How to segment your target market to maximize reach and results

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Market segmentation is a strategy of classifying larger group of target audience (current and potential customers) into smaller and objective-driven groups sharing similar characteristics such as age, income, values, behavioural & personality traits, consumption habits, benefits sought and so on. Segmenting your target market provides you with a deeper understanding of your target audience. This distilled knowledge, in turn, is helpful in product development; product positioning; packaging design; pricing strategy; sales & marketing strategy; advertising communication; customer engagement; and smart targeting on social media. Effective segmentation can help you in reaching out to the defined audience with remarkably higher accuracy, that too in a lesser budget.

Let’s understand this with an example. A popular snack brand Soulfull recently launched a new product Millet Smoothix – a multi-nutrient powder in which you just add milk or water and drink.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky6cvghzefk (click this link to see the video TVC)

The product is launched in handy sachets instead of larger packets which is industry norm. Both, the product and the packaging, reflect innately upon the brand’s deeper understanding of consumption habits (busy professionals finding comfort in grab-and-go snack) and benefits sought (easy to carry, quick to consume, and full of healthy ingredients).

According to a study companies that used effective segmentation strategies witnessed 10% higher profit compared to those companies whose segmentation wasn’t as effective. Research also suggests that targeted email marketing can drive up to 8% Click Though Rate (CTR) where as broadcast emails drive only 3% CTR.

Here are some of the most tried and tested bases for market segmentation in order to maximize reach and results.

Geographic Segmentation

In this type of segmentation consumers are classified based on their geographical location. People living in different geographical regions have different interests and preferences. For example people living in metro may readily spend after a premium cosmetic brand, but the same brand may not strike a chord in rural market.

 

Demographic Segmentation

Here, market is segmented based on demographic variables such as age, gender, education, occupation, economic strata, family size and more. It draws from the fact that our needs, pocket size, consumption habits etc. vary in tandem with our demographic characteristics. Along with geographic, demographic segmentation is the most popular market segmentation strategy.

 

Psychographic Segmentation

In psychographic segmentation, consumers are divided in different groups based on their psychological traits like attitude, lifestyle, personality, values et al. This segmentation is trickier and a little difficult to execute than earlier ones as here the attributes upon which consumers are bifurcated are somewhat intangible. One example of this strategy can be selling sugar-free energy drinks to gym-goers; as they are fitness and health conscious, they are likely to relate with a product which offers a health benefit.

 

Behavioural Segmentation

Behavioural segmentation means organizing your consumer base with respect to their buying behaviour i.e. awareness, buying pattern, buying occasion, benefits sought, consumption habit, consumption quantity and loyalty. For example brands can use segmentation based on consumption quantity to target those consumers whose consumption habits are not frequent (light buyers) with advertisements showcasing more ways and occasions to consume the product. Alike psychographic segmentation, here also attributes of segmentation are not concrete.

 

To segment consumers based on these strategies, you require a huge and reliable data base, which can be obtained through consumer research. Data gathered from sources like accounting department and customer relationship department can also be helpful. Moreover, you can also purchase ready database from reputed sources.

You can choose to segment your target audience on the basis of variables which are most suitable to your specific need. Each segmentation strategy has its own set of benefits however using these segmentation strategies in combination with one another will yield the most exciting results. To know more about us visit our website https://www.purplephase.in/ or for any query on this blog write us on info.purplephase@gmail.com