What is Market Segmentation? A Comprehensive Guide for 2023

In a competitive world filled with choices, market segmentation is the key to understanding the diverse needs of your customers and targeting the right audience with the message around your product. It is a simple yet powerful marketing approach that allows brands to cater to their target audience and reap long-term benefits. That makes it important to understand exactly what is marketing segmentation, and why you should care about it. In this guide, we will take you through everything you need to know about marketing segmentation – benefits, examples, types, objectives, and levels – to help you find efficient ways of targeting your products and services.

What is Market Segmentation?

It is the process of dividing the target market into smaller groups. These segments enable companies to get a better understanding of their target audience. They can be segmented on similar characteristics such as interests, needs, location, demographics, priorities, and personality traits. This exercise helps brands create marketing strategies, advertising, and sales, and further optimize their products.

Benefits of Market Segmentation

Efficient targeted digital advertising:
Allows companies to create better-target advertising according to age, interests, location, and spending patterns, among other things.
Creating clear and specific marketing messages:
Marketing segmentation helps companies understand the needs and expectations of their targeted group; this lets them communicate directly with their target audience.
Effective marketing efforts:
Understanding the target audience can help companies develop marketing strategies that clients will be more responsive to.
Attracting potential customers:
Direct marketing messages enable companies to reach out to the right clientele and potentially convert them into customers.
Increasing profits:
The process can save time, resources, and money in marketing campaigns, and ultimately enhance a business’s profitability.
Differentiate from the competition:
Clear marketing messages can make the brand stand out in the market.
Increasing brand loyalty: Understanding the target customers can help companies connect with their clients and build brand loyalty.

Now that you know what is market segmentation, let’s look at some examples.

Examples of Market Segmentation

Local sales:
For local events like sales, market segmentation can be done based on the location of the customers. This can be used to create local marketing promotions.
Anti-aging beauty products:
The market segmentation for anti-aging beauty products can be done based on the gender and age of the customers.
Sports brand:
Sports brands can be segmented based on sportsmen, sportswomen, athletes, and gym lovers.
OTT streaming service:
OTT streaming services can segment their market based on a child versus adult content.

Objectives of Market Segmentation

To identify the needs, priorities, buying motives, and preferences of the customers.
To make a customer orientation approach for the company.
To define marketing goals, targets, and strategies.
To identify areas for potential customers.

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Importance of Market Segmentation

Market segmentation allows companies to tailor their services, products, or marketing to the specific needs of their target group. Without this, brands develop one strategy for all target markets—this leads to wasted marketing efforts. Knowing the customer ensures that the company consistently resonates with them, resulting in profits, retaining customers, and improving brand loyalty.

Types of Market Segmentation

So far, we have covered what is market segmentation, its importance, and examples. Let’s understand the different types of market segmentation:

1. Demographic Segmentation

Demographic segmentation divides customer demographics on the basis of age, income, gender, nationality, education, and race, among other parameters.

2. Geographic Segmentation

This groups customers based on geographical boundaries. It assumes that customers in the same area can have similar interests and requirements.

3. Behavioral Segmentation

This relies on the customer’s reaction, purchasing process, and decision-making. Here customers are grouped based on their market interaction to develop personalized, targeted strategies.

4. Psychographic Segmentation

This process segments groups based on the customers’ lifestyle, political opinions, personal values, aspirations, and psychological characteristics. Data for this segmentation can be hard to identify; however, it produces excellent results.

5. Firmographic Segmentation

Firmographic segmentation groups customers based on shared company attributes. It considers factors such as company size, status, industry, locations, and the number of employees.

Levels of Market Segmentation

Mass marketing:
Markets one product for the entire market
Segment marketing:
Divides the entire market into different segments based on factors such as gender, behavior, and location
Niche marketing:
A very narrow customer segment with a highly specialized level of marketing
Local marketing:
Focuses on local markets to reach customers
Individual marketing:
Brands focus on individual customers through direct marketing

The Best Market Segmentation Strategy

Developing market segmentation strategies include targeting the audience based on parameters such as age, geography, or income. The best marketing strategy should focus on various, overlapping, or specific segments, and should be created separately for each marketing segment.

Drawbacks of Market Segmentation

Market segmentation can sometimes become an expensive proposition.
Producing products for each specific segment is not feasible.
A company has to create different channels and services for each segment.
Targeting small market segments can lead to unprofitable goals.
Marketing for each segment can also become expensive.

Build a Career in Marketing

Understanding your target customer is the most critical aspect of every business; it can significantly impact your business growth. If you want to have a better understanding of what is market segmentation and learn how to develop successful marketing strategies, check out the online marketing courses on Emeritus to build those skills.

By Krati Joshi

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