Sharlyn May Nas

MARKET   Consists of buyers Differs in terms of wants, resources, location, buying attitudes and buying practices. Market segmentation is a concept in economics and marketing. A market segment is a sub-set of a market made up of people or organizations with one or more characteristics that cause them to demand similar product and/or services based on qualities of those products such as price or function. It is distinct from other segments  it is homogeneous within the segment  it responds similarly to a market stimulus, and it can be reached by a market intervention.  Segmenting is the process of dividing the market into segments based on customer characteristics and needs. The main activity segmenting consists of four sub activities. These are: 1. determining who the actual and potential customers are 2. identifying segments 3. analyzing the intensity of competitors in the market 4. selecting the attractive customer segments.     Mass Marketing -mass producing, mass distributing, and mass promoting about the same product in about the same way to all consumer. Segment Marketing-Isolating broad segment that make up a market and adapting the marketing to match the needs of one or more segments. Niche Marketing – Focusing on sub segment or niches with distractive traits that may seek a special combination of benefits. Bases for segmenting consumer markets Nation , states, regions or cities EVALUATING MARKET SEGMENTS  Segment Size and Growth › Analyze sales, growth rates and expected profitability.  Segment Structural Attractiveness › Consider effects of: Competitors, Availability of Substitute Products and, the Power of Buyers & Suppliers.  Company Objectives and Resources › Company skills & resources relative to the segment(s). › Look for Competitive Advantages.     defining the abilities of the company and resources needed to enter a market analyzing competitors on their resources and skills considering the company’s abilities compared to the competitors' abilities deciding on the actual target markets  Undifferentiated marketing sometimes referred to as mass marketing the firm may decide to aim its resources at the entire market with one particular product. One Product Entire Market  Where the firm decides to target several segments and develops distinct products/services with separate marketing mix strategies aimed at the varying groups. Segment 1 Company Segment 2 Segment 3  Where the organization concentrates its marketing effort on one particular segment. The firm will develop a product that caters for the needs of that particular group. Segment 1 Company Segment 2 Segment 3   Every segment is different from the others, so different customers with different ideas of what they expect from the product. In the process of positioning the company: identifies the differential advantages in each segment decides on a different positioning concept for each of these segments. This process is described at the topic positioning, here different concepts of positioning are given.   Product’s Position - the place the product occupies in consumers’ minds relative to competing products; i.e. Volvo positions on “safety”. Marketers must: › Plan positions to give products the greatest advantage › Develop marketing mixes to create planned positions  Step 1.  Step 2.  Step 3. Identifying a set of possible competitive advantages: Competitive Differentiation. Selecting the right competitive advantage. Effectively communicating and delivering the chosen position to the market.