What are three reasons for segmentation Which segmentation approach is the best and why - Essay Example

What are three reasons for segmentation Which segmentation approach is the best Why Market segmentation is the separation of bigger markets into smaller more easily known segment types. There are many reasons for market segmentation these include; Geographical The most likely cause for geographical segmentation is that the product appeals to a certain geographical area. If a business is selling snow boots then they would market an area where there is heavy snow fall. Demographical The most likely cause for demographical segmentation is that the product appeals to the personal characteristics of the customers such as age, gender, race, income, life stage, occupation, and education level. A clothing company might produce clothing that appeals to teenagers. Psychographic The most likely cause for Psychographic segmentation is the personality traits, attitudes, interests, or lifestyles of potential customer groups. A company might develop an environmentally friendly product aimed at the more environmentally focussed consumer. It is difficult to define the best segmentation approach since it is dependent on the client group and their specific needs. If the product appeals to a particular lifestyle need; a piece of exercise equipment for example, then lifestyle segmentation would be ideal. Deciding the best segmentation method can be difficult, but it depends on the particular benefit for that business objective. If the business objective is a new product development it is essential to understand how customers group together according to their particular needs. The outcome of this would influence the best segmentation approach. Mishkin, F. & Eakins, S. (2009) You are the deacon of a small non-denominational church. Your minister has just left, and your congregation is down by over 11% in the past year. You have just received news that an electronics firm plans to relocate 500 families to your town. You are tasked with making a plan for increasing church membership since you are a marketing manager. Describe your plan. As the deacon of a small non - denominational Church. I have been asked to write a marketing plan to increase Church membership. Following is the summary of the main points of this marketing plan. The Church will change its focus to differentiate itself from Churches in the area and improve membership by filling the need of the electronics firm employee's and families. Our marketing challenge is to position our Church to reach the new families and cater to their interests and needs. As a Church we would teach the word of God by offering electronic courses sharing the word of the Gospel and giving tracts to those attending. The Church serves its members as a trusted friend, providing for their needs and the needs of their families. We ensure our members have what they need to function spiritually and to increase their well being. It is the Churches duty to ensure the interests of the members are met and therefore surveys will be sent to each potential member to discover their interests, age, gender, ethnicity, and potential needs. Letters will be sent out to let people know that the Church is here should they need us. We also need to concentrate on developing a clear vision for the future of the Church. The objectives of the Church are to increase membership this is likely to result in increased Church profits. In these circumstances the Church would be able to carry out more outreach projects. The consequence of this is that we would have to develop a strategy for exploring the potential user needs of our new members. The most appropriate solution would be to create a new vision with detailed actions that need to be fulfilled. Essentially a clear, workable action plan needs to be formulated to give clear roles and responsibilities of participants involved with creating the Churches new vision. Therefore a list of expectations needs to be created to give the Leadership Team a way of measuring the success and progress of the project. If the Church is successful in gaining new members there will be potential volunteers to help with supporting the Church growth in the future. Because there will be new members within the Church individuals will have different needs. Research will need to be carried out to break members into groups of particular interests and needs. A segmentation strategy would be appropriate and Cell Church would be the perfect way to meet members needs. Cell Church could be separated into particular individual needs. We need a clear action plan that will concentrate on reaching a new market. A new Church vision with a specific marketing message will provide a good impression and welcome new members based on their needs. We need to develop our mission statement, communicate it, and concentrate on Church membership. Explain the following terms in relation to marketing: - Ethnographic Study - Employee Loyalty - Marketing Mix - Positioning - Stimulus and anchor Ethnographic Study Ethnographic study researches particular behavioral roles and thinking of a certain culture. A business may seek to understand who people are and what their culture practise's to promote the business to their distinct needs. Employee Loyalty Keeping employee's loyal is difficult in any business setting. Employees need to experience job security in order to stay loyal to the company. Marketing Mix The marketing mix is the term given to the combination of marketing methods product, price, place (distribution) and promotion. The marketing communications mix includes; advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and publicity/public relations. Positioning Is the term given to the way in which a business recognizes their product or service from that of their competitors. It is the specific image of the product or brand. Stimulus and anchor An anchor is used as an amplifier in sales discussions to form a psychological connection with the product. During the sales discussion the sales person will use the anchor several times and usually conclude by using the purposefully positive anchors. A stimulus is used to influence a customer into purchasing a product. Often the anchor is used as the stimulus to drive a customer to purchase the product. Explain which products/services you would market to fulfill each of the "needs" in Maslow's Hierarchy. What is meant by "dissonance reducing behavior" and how can it be used as an effective sales tool Maslow studied human behavior and the marketer can make use of this. By using the different needs of Maslow's Hierarchy. At the bottom level of Maslow's Hierarchy is the physiological need of hunger and thirst. Therefore I would market soft drinks and fast food to fulfill this need. The next need in Maslow's Hierarchy is the human need for safety. As a business I would market burglar alarms, door locks, insurance products and investment schemes. The consequence of this human need being fulfilled would lead to the next need of belonging in a group. To cater for this group I would market perfume, aftershave, sports wear and ethnic jewelery. Once this need has been fulfilled the next level is that for esteem needs to be met. Therefore I would market designer clothing, exquisite jewelery and luxury holidays. Self-actualization is the top level need in Maslow's Hierarchy. To cater for this need I would market health supplements, cosmetic surgery, musical instruments and self help books. Dissonance behavior occurs when a customer has to choose between two incompatible beliefs or actions. The most influential dissonance occurs when the two alternatives are similarly attractive. The effect of dissonance behavior can be beneficial for the sales person. An experienced salesman will try to change the customers attitude by making the alternatives more attractive. The salesman will increase the incentive of purchasing the product. For example, a customer might be deciding on purchasing an expensive car, but the car isn't very comfortable on long journeys therefore the salesman would play on the customers attraction to the car for short distances and to show off to friends and family. Brehm, J. & Cohen, A. (1962) How is business to business marketing different that marketing to consumers Tell how each of the following pertains to business to business marketing as if you were a "national accounts manager": Buyer, Purchasing Manager, User, Approved Supplier, Level of Authorization, Specifier, Gatekeeper. Business to business marketing is aimed at one business to another whereas business to consumer marketing is aimed at one business to the consumer. A national accounts manager is responsible for coordinating the sales between a national account. It is my responsibility to create, invent and market products or solutions to a particular business need. As a buyer I would be responsible for purchasing products within the company. I would need to research products and negotiate business to business buying and selling. I would be my responsibility to deal with suppliers and make orders. As a purchasing manager it would be my duty to do the ordering within the company and also to negotiate commercially and chase orders. As a user I would be responsible for ensuring products appeal to users needs, characteristics and behaviours. I would be involved during the entire design process of the product. As an approved supplier it would be my duty to supply businesses with products. I would approve suppliers, distributors and manufacturers within the company. An authorization group is used in marketing planning. They are a group that functions at different authorization levels this can be marketing plan level and campaign or trade promotion level. The authorization group allows the company to decide which users can change the different types of marketing project. The specifier allows manufacturers to bring awareness of their products. They bring awareness of the products features and benefits and help during the design stage of the product. They also must ensure that the contractor stays within the specified elements of the product. Gatekeeper The gatekeeper is the person responsible for providing information from the mass media to the business. They manage the amount of information to members of the buying centre. Brehm, J. & Cohen, A. (1962). Explorations in Cognitive Dissonance. New York: Wiley Mishkin, F. & Eakins, S. (2009) Financial Markets and Institutions. 6th ed. Prentice Hall Read More