The question of whether market segmentation has reached its end or is still useful has been debated among experts and business leaders for some time. Despite the fact that segmentation has many advantages, some business executives, including former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, claim that segmentation is no longer a viable marketing strategy.
Market segmentation is still necessary, so the short answer is “No, not yet.” You will be using market segmentation techniques in your marketing strategies as long as you will be conducting market research and as long as you will need to know the common characteristics of your diverse customers for targeted marketing.
One of the most effective and useful techniques used in marketing and business planning is market segmentation. Using specific characteristics that are important to marketing, such as income, occupation, and gender, segmentation is a process of dividing the market or consumers based on similarities and differences.
Market segmentation enables businesses to create plans that are focused and methodical in their execution, target customers with particular needs, interests, or preferences, and gain a comprehensive understanding of the current or potential market base. Businesses use segmentation to investigate and pinpoint their specific market opportunities and focus their efforts on the most important segments.
Making wise decisions and taking calculated action to increase sales of your products and brand loyalty are the foundation of running a successful business. You must continuously stay informed about the shifting market’s facts and figures as well as feel your customers’ pulses to accomplish this.
Businesses must use their data to create marketing insights and to offer services, products, or solutions to customers based on their shared characteristics because customers have different needs, desires, preferences, and priorities and because it is not always possible to keep track of each individual customer to meet their expectations. Hence there are many benefits of segmentation.
Clarity-building is the primary goal of market segmentation. You only have the most accurate and pertinent information about the customers after mining and cleaning your data. Once the data is prepared, you can use it to group customers according to certain characteristics that are pertinent to your business.
One of the most crucial tactics for identifying and, occasionally, even influencing the needs and interests of customers is customer engagement. Businesses can develop a psychographic segmentation of their customers and target marketing and ad campaigns to meet their needs with the help of customer behavior data gathered from social networking sites, the media, discussion platforms, and purchasing history.
The process of offering specially tailored goods or services to meet the unique needs of a large number of customers in a specific market segment is known as mass customization. Businesses have been able to use more precise customer segmentation thanks to the growing amount of clickstream and customer behavior data, which has improved the effectiveness of mass customization.
Finding the market’s hidden dynamics and creating fresher insights and marketing strategies depend critically on data. Your business can find potential niche markets where you can maintain your lead and dominance with a quick customer conversion and market expansion by using the market/customer data to systematically segment the market.
Nowadays, regardless of their size and scope, all businesses produce business data and have access to data from various industries. Companies today benefit from the ability to segment markets using both a priori and post hoc methods. Additionally, you can use data visualization and cluster analysis strategies to enhance the customer segmentation procedure.
Grepsr has been collaborating with its international clients on segmentation strategy development by gathering, purifying, and standardizing the data they require. We have concentrated our efforts on managing geodemographic and geospatial data (state, ZIP, city size, rural, and urban), as well as geography-specific variables that are essential for identifying geographic and neighborhood segments and for making wise business decisions.
Benefit Segmentation (Marketing)
Advantages of benefit segmentation
Benefits segmentation can be used by the marketing, sales, research, and development departments to increase returns on investment and boost market performance for the company. Benefit segmentation gives product developers and sales representatives a focus for successfully marketing a product. Implementing benefits segmentation strategies can benefit various departments in a number of different ways. Here are some of the advantages of benefit segmentation:
Increase consumer engagement
With the specific advantages of a product, a business can create strategies to market those advantages to certain demographics. This guarantees that their advertisements, social media posts, or other marketing materials will engage their target audience. Increasing consumer involvement raises brand awareness and clientele to foster brand loyalty.
Promote product purchases
Customers look for products based on their requirements and preferences for particular features. Customers can quickly identify potential products to buy by highlighting these product features. Customers find it easier to compare and select products when a product outlines its benefits for them.
Enhance product development
Customers who buy a product for a specific use might write reviews or offer feedback on how well it delivers the benefits it promises. For upcoming product projects or product improvements, these comments help product developers understand the product’s advantages and disadvantages. On the basis of typical customer concerns, product developers can investigate ways to improve product performance.
Improved data analysis
Rating scales are included in customer reviews to gather data on customer satisfaction with regards to elements like packaging, effectiveness, price, or benefits. This categorised information can be used by market researchers and data analysts to create insights and visualizations for more in-depth analysis reports. These reports can give company management information about the performance of a product and the potential for future product development initiatives.
Optimize sales performance
Sales representatives and other sales professionals can create sales pitches that persuade customers to buy a product by using the product’s highlighted benefits and target market. Salespeople conduct in-depth product research to provide consumers with accurate and thorough information that educates and engages them. When customers are knowledgeable about a product’s benefits and uses, they may be more likely to purchase it.
Develop personalized advertisements
Products have various advantages that may be targeted at specific age or interest groups. Companies can create a variety of advertising content that targets a specific audience and highlights benefits specific to that clientele. By using different advertisements, brands can connect with a wider audience and potentially boost sales.
What is benefit segmentation?
Benefit segmentation is the process of dividing up marketing channels based on how valuable a product is to consumers. Customers value products based on the advantages they can obtain from them as a result of their various characteristics or features. To identify a target market and customer base that may differ based on demographic factors, such as age, income, occupation, location, or family size, a business may highlight specific product features. Companies can match product features to consumer factors and boost sales by segmenting the product and consumer markets.
Examples of benefit segmentation
Following are a few illustrations of benefit segmentation for various product categories:
Skincare
There are many different skincare products with different uses for different parts of the face. Companies may classify skincare products based on how they can be used for depuffing, plumping, or exfoliating the cheeks, lips, or eyes. Benefits of these products may be aimed at people with acne, aging skin, or dry skin.
Apparel
Size, occasion, season, and weather are all different categories for clothing and shoes. These categories include different features like thermal insulation for cold climates or moisture wicking for hot climates, as well as designs, prints, or patterns to fit particular holidays or other events. Benefits of clothing may include uses for work or play, such as for lab coats, compression socks, or swimsuits.
Technology
Different users of technology and other equipment, like professionals, gamers, and casual consumers, may receive different benefits. While office workers may prefer sound isolation, ergonomics, or secure network capabilities, gamers may favor products with high resolution, refresh rates, and customizable features. Different technology setups and purposes can benefit from a variety of computers and component accessories.
Platforms
Streaming services for podcasts, music, videos, movies, and television shows target various audiences with their content. Some platforms may offer explicit or family-friendly content, as well as various options or streaming qualities. Some platforms stream music at various quality levels for casual listeners or professional producers, while others offer consumers a selection of songs at random or the ability to create their own playlists.
Personal care
A business may create personal care items for various body parts or uses, such as exfoliating, moisturizing, disinfecting, or cleaning. Based on their packaging, scent, and intended uses, these categories may target various demographics. Products for personal care may include fragrances, creams, cleansers, razors, or hair dyes.
Pet supplies
There are various pet supplies for various animal species and environments. Businesses may provide for the needs of small or large animals, different animal species, or both. Pet supplies may be designed to help animals with dietary restrictions or young animals with developmental growth.
Fitness equipment
Companies may create exercise equipment for users at various skill levels, from amateurs to professionals in a given sport or athletic activity. Yoga mats, tension bands, baseball bats, kettle bells, and compression sleeves are a few examples of fitness gear with special features that are tailored to the user’s skill level. Benefits of various equipment may include pain relief or muscle targeting for exercises like weightlifting or pilates.
