefits, lifestyle and buying behavior only when developing advertising and marketing strategies for selling goods to a highly profitable (8 - 10%) part of our society. For the rest, the price of the goods will be decisive for a long time. So far, there are only attempts to build such models.
Segmentation of buyers by lifestyle and motives in Russia was carried out in two research products: "R-TGI" of the "Comson-2" center and its adapted Finnish version "Media&Marketing Index" made by the center "Romir/G11up Media" (5, p. 78 ).
Summarizing the obtained segmentation data based on the purchase and lifestyle in Russia, CEO research center "Comson -2" Elena Koneva identifies three top Russian buyers:
1) buyers of "romance", "life burners" (young people with modest financial resources but with a great willingness to spend them. They consider the prestige of the product as a means of socialization, a way to express belonging to their group. Characteristic - low level of consumption, prudence in spending, motives for buying - prestige, attention to advertising, combined with a cautious attitude towards it).
2) "rich pragmatists" (persons employed in the private sector). They are characterized by the willingness and ability to spend significant cash, which is combined with prudence in purchases. They know the value of money, they know how to earn it, and they want to have what suits them the most for their money. Characteristic - a high level of consumption, prudence in spending, motives for buying - prestige, attention to advertising, combined with a cautious attitude towards it);
3) a “socialist-conservative” type of consumer (mainly a socially unprotected group of older people over 55 years old). “Affordable prices” is the main motive for consumption. This group is focused only on survival and has little ability to adapt to the new economic conditions. Characteristic - low level of consumption, unwillingness to spend money, purchase motive - affordable price, irritation with advertising and distrust of it.
Elena Koneva notes that belonging to one or another age group does not mean the inevitable adoption of the appropriate type of behavior. In her opinion, the most severe factor determining the type of consumption is employment in the private sector of the economy. The “technological shifts” in this area, in her estimation, will take place in the direction from the “socialist conservative” “or romantic consumer” to the wealthy pragmatist, and not vice versa.
Thus, the peculiarities of market segmentation in Russia boil down to the fact that in the conditions of a colossal property stratification of society, segmentation by income level is of key importance. The absence of a middle class, the main object of advertising influence, has led to the fact that the vast majority of advertised goods in terms of income are now available to no more than 8–10% of the Russian population. Of particular importance is also geographic segmentation, during which (given the deepening gap in living standards between individual regions of Russia) a multi-factor consumer index should be taken into account, reflecting the purchasing potential of the region.
Other types of segmentation (according to lifestyle, purchase motives, benefits, etc.) are only beginning to be developed in Russia today and are applicable, first of all, in the development of marketing strategies aimed at high-income segments of the population.)
CONCLUSION
So, we have determined that the segmentation of the goods market is a breakdown into clear groups of buyers,
Each of which may require separate products and marketing mixes. To find the best, from the point of view of the firm, segmentation opportunities, the marketer tries a variety of methods. It performs segmentation according to a variety of principles, taking into account a variety of criteria and features.
Having assessed the potential of the company according to all criteria, the manufacturer (entrepreneur) decides whether this market segment is suitable for the enterprise, whether it is worth continuing to study consumer demand in this segment, continue collecting and processing information and spending time and new resources on this.
The choice of the correct segmentation attribute significantly affects the final results of commercial activity. In consumer marketing, segmentation is based on geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral characteristics. Segmentation of markets for industrial goods can be carried out according to the types of end users, according to the importance of customers, according to their geographical location. The effectiveness of analytical work on segmentation depends on the extent to which the resulting segments are measured, accessible, solid and suitable for targeted actions.
Then the firm must select one or more of the most profitable market segments. It decides how many segments to cover. The firm can ignore differences in segments (undifferentiated marketing), develop different market offers for different segments (differentiated marketing). In this case, much depends on the resources of the firm, the degree of product and market homogeneity, the stage of the product life cycle and marketing competitors.
The choice of a specific market segment determines the circle of competitors of the company and the possibility of its positioning. Having studied the positions of competitors, the firm decides whether to take a place close to the position of one of the competitors, or try to find and fill its own niche in the market. If a firm occupies a position next to one of its competitors, it must differentiate its offer by product, price, and quality differences. The precise positioning decision will allow the firm to move on to the next step, which is detailed marketing mix planning.
Segmentation of the Russian market is currently carried out according to the principle of "affordable prices". Therefore, income segmentation is of key importance in Russia.
Unfortunately, in the conditions of economic instability, the colossal property stratification of Russian society, segmentation by psychological, psychographic features is practically not carried out, although the need for them is obvious.
Examination of goods: definition, types of examination, their goals and objectives. Importance of expertise of goods in modern commercial activity
World market of agricultural products: trends and characteristics
After the firm has conducted a comprehensive and thorough analysis of the market, the desires and characteristics of consumers, it must choose the most profitable market segment for it.
Market segment- This is the part of the market that the company can effectively serve.
Market segmentation is the process of division consumer market for a certain number of segments according to some factor (attribute).
Market segmentation is one of the main elements of the company's market strategy.
Target- the most complete satisfaction of the needs and requirements of customers, and as a result, the successful functioning and prosperity of the company.
The well-known marketer S. Madjaro noted that a marketing specialist who is able to offer new way segmentation of the market for its product, may enable the firm to avoid intense competition. Therefore, the success of the company in the competition will largely depend on how well the market segment is chosen.
The main segmentation of the market is the position of the company in a competitive environment, when it is not able to satisfy all the needs for a particular product, and therefore must focus only on those segments that are most preferable in terms of the production and commercial capabilities of the company. Sales market segmentation objects- these are groups of consumers, goods (services), as well as enterprises (competitors).
2. Stages of segmentation
There are (distinguish) main stages of segmentation:
1) identification of the requirements and main characteristics of the consumer to the product (service) offered by the company: at this stage, using various marketing methods, the requirements and wishes of consumers are determined and systematized;
2) analysis of similarities and differences of consumers: there is an analysis of the collected information; identification of similarities or differences should affect the developed marketing plan;
3) development of profiles of consumer groups: consumers with similar characteristics and needs are allocated into separate profiles that define market segments;
4) choice of segment (segments) of consumers: follows from the previous stage;
5) determining the company's place of work in the market in relation to competition: at this stage, the company needs to answer two questions - which market segments will not create great opportunities for the company and how many consumer segments should be targeted; moreover, the company must realistically represent its goals, strengths, the level of competition, the size of markets, relations with distribution channels, profits and its image in the eyes of others;
6) creation of a marketing plan: after the company has collected and analyzed information about consumers, defined its market segment (or segments), it must study in detail the properties and images of its competitors' products, and subsequently determine the position of its product in the market; as a result, the company develops a marketing plan, including: product, distribution, price, promotion.
3. Types of segmentation
Market segmentation requires a detailed study of the requirements imposed by the consumer on the product, as well as knowledge of the characteristics of the purchasing motivations of the consumers themselves.
Segmentation is divided into the following types depending on its nature and on the type of consumer of goods (services).
1. Depending on the nature of segmentation:
1) macro-segmentation - the division of markets into regions, countries, the degree of their industrialization;
2) microsegmentation - the formation of consumer groups of one country (region) according to more detailed characteristics (criteria);
3) segmentation in depth - the segmentation process begins with a wide group of consumers, and then it is gradually deepened (narrowed) depending on the classification of end consumers of any group of goods (services); e.g. automobiles, passenger cars, luxury cars;
4) segmentation in breadth - the segmentation process begins with a narrow group of consumers and gradually expands depending on the scope and use of the product (service); for example, skates for professional athletes, skates for amateurs, skates for young people;
5) preliminary segmentation - the study of the maximum possible market segments;
6) final segmentation - the final stage of market research; here the most optimal segments for the market for the company are determined, in which it will develop its market strategy in the future.
2. Depending on the type of consumers:
1) the process of segmenting consumers of consumer goods (services);
2) segmentation of consumers of goods for industrial purposes;
3) segmentation of consumers of two types of goods.
However, in practice, each type of market segmentation is not used separately. As a rule, market marketers use a combination of these types in their analysis.
4. Criteria for market segmentation
Market segmentation is carried out according to criteria and characteristics.
Criterion is a way of assessing the choice of a particular segment by a firm.
Market segmentation criteria:
1. Segment capacity, i.e. how many goods (services), at what cost can be sold in this segment, and therefore, how many potential consumers can be served; based on this, the firm determines the required production capacity.
2. Availability of the segment, i.e. e. Obtaining the company's channels for distribution and marketing of products, as well as the conditions for transporting products in this segment.
3. The materiality of the segment, i.e., how stable is the market to the capacity utilization of the enterprise.
4. Profitability.
5. Protection from competition , i.e., how compatible is the market segment with the market of the main competitors; the opportunity to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the “rivals”.
6. Experience of the firm's personnel.
7. Accessibility of the media.
8. Impact of business structure.
9. Legal aspects.
10. Demographic characteristics.
11. Lifestyle.
12. The attitude of consumers to this brand.
13. Expected risk.
14. Importance of buying.
15. Geographic, i.e. urbanization, relief, climate.
16. Demographic.
17. Economic (property).
18. Social.
19. Cultural.
20. Psychological, etc.
5. Strategy and opportunities for market segmentation
After the segmentation of the market, the firm needs to make a decision on how many and what segments it will work on. It is also important to choose a strategy.
There are three types of strategies:
1) undifferentiated;
2) differentiated;
3) concentrated.
Strategy undifferentiated marketing is a firm strategy that focuses on the commonality of interests and preferences of buyers, and not on differences in needs and attitudes. Target– development of such products and marketing program that can satisfy the maximum possible number of customers. In other words, the goal of the firm is achieved by finding a line of compromise. The company adheres to the standardization and mass production of goods. This strategy is very economical. However, it is not recommended to use it for enterprises of the same industry, since there may be fierce competition in large segments.
Strategy differentiated marketing- This is a company strategy focused simultaneously on several market segments with the development of individual proposals. This strategy more fully reflects the market situation, and therefore provides large sales volumes and a low level of risk. On the other hand, large investments, production and management costs are necessary, therefore the strategy of differentiated marketing is feasible mainly for large companies.
Strategy concentrated marketing is a strategy for focusing the firm's efforts on one or more profitable market segments. Especially, it is attractive in cases where the resources of the enterprise are rather limited. This strategy is preferred for small and medium-sized firms. It consists in the fact that one or more products are offered to the market, which are accompanied by targeted marketing programs. At the same time, it is necessary to pay great attention to the reputation of your company, the prestige of your product, constantly analyze selected segments, monitor the dynamics of market share, and take measures to prevent the emergence of new competitors.
The main arguments in favor of market segmentation are:
1) the possibility of providing a better understanding of not only the needs and requirements of buyers, but also knowing your potential or real consumer “in person” (personal characteristics, motives for behavior in the market, etc.); result - the product is more in line with the requirements of the market;
2) the possibility of a better understanding of the nature of competition;
3) the emergence of the possibility of concentrating limited resources and organizational capabilities on more profitable areas of their use;
4) study of the most promising buyers;
5) the ability to take into account the characteristics of various market segments.
6. The concept of a segment and a market niche
Segment- this is a certain group of consumers that has one or more stable features that determine their behavior in the market.
Purchasing needs under the influence of changing market trends, new offers of firms, opinions from the outside are constantly evolving and changing. Therefore, market segments are not constant.
The success of firms in the market depends not only on finding their segment, but also on finding an unoccupied place in the market - a market niche. For a company to find its market niche means to find "its own home", i.e. a niche is such a part of the market where the company has secured a dominant position. It is believed that an enterprise operating in niches is so aware and able to satisfy the needs and requirements of buyers in its niche that the latter are willing to pay even higher prices for the goods (services) of this enterprise.
Occupying your own niche is a chance to survive the competition by focusing your resources on serving narrower market niches that do not attract interest or are not paid attention to by larger competitors.
7. Multiple segmentation
Multiple segmentation- this is one of the methods for determining the target market, characterized by the scale of activities.
Scale of activity is to involve several market segments in the process of buying and selling, which indicates certain production and marketing capabilities of the company.
This method takes into account a variety of specific needs of customers (for example, automotive plants, electronics industry, banks, etc.)
Benefits of Multiple Segmentation consist in an expanded assortment, which allows the company to significantly increase its turnover by involving several market segments in the production and sale of goods, which allows you to have potentially higher profits, as well as conducting parallel work with several segments can actually reduce the threat of deterioration in the company's performance , due to the emergence of a powerful competitor or a change in consumer preferences. The loss of one segment of the market will not be so painful for the entire company. At this time, you can successfully work in other market segments and carry out technical re-equipment or reconstruction of production, update the range or improve quality. This method is mainly used big companies who have the necessary material, financial and labor resources.
The method of multiple segmentation involves the study of potential market segments where the company is going to work. A thorough study of the needs of consumers in different segments is quite expensive. However, in case of successful research and making the right decision, the company receives significant advantages over competitors, and, consequently, impressive results.
8. Selecting target segments
Carrying out marketing segmentation enables the company to determine the various market segments in which it will participate.
1) decide how many market segments it should occupy;
2) it is necessary to determine the most profitable segments for it.
To do this, the company can use the following strategies:
1) undifferentiated marketing;
2) differentiated marketing;
3) concentrated marketing.
CEOs of small firms usually choose the third option for a market coverage strategy, taking into account some factors:
1) the company was created recently and (or) its resources are severely limited;
2) provision of various services.
When choosing a target segment, it is advisable to use the following segment analysis methods:
1. AID - automatic determination of relationships by sequential comparison according to specified parameters (criteria).
2. Cluster analysis - consistent association of consumers (over 200) into groups with subsequent study.
3. Factor analysis.
4. Joint analysis - analysis of the consumer's choice of preferred goods (services).
Evaluation of a market segment consists in the attractiveness of the segment: analysis of current sales volumes and expected profit for each segment; size and potential for long-term growth; knowledge of your competitors; availability of goods - substitutes;
It is also necessary to identify the strengths of the company.
So, the end result of the firm in choosing target segments is that it determines the segment or segments on which it will concentrate its efforts.
9. Classification of consumers
One of the main goals of marketing is to conduct a competent strategy for promoting goods on the market, where it is very important to identify the most significant, large target groups of consumers who differ from each other, but have common intra-group interests (needs, needs).
Five types of consumers are defined:
1. Individual - these are consumers who purchase goods only for their personal needs. For example, single people or citizens living independently.
Items for individual use are clothes, shoes, personal items (except for purchases as a gift). First of all, these consumers are interested in the consumer qualities of the goods: usefulness, price, appearance, packaging, service, guarantees. However, at the moment the market for individual consumers in Russia is relatively narrow.
2. Families or households are a group of food buyers and non-food items except for personal items. Decisions are made jointly by the spouses or the head of the family.
3. Intermediaries are a type of consumers who purchase goods for subsequent resale. Intermediaries are not interested in consumer qualities of the goods, they are concerned with exchange characteristics - price, demand, profitability, speed of circulation, shelf life, etc. Intermediaries are more professional buyers, in contrast to families and individual consumers. The demand presented by them can be both rather broad and rather narrow.
4. Suppliers or representatives of firms, i.e. buyers of industrial goods. They buy goods for their further use in production, so everything is taken into account: price, quantity, speed of delivery, transport costs, completeness of the assortment, the company's reputation in the market, the level of service, and much more.
5. Officials or government workers. The peculiarity lies in the fact that when purchasing this or that product, the official manages not his own money, but state money, and, therefore, this procedure is bureaucratized and formalized. Important criteria when choosing a supplier or manufacturer are reliability, loyalty, honesty, personal connections, etc.
The international market also highlights such a type of consumers as foreign legal entities and individuals.
There is also traditional classification consumers according to the following criteria.
1. Gender: there are products with a clear gender - bras, dresses, electric shavers, smoking pipes, shaving foam, etc. There are male and female models: cigarettes, deodorants, trousers, shirts, etc.
2. Age.
4. Education.
5. Socio-professional criterion.
6. Responsiveness to new information or the emergence of a new product on the market. It is customary to divide consumers into the following groups:
1) "innovators" - consumers who dared to try a new product;
2) "adepts" - followers who make the product fashionable and famous;
3) "progressives" - consumers who provide mass sales at the stage of product growth;
4) "skeptics" - connected to demand at the stage of saturation;
5) "conservatives" - show demand when the product becomes "traditional".
7. Personality type: there are four main psychological types - sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, melancholic. The practical application of this classification in marketing is quite difficult, since it is difficult to determine the type of personality with the help of 10-12 test questions.
8. Lifestyle: analysis of values, relationships, rhythm of life, personality behavior.
10. Characteristics of buyers that influence their buying behavior
One of the main tasks of a marketing specialist is to identify those who make the decision to make a purchase.
The decision to purchase this or that product is made by a person (or a group of persons) who has a common goal and shares the risk associated with making this decision.
For certain types of goods (services), it is relatively easy to identify such persons. For example, a man usually decides for himself which brand of cigarettes to buy, and a woman decides which brand to prefer when choosing lipstick. Decisions related to determining the place of family vacation or buying an apartment are likely to be made by a group of people, consisting of a husband, wife and adult children. Therefore, the marketing specialist must determine as accurately as possible the role of each family member in decision making, which will help him in developing product characteristics.
There are several roles that a person plays in the process of making a decision to purchase a product:
1) offer initiator;
2) the decision maker;
3) a person exerting influence;
4) the buyer;
5) user.
So, in the process of deciding to acquire a computer, the proposal may come from a child (teenager). Each member of the family can have some influence on the decision or any of its components. Husband and wife make the final decision and, in fact, become buyers. All family members can be users.
To determine the roles of buyers, marketing specialists conduct research on various participants in the decision-making process. Mostly a survey is used. It is important to determine the relative influence of different family members on the buying process. For example, J. Herbst identifies four types of families.
1. Each family member makes an equal number of independent decisions.
2. Families where the husband makes most of the decisions.
3. Dominance of the wife's decisions.
4. Joint decision-making (syncretic).
There are all four types of families on the market, but their ratio changes over time. AT modern society due to the growth of incomes, education, there are more and more syncretic families and less and less with the dominance of the "masculine principle". This circumstance must be taken into account when choosing and developing a marketing strategy.
Another important characteristic of the buyer is the period of the family's life cycle. Seven periods have been identified:
1) bachelor period, unmarried;
2) young families;
3) young families with a child under the age of 6;
4) young families with children under the age of 6;
5) married couples living with minor children;
6) elderly couples living separately from their children;
7) elderly loners.
Any family at a certain point in its life cycle has certain needs. For example, a young family with a minor child under the age of 10 is the main buyer of washing machines, televisions, kitchen appliances, toys, while a family with adult children purchases expensive video and audio equipment. Depending on the life cycle of the family, the roles of individual family members may change, and accordingly, their influence on decisions made also changes.
11. Personal and psychological factors
There are four groups of factors that have a direct impact on purchasing behavior: personal, psychological, social and cultural.
Let's take a closer look at the first two.
Personal factors include: age, gender, income of a person, stage of the family life cycle, nationality, profession, lifestyle, personality type, etc.
Life style refers to a person's life stereotypes (his interests, beliefs, personal opinions). Sometimes it is quite difficult for marketers to study this factor. For this, special marketing programs are specially developed, within the framework of which research is carried out.
Human- this is a person, therefore, over a relatively long period of time, his reactions to the influence of the external environment are practically constant. Personality type is characterized by such traits as self-confidence, independence, sociality, active (or passive) behavior, adaptability, etc. For example, when conducting research, coffee producers found that active coffee consumers are quite highly social personalities.
Psychological factors include: motivation of human behavior, perception of the surrounding world.
The study of motivations (or motives) is necessary, since this is what motivates a person to make a purchase.
Marketers are looking for answers to questions such as: “Why is this purchase made?”, “What basic need does the buyer want to satisfy with this product?” etc. motive It is the need that motivates a person to satisfy it. When studying the motives of human behavior, motivational analysis is used, based on the theory of Z. Freud and A. Maslow.
Z. Freud studied the process of making decisions about the purchase by the consumer. He believed that important consumer motives are embedded in the subconscious and that the buyer cannot always justify this or that choice.
According to Z. Freud, a person from birth is under the pressure of many desires that he is not able to realize and control, that is, the individual is never fully aware of the motives of his behavior.
A. Maslow in his theory of motivation developed a hierarchical system of needs and explained why people at a certain point in time have different needs.
He built the system of needs according to the principle of importance:
1) physiological (need for food, clothing, housing);
2) self-preservation (protection, safety);
3) social (belonging to a certain social group, in love);
4) in respect;
5) in self-affirmation (the need for self-development, self-realization).
A person satisfies needs according to their importance. For example, a hungry person first of all tries to satisfy his need for food, rather than the need for his respect and the love of others. And only after satisfying his important need, he moves on to satisfy the next less important need. This knowledge is used in assessing the possible behavior of different consumer groups, as well as in motivating employees.
Perception- this is how a person interprets the information received from the outside. It is necessary to take into account the internal motives of buyers, tips from other consumers in the process of stimulating demand.
Beliefs is a person's idea of something. It is based on knowledge, faith, experience, opinion. This is one of important knowledge that marketers need to have.
Relations- these are different assessments, feelings in relation to specific objects and ideas. They have a strong impact on human behavior, they are difficult to change, but must be taken into account when forming the marketing policy of the company, trying to bring them as close as possible to certain relationships.
12. Model of buying behavior
The buying behavior model includes the following categories:
1. Motivating factors of marketing (product, its price, methods of distribution and sales promotion).
2. Other irritants (economic, political, cultural, social, scientific and technical).
3. Consciousness of the buyer (his characteristics and the process of making a decision to buy).
4. Responses of the buyer (choice of product, brand, supplier, time of purchase).
The process of purchasing a particular product includes the following steps:
1. The emergence of a need: the need arises under the influence of external and internal factors. For a person to undertake specific actions, his need must reach certain level intensity, i.e., to repress or suppress other desires. The marketing specialist must find out what needs the buyer satisfies by purchasing this product, and also with the help of what activities the intensity of the need can be increased.
2. Information search: to meet the emerging need, a person needs relevant information about a particular product. Depending on the intensity of the need, two states of a person are distinguished: the state of increased attention (increased attention to the information that is associated with the satisfaction of his need) and the state of active information search (when the intensity of the need becomes aggravated, a person deliberately begins to look for information about the product of interest to him).
Sources of information:
a) personal (friends, family, acquaintances, neighbors);
c) public (media);
d) empirical (use of goods, experiment, test).
3. Evaluation of information: a person correlates the information received with his capabilities and forms an appropriate attitude towards this product.
4. Making a purchase decision: assessment of the information received about the product, as well as taking into account the influence of various factors on the behavior of the buyer regarding the purchase. A marketing specialist must provide the consumer with the necessary information and draw his attention to those factors that will help motivate him to buy, that is, help him buy a particular product.
5. Impressions after purchase. The impression of the purchase of goods can be different: from complete satisfaction to complete negativity for this purchase. The marketer must do everything so that the buyer is not disappointed in his choice.
There are main directions for studying consumers:
1) the attitude of the consumer to a particular company;
2) attitude to various aspects of its activities;
3) the level of satisfaction of needs;
4) intentions of buyers;
5) making a purchase decision (see the previous section);
6) the behavior of the buyer in the process of making a purchase and after;
7) motives of consumer behavior.
The consumer's assessment of the information received about the product is formed either on the basis of existing knowledge or on the basis of evoked emotions.
With the help of various marketing methods, marketers study the attitude towards their product. This is necessary in order to correct the actions of the company in the market in time.
Two main approaches are used in determining the type of customer relationship to a product:
1) revealing preferences;
2) identifying propensities to buy a particular product.
For example, there are two product models on the market: A and B. With the help of the question “Which model is more preferable for you?” customer preference can be identified. You can identify the propensity to buy by asking the question “Which model are you most likely to purchase?”. The consumer may prefer model A, but due to the lack of the required amount of money (or other factors) buy model B.
Also, an important direction in the study of consumers is the value system, which they are guided by when choosing a product.
It is necessary to conduct an in-depth analysis of the degree of customer satisfaction, by compiling a satisfaction map. To do this, calculate the average value of the level of satisfaction for the given indicators and the standard deviation for each of them. And the analysis is carried out by comparing the obtained data. Using this technique, you can get a fairly complete picture of the market's perception of the quality of the product, its price, level of service, etc.
In addition, it is important to regularly measure customer satisfaction (and dissatisfaction) and find out the reasons for dissatisfaction.
No market is homogeneous. Of course, one might think that all consumers are the same, but even the most superficial reflection shows that this is not the case. Some people love sweets, others are indifferent to it; some people tend to buy a car, others tend to refuse it; Some people have children, some people don't. There are many more examples that would show in what situations consumers behave differently, but perhaps enough of those that have been given.
Studying the question of whether a product is needed on the market or not, one must begin with an understanding of the essence of the process, i.e., with whether this product is needed by an individual consumer? This type of research establishes the habits, tastes, and reactions of people living within a given market. It helps answer questions about these people's behavior as buyers: who? what? where? when? as? why? How many?
Very well, the essence of segmentation, and marketing research, was outlined by R. Kipling in one of his poems:
Studying the consumer helps the manager responsible for promoting products to the market to establish:
- 1) who are the people who make up its market;
- 2) what they want to buy;
- 3) what they need and what they use;
- 4) where they buy the products they need;
- 5) how many products are purchased;
- 6) when they buy;
- 7) how often they buy;
- 8) how they use the products they buy.
To take into account this "stratification" in the market, marketers resort to such an operation as segmentation. Market segmentation- this is the division of a particular market into parts (segments) or groups of consumers that have a steady demand for a particular product, the implementation of which depends on how each of these parts reacts to the product offer, taking into account the activity marketing tools promotions (advertising, forms of sale, etc.).
There are several basic types of segmentation. Traditionally in marketing there are:
- 1) macrosegmentation - dividing the market into segments by regions, countries, levels of their development, etc.;
- 2) microsegmentation - more fractional than macrosegmentation, the division of the market depending on private parameters (characteristics of consumers by income level, age, marital status, etc.).
Market segmentation involves identifying groups that differ from each other in their behavior. At the same time, the market segment is a fairly large part of it; in fact, an enterprise can focus on an even smaller group of consumers. In this case, the following terms are used.
- 1. market niche- a subgroup of consumers within a segment. Although some points make it possible to identify these people with other consumers belonging to the same segment, they are still characterized by some additional features.
- 2. An even narrower concept - local group. Focusing on a local group, the enterprise seeks to take into account the differences in interests and needs that are characteristic of the inhabitants of a particular locality, city, village, district, or even visitors to a particular store. The concept of “local group” is especially important when an enterprise cannot satisfy the needs of the market for a particular product as a whole, and therefore the decision to limit its activities to a specific territory turns out to be natural.
- 3. Individual marketing involves the desire to take into account the interests of one specific buyer. In fact, individual marketing takes place in the activity of a tailor who sews clothes to order. In this case, the tailor seeks to take into account as many features of his customer as possible: height, volume, his aesthetic preferences, intentions regarding the use of the clothes that will be sewn, etc.
An individual consumer is, by and large, the limit of market segmentation, since its further division is simply impossible. There is an opinion that modern production and the technical progress associated with the desire to develop it tend to this limit.
Some businesses are forced to opt for individual marketing due to the fact that their markets include only a few or even one consumer. In particular, aircraft manufacturers are forced to choose such a strategy, since a very small number of organizations and people purchase their products. In the conditions of mass production, one regularity should be taken into account, which operates with a single exception: the narrower the group that the company focuses on, the more expensive the product turns out to be.
Naturally, this generally does not apply to a small enterprise that has limited production volumes due to limited capacities and resources. However, on a larger scale, attempts to take into account private interests lead to a noticeable increase in production costs. For example, in order to bake a thousand identical loaves of bread, certain costs are needed; however, in this case, production will run continuously, since all rolls are the same. When a manufacturer seeks to take into account the interests of customers (for example, he starts baking three types of bread rolls that differ in size), it becomes necessary to reconfigure the equipment, use different forms for baking, etc. As a result, more requirements are put forward for workers, assembly line production must at least rebuild twice.
It makes sense to distinguish between preliminary and final segmentation. When planning to enter the market with a new product, experts proceed from some assumptions about why consumers belonging to one or another group will buy this particular product. Such assumptions are in the nature of hypotheses - provisions that must be tested in the process of marketing research. These provisions are called preliminary segmentation.
Unlike pre-segmentation, final segmentation implies already accurate knowledge of consumer preferences and more accurate assumptions about the success or failure of the project, based on data from marketing research. It is advisable to distinguish between preliminary and final segmentation because our assumptions and assumptions do not always correspond to reality, and therefore they always need to be verified.
In marketing practice, it is customary to distinguish between segmentation of the consumer market and segmentation of the market of organized consumers.
1. Segmentation of the end consumer market is aimed at identifying factors that are significant from the point of view of ordinary consumers - individual people and families. Inclusion in this series of families is due to the fact that a person's needs are not determined exclusively individually, belonging to a family imposes important restrictions on his behavior. In particular, a person who does not have a family can spend money solely on personal needs and entertainment. A person who has a family acquires a number of duties, in particular, the duty to feed, clothe, and teach his children.
Segmentation of the end consumer market. It is carried out on a number of grounds, which are presented in Table. 6. There are quite a lot of these signs, so usually marketers choose only a few as the basis, those that are the most significant, there cannot be any single basis for all cases. In practice, marketers have to determine the most important criteria based on the specific situation, i.e., from the characteristics of the product and the characteristics of consumers who may be interested in it.
Reasons for market segmentation
|
The basis for splitting |
Split example |
|
Demographic characteristics |
|
|
under 10 years old, 11-15 years old, 16-20 years old, 21-30 years old, 31-40 years old, etc. |
|
|
male/female |
|
|
seed position |
married (married), single, divorced (widower) |
|
income level |
up to 1000 rubles, from 1000 to 3000 rubles, from 3000 to 5000 rubles, from 5000 to 7000 rubles. |
|
Education |
incomplete secondary, complete secondary, secondary specialized, incomplete higher, complete higher |
|
Occupation |
worker, employee, peasant, creative worker |
|
Religion |
christian, muslim, jew, buddhist, non-believer |
|
Nationality |
Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Tatar, Armenian, Jew, etc. |
|
Family size |
1 person, 2 people, 3 people, etc. |
|
Psychological and social signs |
|
|
Values |
Conservative (traditionalist), radical |
|
Political preferences |
Democrat, socialist, communist |
|
Class membership |
Lower class, middle class, upper class |
|
Behavior |
|
|
Peculiarities consumption |
Permanent use, occasional use, potential (possible) use, does not use |
|
The degree of commitment to the product |
Absolute, average, zero |
|
Basic requirements for the product |
High quality, low price, prestige, etc. |
|
Attitude towards the product |
positive, negative |
|
The basis for splitting |
Split example |
|
Geographic feature |
|
|
Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Turkey, China |
|
|
Central Federal District, Southern Federal District, etc. Moscow, Moscow Region, St. Petersburg, Leningrad Region, Voronezh Region, Rostov Region, etc. |
|
|
Locality (by administrative status) |
Capital, regional center (capital of the republic), district center |
|
City (by number of inhabitants) |
Up to 10,000 inhabitants 10,001 to 50,000 inhabitants 50,001 to 100,000 inhabitants |
|
District of the city |
City center, outskirts of the city |
|
Cold, warm, etc. |
|
The more features a marketer uses to segment the market, the more segments are obtained. This has both advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage is that with an increase in the number of parameters and segments, the accuracy of predictions increases. However, this increases the amount of information that has to be dealt with and is therefore more difficult to analyze. In addition, excessive detail makes it difficult to select a sufficiently large segment that would fully meet the interests of the enterprise.
Therefore, it is absolutely not necessary to segment the market according to all possible criteria, it is necessary to select the most significant of them. The main task of the marketer in this case is to get exactly the information that is most important. And in many cases, it is enough to take into account only three or four criteria.
2. The market of organized consumers is the market of a wide variety of companies, firms and other organizations. In addition, the same market includes numerous trade organizations that mediate links between the manufacturer and end consumers. Its differences from the end-user market are very significant, first of all, they relate to the goods that are purchased in this market, as well as the volume of purchases. There are also differences in segmentation.
Successful segmentation of the market can be considered the goal of any enterprise. In the conditions of the modern economy, there are too few monopoly markets; in the vast majority of cases, competition is developed to one degree or another in the markets. The fact is that consumers who buy a certain product of a particular brand, as a whole, form a market segment identified on a special basis. It is quite natural that an enterprise should strive to ensure that its market segment is more extensive.
Obviously, market segmentation and the search for an undeveloped segment should be resorted to only if the market as a whole has already been at least partially mastered, mastered to such an extent that there is no shortage on it. In a situation of scarcity, consumers are ready to buy any product, and it may have qualities that do not fully satisfy consumers. Then mass marketing is much more effective.
In this case, the indicators that are most important are not the characteristics of individual consumers, but complex organizations that purchase goods or services to satisfy their own needs. It is clear that the needs of organizations are qualitatively different from the needs of people.
The most important parameters for the market of organized consumers are the following parameters:
- 1) the industry, the field of activity of the company (usually in this case they say three areas: technology, marketing and the financial sector);
- 2) the size of the company: distinguish between large, medium and small companies;
- 4) geographical region;
- 5) technologies used by the company;
- 6) the volume of goods and services that the consumer needs: it can be large and small;
- 7) features of the size and frequency of orders: non-periodic small, non-periodic large, periodic large, periodic small;
- 8) the qualities and characteristics of goods and services necessary for the company: price, quality, service, the possibility of systematic purchases, the obligation (optional) of urgent deliveries;
- 9) features of the use of goods and services at the moment: they can be used widely, limitedly or not used at all; respectively, active users of the product, inactive users of the product and potential (possible) users are distinguished.
There are two grounds for market segmentation, which are directly related to the product and its qualities.
- 1) the benefit that the buyer is looking for. Different consumers may purchase the same product for different reasons. For some, the price is important, for others - the fact that other people buy this product, for the third, quality is most important, for the fourth - some special quality associated with the specifics of the product. So, according to research conducted by marketer R. Haley, there are four main consumer groups of toothpaste buyers: for the first group, cost savings is in the first place, for the second - the therapeutic effect, for the third - the ability of toothpaste to whiten teeth, for the fourth - taste;
- 2) commitment to the product (brand). A buyer who is committed to some product, or rather, to the brand of the product, is ready to purchase it at a higher price; if in one store this brand is not available, he is usually ready to go to another.
Naturally, only approximate bases of division are given here: in fact, they can be different, more or less detailed, fractional. When determining the grounds for division, it is necessary to proceed, first of all, from what signs will be really significant, and to avoid excessively fractional division. The first requirement is clear in itself: improper market segmentation will lead to the fact that the marketing strategy of the enterprise will be ineffective, all efforts will be in vain.
As for the second requirement, it is due to the fact that too much fragmentation of the market as a result of research provides too much diverse information that is difficult to streamline and generalize. Usually, when starting segmentation, specialists have some assumptions about what they are interested in, and have information about what resources are available to the enterprise. Therefore, whenever possible, market segmentation should be aimed at ensuring that it is commensurate with the real needs of the enterprise.
One important recommendation should be made here. When segmenting the market, it is far from always necessary to rely on standard, already existing grounds. As noted researcher Madjaro pointed out, a marketer who is able to discover a new basis for market segmentation can avoid intense competition. And this means that the most profitable for the enterprise is such a basis for segmentation, which is not used by other enterprises operating in the same market.
Suppose that there is a book publishing house that focuses on producing cheap products that are accessible to a wide range of readers. A natural, but wrong decision for another book publishing house would be to focus on the production of expensive book products (for example, gift books). However, in reality, the second publisher will gain much more if it starts publishing books for children, for example, and does not play by the rules that a competitor ultimately sets.
We should not forget about the search for “market windows”. This is the name of the market segment, which for some reason remained undeveloped by other manufacturers of the same type of product. As a rule, "market windows" arise when a new product appears that is simply not able to satisfy the needs of a certain part of the population.
For example, copying equipment was originally created by analogy with printing equipment, and therefore there were only expensive and large equipment on the market. Several Japanese firms took advantage of this by producing inexpensive and less powerful equipment that could be used by small firms and individual consumers. A similar situation was observed in the market for shampoos and pet food. The thing is that traditionally they were washed with the same things that people themselves washed, and fed with ordinary food.