marketing

Market Segmentation: An Important Aspect Of The Sales Process

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What Is Market Segmentation?

To better understand market segmentation, let us look at this scenario: When trying to reach

customers or clients with your marketing message or ad campaign, targeting the right market

with the right message is very essential because, if you aim too broadly, your message might

reach a few people who end up becoming customers, but you’ll also reach a lot of people who

are not interested in your products or services. When your message is not optimized for your

target audience, you’ll end up with a lot of wasted advertising resources.

Market segmentation can help you to target just the people most likely to become satisfied

customers of your company’s products and services or enthusiastic consumers of your content.

To break a market into segments, you split it up into groups that have similar characteristics.

You can base a segment on one or more of these qualities. By splitting up your audience in

this way allows for more precise targeted marketing activity and personalized content creation.

The Importance of Market Segmentation

Market segmentation can help you to define and better understand your target audience

and ideal customers. If you’re a marketer, this will allow you to identify the right market for

your products or services and then target your marketing message more effectively.

Similarly, publishers can use market segmentation to offer more targeted advertising options

for the products, they are marketing and it will also allow them to customize their content for

different audiences or groups.

For example, you’re a marketer who’s advertising a new brand of dress. You could split an

audience into segments based on the type of dress, either for winter or summer, and the

audience could be segmented into female or male. You could then segment that audience

further based on if the dresses are for adults or children. A publisher could use this same

information to show content about fashion to people who are looking to buy or own a clothing store.

Market segmentation allows you to target your content to the right people in the right way,

rather than targeting your entire audience with a generic, focus-less message.

This increases the likelihood of someone engaging with your ad or content, leading to

more efficient campaigns and a higher return on investment (ROI).

Types of Market Segmentation

There are different kinds of market segments you can create. Below are the four main

methods of market segmentation. It is possible to create more niche segments

within the types below.

1. Demographic Segmentation

Demographic segmentation is one of the most common types of segmentation.

It refers to dividing audiences based on observable information and people-based differences.

These qualities include things like age, sex, marital status, family size, occupation,

education level, income, race, nationality, location, religion, etc.

Segmenting a market according to demographics is the most basic form of segmentation.

Combining demographic segmentation with other types can help you narrow down your

market even more. One benefit of this kind of segmentation is that the information is easy

to access and low-cost to obtain.

Some products are targeted explicitly at a specific demographic. One personal care company,

for example, might make two deodorant products—one labeled as men’s deodorant and one

labeled as women’s deodorant.

Automotive companies often segment their audience by income and market different makes

and models of cars to each segment. One company may have a luxury brand, an economy

brand, and a mid-range brand.

There are numerous ways to gather demographic data. One way is to ask your

customers directly. This can be time-consuming, but getting the information directly

from customers will help ensure its accuracy. If you go this route, be careful to be

respectful in how you ask and give customers sufficient response options so you get

accurate results. We can also obtain demographic data directly from customers by looking

at their social media profiles, where they may have provided information about themselves.

2. Behavioural Segmentation

You can also divide your market into segments based on consumers’ behaviuors or purchasing

patterns online, especially regarding your product or service. Dividing your audience based

on the behaviours they display allows you to create messaging that caters to those behaviors.

The actions you might look out for are the ones relating to how someone interacts with your

product, website, app, or brand.

Some types of behaviors to look at include:

Online shopping habits: Consider a user’s online shopping habits across all sites, as this may give you a clue as to the fact that they might make an online purchase on your website.

Actions taken on a website: You can track actions users take on your online properties to better understand how they interact with them. You might look at how long someone stays on your site, whether they read articles all the way to the end, the types of content they click on if they add products to their cart, and more.

Benefits sought: This refers to the need a customer is trying to meet by purchasing a product, which is also referred to as their pain points.

Usage rate: You can categorize users based on usage rate. Your marketing message will be different depending on whether someone is a heavy user, medium user, light user or non-user of your product.

Loyalty: After using a product for some time, customers often develop brand loyalty. You can categorize customers based on how loyal they are to your brand and tailor your marketing messages accordingly.

Finally, behavioural data is useful because it relates directly to how someone interacts with

your brand or products. Because of this, it can help you market more effectively to them.

Marketers can collect this data through various means, such as the cookies placed on websites,

the purchase data in a company’s customer relationship management (CRM) software, and or

third-party databases.

3. Geographic Segmentation

Geographic segmentation, or splitting up your targeted audience and market based on their

location, is a basic but highly useful segmentation strategy. A customer’s location can help you

better understand their needs and enable you to send out location-specific advertisements.

There are several kinds of geographic segmentation, but the most basic among them is

identifying users based on their locations, such as their country, state, county, and zip/postal code.

Marketers can also identify consumers based on the characteristics of the area they live in,

such as its climate, population density, and whether it’s urban, suburban, or rural.

Identifying characteristics can require you to get more specific since one county could have rural,

suburban, and urban areas.

Dividing a market according to location is critical if you need to target an ad to people in a

specific area, such as if you’re advertising a small local business. It can also be useful

if you’re targeting a broad area because it allows you to tailor your ads according to regional

differences in language, interests, norms, and other attributes, as well as the differing

needs of people in different regions.

You may need to change the language of your marketing message depending on the

region or location you’re targeting.

People who live in different countries may also have different interests. For example,

baseball is very popular in the United States, while cricket is more popular in India and

football is common in the UK and Europe. If you’re marketing sports equipment or

publishing sports articles, you will want to take these different preferences into consideration.

Companies can also consider different needs in different regions. For instance,

a clothing company might show ads featuring warmer clothing to people living in

cold areas and the opposite to people living in warmer or hot regions.

4. Psychographic Segmentation

Psychographic segmentation is similar to demographic segmentation, but it deals

with characteristics that are more mental and emotional. These attributes may not

be as easy to observe as demographics, but they can give you valuable insight into

your audience’s motives, preferences, and needs.

If you as a marketer understand the psychographic attributes of your audience,

it can help you create content that appeals to them personally. Some examples of

psychographic characteristics include personality traits, interests, beliefs, values,

attitudes, and lifestyles.

If you find that members of a demographic segment are responding differently

to your content, you might want to add some psychographic information.

While demographics provide the basic facts about who your audience is,

psychographics gives you insight into why your targeted audience decides to

purchase or not purchase your product, clicks on or ignore your ads, and

otherwise interacts with your content.

For example, you’re a furniture and home decor company, and you have a market

segment consisting of newlyweds in their 20s and 30s with a household income of

over $60,000. Some members of this segment are converting, while others are not.

When you add psychographic information into the mix, you may find that people that

purchase your products often value community and friendships and are

environmentally conscious. Based on this information, you could create ads that show

people entertaining friends in their homes and emphasize the environmentally

friendly attributes of your brand.

You can gather this data in many of the same ways you can gather demographic data.

You can ask your existing customers for this information using surveys. Marketers can also

look at the way people interact with your website and see what types of content they

engage with, which gives you insight into their interests and preferences.

People can also supplement their first-party data with second-party and third-party data.

Other Methods of Market Segmentation

Demographic, behavioural, psychographic, and geographic segmentation are considered

the four main types of market segmentation, but there are also many other strategies you

can employ to target your ads toward your intended audience. This includes numerous

variations on the four main types. Here are several more methods you may want to look into.

Value segmentation: Some businesses will split up a market based on the “transactional worth” of their customers and clients — how much they’re likely or willing to spend on their products and services. To determine a customer’s transactional worth, you can look at previous purchase data such as how many purchases they make, how often they make purchases, and the value of the items they purchase.

Firmographic segmentation: This is the classification of business-to-business customers based on shared company or organization attributes. Business-to-business (B2B) companies may use firmographic segmentation to divide up the businesses in a market. This is similar to demographic segmentation with individual consumers but instead looks at the characteristics of companies that may become customers. Examples of data to look at include industry, revenue, number of employees, and location.

Lifestage segmentation: You can also segment your market into groups based on where they are in their lives. Going to college, getting married, changing jobs, and having children are examples of key life events to consider. People at different stages of life need different things. For instance, soon-to-be college students may need apartment furniture. New parents will be looking to purchase baby items etc.

There are other types of market segmentation that are equally important, like seasonal

segmentation and behavioral segmentation. As you may have come to understand,

marketing is an important aspect of any business, both online and offline, and so if

not done well, it can maim your business permanently. We at Retink have dedicated

our time and resources to handle that important aspect for you so that you can have

such an important area handled by professionals. Get in touch with us today for your

marketing needs.

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How To Create Marketing Strategy Used By Top Brands

Leave a Comment / AI in Branding, Blog Post, Retink Blogs

A marketing strategy that is good and consistent can be linked to the success of that business,

everyone wants to associate themselves with success, and every business wants to be successful

like Apple, Coca-Cola, Nike, etc. It would have been nice to just get your hands on their

marketing plan and strategy but these companies have serious confidentiality policies

that make such information hard to come by. One thing is sure, these businesses are

not just big and successful overnight, it is because they are meticulous and consistent.

Also, it is true, some of them have visionary leaders at the helm of affairs while some have a

very fat budget, but after sifting through all of these companies, we noticed a few common trends

such as the way the brand presents itself, the way the brand responds to consumers, and the

the way the brand stays true to its values and mission.

Fortunately, these trends can also be adopted and duplicated because it is not just for businesses

with huge marketing budgets but for any company no matter the size of their marketing budget.

Having narrowed down the marketing habits of some of the biggest companies in the world,

we believe that these habits can easily be adopted by any business in order to dominate its niche

and stand out among competitors.

We must understand that being a big company is not just about making huge sales, it is also

about making an impact and a lasting impression in the minds of your clients and customers.

Without wasting time let’s dive in.

Six(6) Top Marketing Strategies Found Among Successful Companies

Around The World.

1. Coca-Cola: Brand Consistency

It is an obvious and well-known fact that Coca-Cola is one of the most popular brands in the world

thanks to their great marketing strategy.

Their red and white logo is recognized in countries all around the world and people identify their

the brand with feeling good and a source of refreshment.

So how did Coca-Cola create such a recognizable brand? It is a straightforward answer,

which is that they have kept their brand identity and product consistent for decades.

Even though the company has been around for years, its logo has stayed relatively the same

and its marketing slogans and taglines have continued to promote the same message of

feel-good and refreshment. It is this level of consistency for over 130 years that has made

Coca-Cola is one of the biggest brands in the world.

Today, Coca-Cola owns a huge percentage of the beverage market and has numerous products

under different names and brands, however, their most popular product, the infamous,

iconic can of Coke has remained relatively untouched.

Coca-Cola spends an estimated $4.3 billion on marketing and advertising every year.

The company has all the power in the world to market in whichever way they choose.

However, year after year, time and time again, the company favours consistency and

this is what has paid off for them in the long run. This just goes to show that when it comes

to developing a recognisable and popular brand, consistency can go a very long way.

2. Apple: Creating a Movement.

Apple did not fall into an overnight success. If you have been following Apple’s story,

you would know that Apple had many roadblocks to navigate through before making it

to the top of its niche market.

The one thing that helped Apple in its race to the top, however, was its marketing strategy

which is focused on the ability to create a movement. This movement helped the brand

to create loyal customers in a form of a cult-like following that over the years,

has remained loyal and stood the test of time together with the brand.

In all of its marketing efforts, Apple has not just showcased its products but have

also created the identity that its products are visionary and life-changing.

Sure they have developed some amazingly advanced technologies, however in order to

get average people excited about this, they have created beautiful, aesthetically pleasing

gadgets that are not just for tech nerds but for everyday Joe as well.

Their marketing has also helped to convey this identity by making people feel as if they

need their products in order to enhance their life in some way. They have worked hard to

win over consumers and have created a tribe of followers who are consistently excited about

every new product launch announcement.

Even though there are now many competing brands with similar technology like Microsoft

or Samsung, it is Apple products that people line up overnight for, it is Apple products that

make headlines in the news.

Definitely for Apple to create this type of fanbase, it does take a few special attributes,

however, it is definitely possible for any business to try and emulate.

First of all, your brand must have an innovative and awesome product that can easily be

integrated into people’s lives.

Even if it is a new product, as long as there’s a way you can market it as something people

or businesses can’t live without you will hit your own honey spot. So, once you have been

able to identify what makes your product or service so awesome, you have to market it in a

simple and thought-provoking way, even a baby will understand.

For example, there is nothing fancy about Apple ads, but they are simple, and clear and create

a feeling of being part of something ultra modern and ultra innovative.

Finally, you also have to deliver exceptional customer experiences. Remember, to develop a

the tribe that is going to follow your brand, you have to make them feel like they are part of your

brand and give them services that will make them fall in love with what you are offering.

3. Colgate: Creates Trust

Colgate’s marketing strategy is customer-centric, Instead of just shoving their products down

people’s throats, Colgate has taken a very different approach over the years and has

chosen to educate consumers instead.

This strategy has helped the brand not only sell packs of toothpaste but also become one of

the leading and most trusted toothpaste brands in the world.

In marketing, there are a few ways to promote trust, but nothing is more effective than educating

customers and providing customers with how your product can work to benefit them.

As part of Colgate’s marketing strategy, they started an Oral Care Center, packed with information

and videos on oral care and hygiene. They also share valuable information with consumers on how

to brush and floss effectively and how to prevent the development of cavities and dental diseases.

This strategy may seem obvious for a toothpaste brand, however, any business can adopt this

strategy and make it work for them. Most consumers love receiving free information and

learning about things that impact their lives or the lives of those around them.

To use this strategy for your business,

Think about your consumer’s pain points and what they want to know. Also what information would make their lives better and easier?

It may also be beneficial to think about how your products can help to solve the problems of your consumers and how you can tie this in with the information you are offering.

Offer lots of valuable and free information that your demographic really wants to read, and stand out from your competitors by listening to customers.

Present your products and services in an appealing and welcoming way. Stand for something so those who agree with you can follow along.

Create unparalleled customer service experiences (just look at what Apple did with the Genius Bar)

Be original and consistent.

You might not have a Colgate marketing budget. With even the smallest budget you can

create blogs, ebooks, videos, emails, and even e-courses which can all help to educate your

customers, generate long-term relationships and build trust.

4. Starbucks: Social Strategy

Starbuck’s marketing strategy is all about leveraging the power of social media.

Eighty (80%) percent of hugely successful companies are active on Twitter.

What does that tell you?

Having a strong social media presence is imperative if you want to take your

business to the next level.

Social media is important as it helps to establish brand identity, authority, and trust.

It also helps consumers to engage with your brand on a more intimate, one-on-one level,

which helps to develop stronger ties and relationships over time.

Starbucks is the perfect example of a business that is crushing it when it comes to social media.

They are clued in and tapped in with what their fans want and run a hugely successful Facebook,

Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

There are a few reasons that Starbucks is so successful on social media and some of them include:

Starbucks also runs promotions and competitions through its social media platforms and many have gone on to be viral sensations around the web.

Most recently, Starbucks became a trending news topic over their red Christmas coffee cups. This was not by accident and was a meticulously planned and orchestrated social media campaign that just by chance went viral.

Their clever use of videos, .gif, and images on their feed

Their custom images that go along with their tweets

That they actually respond back to followers, especially on Twitter

That they are up to date with current events and use them to their marketing advantage

Their creation of several unique hashtags that have gone viral

Running successful social media is not necessarily about thinking of some grand breaking

scheme to get people hooked (like red Christmas cups). Rather, it is about making connections

with and maintaining such connections with your fanbase and offering them more of

what they are looking for.

If you are observant, in building your brand from scratch, you will have some privileged

information about your consumers. Using this to your advantage, craft a social feed that

reflects your support and dedication towards your fans, as well as your knowledge in your industry.

This includes sharing educational articles, sometimes funny images, and memes and

responding to comments, tweets, and direct messages. Combine all of this with some

soft entertainment value and some frequent promotions and gift competitions and you

will be well on the way to creating a solid social presence.

5. Whole Food Market: Stand for Something

When Whole Foods first entered the market there was really nothing like it.

Their strategy was to offer one thing and to offer it well, stand by it and make

sure it is successful and this has really been the hallmark of their success.

Many marketers and business owners get caught up in the idea of trying to please

everyone or to be a part of everything, but this can often end in disaster and can

leave your brand directionless. It can derail your brand from its founding vision and mission.

Whole Foods came onto the scene with one goal in mind- to offer consumers access to clean,

thoughtfully sourced, organic foods, and they have never wavered from this promise.

Today, Whole Foods competes with many other brands and businesses that have also

adopted some of their strategies and philosophies; however, one of the main reasons that

Wholesale Foods have been able to hold its ground because of its deeply rooted philosophy.

Whole Foods has made eternal promises to its consumers about where its food comes from

and has created benchmarks that many competing brands cannot catch up to.

They also appeal to the consciousness of consumers who are interested in supporting

their brand for no other reason other than they feel as if it is the right thing to do.

No matter what you buy from Whole Foods, people automatically feel that they are

making a“healthier” choice due to the image the brand has created. In order to replicate

this in your own company, your brand must stand for something. Maybe it is clean food,

maybe it is integrity, fast delivery of service, quality of products or services, or maybe it

is your unmatched customer service. Whatever it is, your brand must stand for it and it

must not waver from it no matter what.

Nike: Sell a Story

Like Colgate offers consumers beneficial information, Nike offers their customers information

but of a different kind. For every new pair of runners, for every new bit of technology,

Nike offers a story, not just product specifications. Even on their homepage, Nike paints a

story about some of its famous shoes and the journey they have taken from ideation to conception.

Nike sells the story, which in turn helps to sell its products and your brand can do the same.

Every product or service that you offer has some kind of story and if you can get creative enough,

if you can weave these stories into something interesting to read or hear, you may be able to turn

that story into something powerful for your brand. Think about the most interesting facets of your

brand and what your demographic may find interesting.

It may simply be some behind-the-scenes photos, or maybe it is a blog post about how you have

helped clients and other brands. It doesn’t have to be something grand or tear-jerking,

it does not have to be a sob story, customers simply want to find something in your products

or services that they can relate to, give it to them. Whatever you choose, know that creating a

story is far more powerful than just selling a product.

Writing a blog or using social media tools like Instagram, is also a great way to paint a visual

story of your brand. Out of all the Fortune 500 companies mentioned here, Nike has one of the

strongest presences on Instagram and they use that edge in a very clever way. They promote

strength and fitness, they promote health, and they promote things that are so much bigger

than just a pair of runners.

This indirect style of marketing is what gets consumers interested in a brand or product and

it is also what keeps them following along with the story. This ultimately helps to keep your

brand fresh in your customers’ minds.

In Conclusion

As stated by an expert “Good Marketing and Good Strategy are both about making choices

that build and maintain a particular set of capabilities that enable a company to

outperform its competitors.”

You may not have the marketing budget of Apple or Colgate, but when you work with your

strengths and create an effective marketing strategy that is consistent, innovative, and true

to your brand, there is no reason why you can’t be on your way to the top and become

successful as any of the Fortune 500 companies mentioned above. To be successful in marketing

it all starts with having a solid strategy that supports the growth and development of your business.

Start by thinking about your strengths, what you can do with them and what you can truly offer

your consumers. How can you enrich their lives, help them to become better and how can you

make them fall in love with your products or services?

Following in the footsteps of the Fortune 500 companies highlighted above, your brand can

easily be on its way to developing a strong marketing strategy that yields all-around positive results.

Think About Where You Can:

Maintain consistency in your branding efforts in order to make your logo and taglines more recognisable.

Create a movement with your brand by offering consumers the chance to be part of something innovative and “life-changing.”

Build trust with your consumers by offering valuable information and additional benefits other than just the products or services that you offer. This can be done through competitions, ebooks, videos, and more.

Integrate social media into your marketing strategy and work on developing a strong social presence.

Make sure your business stands for something and try to be an active participant in your community.

Sell a story rather than just the specifications of your product or services using social media or blogging platforms.

Let me leave you with this valuable fact, you will not be an expert in all these strategies,

and you might not even know how to go about any of them, fortunately, there are companies

who have dedicated their time and resources to be the best in creating these moments for

other businesses and one of the leading among them is Retink Media get in touch with us today

and let us help put your business ahead of the packs.

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