By Natalie Grbic
Two key components of marketing plans are segmentation and targeting.
- Segmentation= dividing the market of potential customers into homogeneous subgroups. I.e:
- consumer’s behavior patterns
- attitudes
- demographic characteristics
- psychographic profile
- Targeting = selecting a certain market segment and directing all of your marketing efforts to that segment.
When it comes to segmentation and targeting, pay attention to these variables:
–Age: The most frequently used variable in segmentation. Companies usually target their products/services to a specific age category.
–Social Class: Different types of marketing strategies are used to segment and target the upper and lower class.
–Gender: Men and women differ tremendously. Women are typically slower at making decisions and are more persuadable; therefore, segmenting and targeting to this market will be considerably different than to men.
–Geography: People in different countries receive marketing messages differently than people in the United States. You must look at the advertising techniques that work in a specific country and target and segment the way they do.
Susan:
My best advice is to know your market. The first question I ask potential clients is “who is your target market?” If you don’t know, don’t waste your time marketing until you do.
Natalie brings up geography as a component of targeting and segmentation. Today, it’s easier to sell products and services globally, so including a global campaign in your marketing plan may be necessary. But keep in mind that not every country accepts marketing messages the same as the U.S:
- Other countries have bans on marketing food products to children.
- Translating “Got Milk?” into Spanish got people in Mexico in an uproar…it means “Are You Lactating?”
- Here are some other amusing but fatal global marketing mistakes to peruse.