MarketingManagement

Unit7

Unit7
Structure
7.1. 7.2. 7.3. 7.4. 7.5. 7.6. 7.7. 7.8. 7.9. Introduction

Segmentation,TargetingAndPositioning

Conceptofmarketsegmentation Benefitsofmarketsegmentation. Requisitesofeffectivesegmentation. Theprocessofmarketsegmentation. Basesofconsumermarketsegmentation Targeting Marketpositioning Summary

7.10. TerminalQuestions 7.11. AnswerstoSAQsandTQs

7.1.

Introduction

Market segmentation is the starting step in applying the marketing strategy. In this process the marketerdividethemarketintohomogeneoussubmarketsbyunderstandingtheneeds,perceptions and expectations of the consumers. On the basis of segmentation, the company will prepare and follow different marketing programs for different segments to ensure better customer relationship. Thisunitdealswiththebasesofmarketsegmentation,itstargetingandpositioningitspropositionsin themindofconsumerindetail. LearningObjectives Afterstudyingthisunit,youwillbeableto

1. Explaintheconceptsandbenefitsofmarketsegmentation. 2. Mentiontherequisitesofeffectivesegmentation. 3. Explainthebasesofmarketsegmentation. 4. Describetheprocessofevaluatingmarketsegments. 5. Identifyappropriatetargetmarketforgivensegment.

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6. Analyzepositioningstrategiesofcompaniesonthebasisofproductdifferentiation
7.2. ConceptofMarketSegmentation

Market Segmentation is the process of dividing a potential market into distinct submarkets of consumerswithcommonneedsandcharacteristics. Forexample,CadburyIndiaoperatesinthreedifferentmarketsnamely,Maltedfoods,cocoapowder anddrinkingchocolatesandchocolatesandsugarconfectionary. Figure7.1

The malted food market is divided into two different segments i.e. white malted food drinks and brownmaltedfooddrinks.CadburyIndiapositioneditsflagshipbrandBournvitainthebrownmalted fooddrinks.

7.3.

BenefitsofMarketSegmentation

1. UnderstandingtheneedsofConsumers: 2. Toadoptbetterpositioningstrategies. 3. Properallocationofmarketingbudget. 4. Helpsinpreparingabettercompetitivestrategy. 5. Providesguidelinesinpreparingmediaplanofthecompany. 6. Differentofferingsindifferentsegmentsenhancethesales. 7. Customergetsmorecustomizedproduct. 8. HelpsCompanytoidentifynichemarkets.

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9. Providesopportunitiestoexpandmarket
10. Encouragesinnovations:

7.4.

RequisitesofEffectiveSegmentation

Tobeuseful,segmentationofmarketmustexhibitsomecharacteristicsthatareasfollows: 1. MeasurableandObtainable:Thesize,profileandotherrelevantcharacteristicsofthesegment must be measurable and obtainable in terms of data. If the information is not obtainable, no segmentationcanbecarriedout.Forexample,CensusofIndiaprovidesthedataonmigration andeducationlevel,butdonotspecifieshowmanyofthemigratedemployeesareeducatedand if educated how many are there in white color jobs. If a company wants to target white color employeeswhoaremigratedtoparticularcity,willnotabletomeasureduetononavailabilityof data. 2. Substantial: Thesegmentshouldbelargeenoughtobeprofitable.Forconsumermarkets,the smallsegmentmightdisproportionablyincreasethecostandhenceproductsarepricedtoohigh. Forexample,whenthecellularservicesstartedinIndiacostoftheincomingcallsandoutgoing callswerechargedatRs12/minute.Asthenumberofsubscribersgrew,incomingcallsbecame free.Furthergrowthofsubscribersresultedinloweringtariffstothelowestlevelintheworld. 3. Accessible: The segment should be accessible through existing network of people at a affordablecost.Forexample,Majorityoftheruralpopulationstillnotabletoaccesstheinternet duetohighcostandunavailabilityofconnectionsandbandwidth. 4. Differentiable: The segments are different from each other and require different 4Ps and programs.Forexample,LifeInsuranceCorporationofIndianeedsseparatemarketingprograms toselltheirinsuranceplans,unitplans,pensionplansandgroupschemes 5. Actionable:Thesegmentswhichacompanywishestopursuemustbeactionableinthesense thatthereshouldbesufficientfinance,personnel,andcapabilitytotakethemall.

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7.5.

TheprocessofMarketsegmentation:

Figure7.2

1.Identifyexistingandfuturewantsinthecurrentmarket. Marketersmustexaminethechangingneedsofthecustomer.Thisprocessprovidesopportunityto examine whether customersare satisfied with the existing productsor not. Ifthey are notsatisfied whatarethefeaturestheyarelookingat.Italsohelpstotesttheinnovativeconceptsthatcompany has, commercially viable or not. For example, Titan, wrist watch manufacturer from Tata group should analyze whether customer are satisfied with the time accuracy in the watch. It should also analyze what are the other features customer is looking in the watch. It may be style, calculator, voice recorder, jewels studded or pulse monitor.In this case, time accuracybecameexisting want andotherfeaturesbecomefuturewants. 2.Examinetheattributesthatdistinguishamongsegments. In this process marketers should segregate different types of wants intohomogeneous categories. Thismaybeonthebasisofproductfeatures,lifestyleorbehavior.Forexample,Titanshouldanalyze
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howstyle,calculator,voicerecorder,jewelsstuddedandpulsemonitorattributearedifferent.Isthere anypossibilityofbringingsomeofthesefeaturestogether?Ifyeswhataretheattributesthatmakes it homogeneous. To illustrate, student community may be interested in style and also wants calculator. 3.Evaluatetheproposedsegmentattractivenessonthebasisofmeasurability,accessibility, andsize. Segments selected in second steps should be evaluated against the requisites i.e. measurability, accessibility,substantial,actionableanddifferentiability.Companysfurtherprogramswilldependon theoutcomeofthisprocess. Titanshouldexamine a. Howbigthisstudentsegmentwholikestyleandalsowantscalculator? b. Howtogetthedatapertainingtothesestudents? c. WhetherthissegmentisaccessibletoexistingTitanshowroom? d. How this segment is different from current segments? If selected what value this proposed segmentaddstothecompany. SelfAssessmentQuestionsI 1. is the process of dividing apotentialmarket into distinctsubmarkets of consumers withcommonneedsandcharacteristics. 2. Measurabilityofthesegmentassessedon a. Size b. Profitability c. Requiredresources d. Alltheabove. 3. Therequisiteofsegmentationwhichspecifyon4Psandprogramsis a. Action b. Substantial c. Differentiability
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d. Alltheabove. 4. Futurewantsofthecustomershouldbeanalyzedbeforeidentifyingthesegments. a. Yes b. No 5. a. True b. False Segmentationencouragesinnovation

7.6.BasesforSegmentingConsumerMarkets

Figure7.3

Consumer Market Segments

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1) Geographic segmentation: Dividing the market into different geographical units such as nations, states, regions, cities or neighborhoods. The company can operate in one or a few Geographic areas or operate in all but pay attention to local variations. For example, Bennett, Coleman and co Ltd divided markets according to geographical units for their tabloids. In BangalorethetabloidisknownasBangaloreMirrorwhereasitisMumbaiMirrorinMumbai. 2) DemographicSegmentation:Indemographicsegmentationthemarketisdividedintogroupson the basis of variable such as age, family size, family lifecycle, gender, income, occupation, education,religion,race,generation,nationalityandsocialclass.Demographicvariablesarethe most popular bases for distinguishing customer groups. One reason is that consumers wants, preferences and usage rates are often associated with demographic variables. Demographic variables are easy to measure. Even when the target market is described in nondemographic terms,thelinkbacktodemographiccharacteristicsisneededinordertoestimatethesizeofthe targetmarketandthemediathatshouldbeusedtoreachitefficiently.Someofthedemographic variablesusedare: a) AgeandLifeCycleStage:Consumerswantsandabilitieschangewithage.Onthebasisof age, a market can be divided into four parts viz., children, young, adults and old. For consumers of different age groups, different types of products are produced. For instance, differenttypesofreadymadegarmentsareproducedforconsumersofdifferentagegroups. A successful marketing manager should understand the age group for which the product would be most suited and determine his marketing policy, pricing policy, advertising policy etc.,accordingly. Forexample,HULlaunchedpepsodentkidsforsmallchildren. b) Gender:Gendersegmentationhaslongbeenappliedinclothing,hairstyling,cosmeticsand magazines. For example, Emami segmented its personal care business on the basis of gender.Forwomen,itishavingEmaminaturallyfair,andformenitisfairandhandsome. c) Income: Income segmentation is a longstanding practice in such product and service categoriesasautomobiles,clothing,cosmeticsandtravel.However,incomedoesnotalways predictthebestcustomersforagivenproduct. Forexample, BajaAutolimited,aleadingautomobilecompany,differentbikesfordifferent commuters.Forentrylevel(lessthanRs35000)itisBajajCT100,formidsegment(greater
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thanRs35000butlessthanRs60000)itispulsarandfortheuppersegmentgreaterthanRs 60000AvengerandEliminatorispositioned. 3) Psychographic Segmentation: In Psychographic segmentation, buyers are classified into different groups on the basis of lifestyle or personality and values. People within the same demographicgroupcanexhibitverydifferentpsychographicprofiles. a) Lifestyle: People exhibit different lifestyles and goods they consume express their life styles. Many companies seek opportunities in lifestyle segmentation. But lifestyle segmentationdoesnotalwayswork.

Figure7.4

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TM. One of the most used psychographic profiling schemes is called VALS Developed by SRI

International,Inc.,itsfirstversiongroupstheentireU.S.populationintoeightgroups,basedonthe identitiestheyseekandimplementviamarketplacebehaviors.
TM TheEightVALS Group:Usingtheselforientationandresourcesdimensions,VALSdefineseight

segments of adult consumers who have different attitudes and exhibit distinctive behavior and decision making patterns. These segments are Innovators Thinkers, Achievers, Experiencers, Believers,Strivers,Makersandsurvivors Innovators are successful, sophisticated, active, takecharge people with high selfesteem and abundant resources. They are leaders in business and government and are interested in growth, innovation,andchange.Theyseektodevelop,exploreandexpressthemselvesinavarietyofways, sometimesguidedbyPrincipleandsometimesbyadesiretohaveaneffectortomakeachange. They seek todevelop, explore and express themselves ina variety of ways, sometimesguided by principleandsometimesbyadesiretohaveaneffectortomakeachange.Imageisimportantto them, not as evidence of status or power but as an expression of their taste, independence, and character. They possess a wide range of interests, are concerned with social issues, and show a cultivatedtasteforthefinerthingsinlife. Thinkers are mature, satisfied, comfortable, reflective people who value order, knowledge, and responsibility. Most are well educated and in (or recently retired from) professional occupations, contentwiththeircareer,families,andtendtocenteraroundthehome.Thinkershaveamoderate respect for the status quo institution, but they are open minded to new ideas and social changes. They tend to base their decision on firmly held principlesand consequently appear calm and self assured.Thinkersareconservative,practicalconsumers,andtheuniversalvaluesofperformance, service,andpricearemoreimportantthanpersonvalues(e.g.,socialandemotionalvalues). Achieversaresuccessfulcareeradworkorientedpeoplewholiketofeelincontroloftheirlive.They value predictability and stability over risk. They are deeply committed to work and family. Work providesthemwithasenseofduty,materialrewards,andprestige.Theirsociallivesarecenteredon family,church,andcareer.Achieversliveconventionallivesarephonicallyconservative,andrespect authority and the status quo. Image is important to them: they favor established prestige products andservicesthatdemonstratesuccesstotheirpeers.

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Experiencers are young, vital, enthusiastic, impulsive, and rebellious. They seek variety and excitement,savoringthenew,theoffsets,andtherisky.Stillintheprocessofformulatinglifevalues and patterns of behavior they quickly become enthusiastic about new possibilities but are equally quick to cool. At this stage in their lives they are politically uncommitted, uninformed, and highly ambivalent about what they believe. Their energy finds an outlet in exercise, sports, outdoor recreation,andsocialactivities.Experiencesareavidconsumerandspendmuchoftheirincomeon clothing,fastfood,music,moviesandvideo. Believersareconservative,conventionalpeoplewithcommitmenttofamily,church,community,and the nation. Living by a moral code is very important to them. As consumers, Believers are conservative and predictable and favor American products and established brands. Their income, education,andenergyaremodestbutsufficienttomeettheirneeds. Striversseekmotivation,selfdefinitionandapprovalfromtheworldaroundthem.Theystrivetofind a secure place in life, unsure of themselves and low on economic, social, and psychological resource.Striversareconcernedabouttheopinionsandapprovalofothers.Moneydefinessuccess forStrivers,whodonthaveenoughofitandoftenfeelthatlifehasgiventhemarawdeal.Strivers areimpressedbypossessions,butwhattheywishtoobtainisoftenbeyondtheirreach. Makersarepracticalpeoplewhohaveconstructiveskillsandvalueselfsufficiency.Theylivewithina traditionalcontextoffamily,practicalworkandphysicalrecreationandhavelittleinterestinwhatlies outsidethatcontext.Makersexperiencetheworldbyworkinginit,buildingahouse,raisingchildren, fixing a car, or canning vegetable and have enough skill, income and energy to carry out their projects successfully. Makers are politically conservative, suspicious of new ideas, respectful of governmentauthorityandorganizedlabor,butresentfulofgovernmentintrusiononindividualrights. Theyareunimpressedbymaterialpossessionsotherthanthosewithapartialorfunctionalpursuing pressedbymartialpossessionotherthanthosewithapracticalorfunctionalpurpose,suchastools, utilityvehicles,andfishingequipment. Survivors tend to be chronically poor, illeducated, low skilled, elderly and concerned about their health.Preoccupiedwiththeurgentneedsofthepresentmoment,theydonotshowastrongself orientation.Theirchiefconcernsareforsecurityandsafety.Survivorsarecautiousconsumers.They representaverymodestmarketformostproductsandservicesbuttheyareloyaltofavoritebrands.

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b) Personality:Marketershaveusedpersonalityvariablestosegmentthemarkets.Theyendow theirproductswithbrandpersonalitythatcorrespondstoconsumerpersonalities. c) Social Class: It has a strong influence on preference in cars, clothing, home furnishings, leisure activities, reading habits etc. Many companies design products and services for specificsocialclasses. BehavioralSegmentationorConsumerResponseSegmentation: Inbehavioralsegmentation,buyersaredividedintogroupsonthebasisoftheirknowledgeorattitude towardstheuseof,orresponsetoaproduct.Somemarketersbelievethatbehavioralvariablesare thebeststartingpointsforconstructingmarketsegments. a) Occasions: According to the occasions, buyers develop a need, purchase a product or use a product.Itcanhelpfirmsexpandproductusage.Acompanycanconsidercriticallifeeventsto seewhethertheyareaccompaniedbycertainneeds.Forexample,TanishqaTATAenterprise offersschemesandpromotionsforAkshayaThrutiya(auspiciousdaytopurchasejewellary) b) Benefits: Buyers can be classified according to the benefits they seek. For example, Peter England,amadhuragarmentbrandpositioneditswrinklefreetrousersonthebasisofbenefits. c) User Status: Markets can be segmented into nonusers, potential users, first time users and regular users of a product. Each market segment requires a different marketing strategy. The companys market position will also influence its focus. Market leaders will focus on attracting potential users, whereas smaller firms will try to attract current users away from the market leader. For example, Kishkinda resort near Hampi classifies its customers according to this characteristic.Resortbelievesthatlocalsfallsintononusercategory,affluentclasswhocomes toHampiaspotentialusers,foreignersasfirsttimeusersrichpeoplenearHampiwhofrequently comethereasregularusers. d) Usage Rate: Markets can be segmented into light, medium and heavy product users. Heavy users are often a small percentage of the market but account for a high percentage of total consumption.Marketersprefertoattractoneheavyuserratherthanseverallightusersandthey varytheirpromotionaleffortsaccordingly. For example, Alan Paine textile brand, offered 4 cotton trousers for Rs 999. Company is interestedingettingprofitfromsalesvolume.

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e) Loyal Status: Consumers have varying degrees of loyalty to specific brands, stores and other entities.Buyerscanbedividedintofourgroupsaccordingtobrandloyaltystatus. a) HardcoreLoyal:Consumerswhobuyonebrandallthetime.Forexample,customermay beusingonlyBSNLcellularservicesthoughtherearedifferentoptionsavailable. b) SplitLoyal: Consumerswhoareloyaltotwoorthreebrands.Forexample,consumermay gofortaxsavingsschemesofpostofficesandLifeInsuranceCorporationofIndia c) Shifting Loyal: Consumers who shift from one brand to another. For example, consumer whousedNokiacellphonesstartsbuyingSonyEricssonmobiles. d) Switchers:Consumerswhoshownoloyaltytoanybrand.Whenthereisalowinvolvement andfewsignificantperceivedbranddifferencesconsumertrytopurchasedifferentbrandsin thecategory.Toillustrate,customerwhoboughtcintholwantstotryMedimix,Mysoresandal, Himalaya,Santoor,Chandrikaetc AcompanycanidentifyitsproductsstrengthsbystudyingitsHardcoreLoyal.BystudyingitsSplit Loyal, the company can pinpoint which brands are most competitive with its own. By looking at customers who are shifting away from its brand, the company can learn about its marketing weaknessesandattempttocorrectthem. (f) BuyerReadinessStage:Amarketconsistsofpeopleindifferentstagesofreadinesstobuya product. Some are unaware of the product, some are aware, some are informed, some are interested, somedesire theproductand some intend to buy. The relativenumber makesa big differenceindesigningamarketingprogram.Forexample,PeoplemaybeawareofAquaguard butdontknowmuchaboutit. 7.7.Targeting Targeting is defined as a group of people or organizations for which an organization designs, implementsandmaintainsthemarketingmix. Once the bases for segmentation are selected, you have to identify the people or organization to whichtheproductmeant.Organizationsmaynotdifferentiatetheircustomeroritmayhavedifferent customerfordifferentproducts.Inthenextsectionwewillstudyhowtoidentifythetargetcustomers. SelectingTargetMarketSegments
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Dependingupontheemergingpatternsofmarketsegmentation,homogeneouspreference(showing no natural segments) as in case of soft drinks sale by Pepsi and CocaCola), diffused preference (showing clear preferences as in case of automobile market), and clustered preference (market showingnaturalsegmentsasincaseofoccupationhavingimpactonthetypesofclothesworn),a companychoosesitsmarketsegmentationstrategy. A) UndifferentiatedMarketing: Itisamarketcoveragestrategyinwhichthecompanytreatsthe target market as one and does not consider that there are market segments that exhibit uncommon needs. The company focuses on the centre of the target market to get maximum advantage.Thefeatureofoneproductallsegmentscallsforpresentingonemarketingmixfor thetargetmarket.Forexample,theCocaColaCompanysellsCoke,Limca,Thumsupetc.,and doesnotdistinguishthetargetaudience. B)DifferentiatedMarketing:Itisamarketcoveragestrategyinwhichthecompanygoesforproper market segmentation as depicted by its analysis of the total market. The company, therefore, goes for several products or several segment approach which calls for preparing different marketing mixesfor eachof the market segment. This strategy isfollowedby Hindustan Lever Limitedwhichsellsdifferentsoaps(LifeBuoy,Lux,Rexona,Liril,Pearsetc.)andeachofthem hasitsownmarket.Thus,thecompanycreatessegmentsinthesoapmarketandnotintoiletries market(includingsoaps,detergents,toothpaste,etc.) C) Concentrated Marketing: It is a market coverage strategy in which company follows one productonesegmentprinciple.Forexample,AshokLeylandproduceslargechassisofmachine whichcanbeusedforbusesandtrucks.Themanufacturergetsmaximumknowledgeaboutthe segmentsneedsandthereforeacquiresspecialreputation.Thisstrategycanalsohelpthesmall companytostandagainstalargecorporationbecausethesmallcompanycancreatenichesinits oneproductonesegmentapproachbyprovidingmaximumvarieties. ChoosingaMarketCoverageStrategy: Thebelowtabledepictsanoverviewofthethreemarket coveragestrategieswillhelptochooseoneforaparticularcompany.Table7.1providesasnapshot view.

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Table7.1:ComparisonofMarketCoverageStrategies Focus Undifferentiated Marketing Product Segment MarketingMix One/Few All One Differentiating Marketing Many Many Many Concentrated Marketing One/Few One/Few One/Few

Giventhecomparisonofdifferentcoveragestrategies,itiseasytolocatetherelevantstrategiesas showninTable7.2. Table7.2:ChoosingaMarketCoverageStrategy Undifferentiated Differentiating Marketing Constrained FirmResources Commonusage Products Differentneed Satisfyingproducts Giventheabovetable,thefirmsresourcesandtheproductsrequirementinitspresentform(byall orfew) woulddecide the choiceof a particularmarket coverage strategy. Finally, the competitors adaptation of a particular strategy should be considered for deciding companys own strategy. For example,CocaColastartssegmentingsoftdrinksmarketandtargetsfamily,Pepsicannotignoreit becauseitwouldbesuicidalforthem(segmentationwouldprovidedifferentiationofproductsmore easily). 7.8MarketPositioning Eachfirmneedstodevelopadistinctivepositioningforitsmarketoffering. Positioningistheactofdesigningthecompanysofferingandimagetooccupyadistinctiveplacein thetargetmarketsmind.Eachcompanymustdecidehowmanydifferencestopromotetoitstarget customers.ManymarketersadvocatepromotingonlyonecentralbenefitandRosserReevescalledit
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Concentrated Marketing Mostsuitable Leastsuitable Moresuitable

Marketing Leastsuitable Moresuitable Mostsuitable

Moresuitable Mostsuitable Leastsuitable

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asauniquesellingproposition.SomeoftheUSPsincludesbestquality,bestservice,Lowest price,bestvalue,safest,moreadvancedtechnologyetc.Ifacompanyhammersawayatoneof thesepositioninganddeliversonit,itwillprobablybebestknownandrecalledforthisstrengths. Noteveryoneagreesthatsinglebenefitpositioningisalwaysbest.Doublebenefitpositioningmaybe necessary if two or more firms claim to be best on the same attribute. There are even cases of successfultriplebenefitpositioning. Asthecompaniesincreasethenumberofclaimsfortheirbrand,theyriskdisbeliefandalossofclear positioning.Ingeneral,acompanymustavoidfourmajorpositioningerrors. 1) Underpositioning:Somecompaniesdiscoverthatbuyershaveonlyavagueideaofthebrand. Thebrandisseenasjustanotherentryinacrowdedmarketplace. 2) Overpositioning:Buyersmayhavetoonarrowimageofthebrand. 3) Confused Positioning: Buyers might have a confused image of the brand resulting from the companysmakingtoomanyclaimsorchangingthebrandspositioningtoofrequently. 4) Doubtful Positioning: Buyers may find it hard to believe the brand claims in view of the productsfeatures,priceormanufacturer. Positioningmaps: Twodimensionalgraphsofhowaproduct,brandorcompanyisperceivedversuscompetition. Before identifying the positioning strategiesforthe product marketer prepares its perceptual maps. Thesemapsaredrawnonimportantbuyingdimensionsofconsumerforcompanyproductsaswell ascompetitorproducts. HowtoconstructPositionmaps? 1. Evaluatethebuyingdimensionsofcustomer 2. Selecttwobuyingdimensionsofconsumerforexamplepriceandquality. 3. Identifytherelativemarketshare:relativemarketshareistheratioofcompanysmarketshareto itslargestcompetitorsshare. 4. Drawthecirclesaccordingtorelativemarketshareontwodimensiongraph PositionmapforToiletsoaps
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Cosmetic GodrejNo1PearsDove

LifebuoySantoor Lowpricecinthol HighPrice

Hamam

MedimixHimalayacucumber Ayurvedic Typeofproduct

Basesforpositioningtheproduct Overcoming the positioning difficulties enables the company to solve the marketingmix problem. Thusseizingthehighqualitypositionrequiresthefirmtoproducehighqualityproducts,chargea highprice,distributethroughhighclassdealersandadvertiseinhighqualitymediavehicles. Thebasesforpositioningstrategiesthatareavailableare: 1AttributePositioning:Acompanypositionsitselfonanattributesuchassizeornumberofyears inexistence.Sunfeastpositionitssnackybrandasbiggerlighterandcrisper.(Figure7.5)

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Figure7.5

Figure7.6

2BenefitPositioning:Theproductispositionedastheleaderinacertainbenefit. Automotive:HyundaiSantro Headline: India's bestloved family car is now also India's simplest car to drive. Subhead:HyundaiintroducesSantroZipplusAutomatic. Noshiftinggears,noclutch,noproblems. Baseline:Thesimplestcartodrive.(Positioning)
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3 Use or Application Positioning: Positioning the product as bestfor some use and application. ForExample,Kenstarpositioneditsproductasunexpectedlycold.(figure7.7) Figure7.7 Figure7.8

4UserPositioning:Positioningtheproductasbestforsomeusergroup. In this advertisement( Figure 7.8) of Parle G, the boy was positioned as rock star. This advertisementbasicallytargetsthekidsandboys. 5CompetitorPositioning:Theproductclaimstobebetterinsomewaythananamedcompetitor. In this advertisement( Figure 7.9) Mathrubhumi base line says In the wake of ABC results, Mathrubhumicelebratestheadditionof33,960copieswhilenearestcompetitorlamentsthelossof 7,258copies.Planners,takenote.Itisdirectlymentioningitsandcompetitorssalesofnewspaper. Figure7.9 Figure7.10

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6 Product Category Positioning: The product is positioned as the leader in a certain product category.BajajCT100waspositionedasleaderintheentrysegmentbikes.(Figure7.10) 7QualityorPricePositioning:Theproductispositionedasofferingthebestvalue. Figure7.11

The vegetable oil brand dhara position it self as anokhi shuddata, anokha asar. This means, companyoffersuniquepurityanduniqueeffect. SelfAssessmentQuestions2 1. In..segmentation,buyersaredividedintodifferentgroupsonthebasisoflifestyle orpersonalityandvalues. 2. Bystudyingits..,acompanycanpinpointwhichbrandsaremostcompetitivewithits own. 3. isamarketcoveragestrategyinwhichcompanyfollowsoneproductonesegment principle. 4. ..istheactofdesigningthecompanysofferingandimagetooccupyadistinctive placeinthetargetmarketsmind. 5. .areconsumerswhobuyonebrandallthetime.

7.9 Summary Market Segmentation is the process of dividing a potential market into distinct submarkets of consumerswithcommonneedsandcharacteristics. The size, profile and other relevant characteristics of the segment must be measurable and obtainableintermsofdata. Targetmarketinghelpsthemarketertoidentifythemarketsthegroupofcustomersforwhom theproductisdesigned.
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Buyerscanbeclassifiedintofourgroupsbasedonbrandloyaltystatus: a) HardcoreLoyalarethoseconsumerswhobuyonebrandallthetime. b) SplitLoyalisthoseconsumerswhoareloyaltotwoorthreebrands. c) ShiftingLoyalarethoseconsumerswhoshiftfromonebrandtoanother. d) Switchersarethoseconsumerswhoshownoloyaltytoanybrand.

Positioningistheactofdesigningthecompanysofferingandimagetooccupyadistinctiveplace inthetargetcustomersmind.

TerminalQuestions 1) Whatdoyoumeanbysegmentation?Whatareitsbenefits? 2) Discussthevariousbasesforsegmentingconsumermarkets. 3) Explainthemethodsofselectingtargetmarketsegments. 4) Writeanoteonpositioningoftheproduct. 5) Whataretherequisitesofeffectivesegmentation?

AnswerstoSelfAssessmentQuestions SelfAssessmentQuestions1 1. Marketsegmentation 2. Size 3. differentiability 4. Yes 5. True

SelfAssessmentQuestions2 1. Psychographicsegmentation 2. SplitLoyal 3. ConcentratedMarketing 4. Positioning 5. HardcoreLoyal

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AnswertoTerminalQuestions 1. Referto7.2&7.3 2. Referto7.6 3. Referto7.7 4. Referto7.8 5. Referto7.4

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