Segmentation in the Marketing - Assignment Example

International marketing Table of Contents Section Segmentation 4 Why we do it? 4 How you do it? 4 Steps to go through to do segmentation: 4 Example of Porsche 5 Issues in Segmentation 6 Benefits of Segmentation 6 Problems of Segmentation 6 Types and Differentiation of Segmentation: 6 Conclusion 7 Section 2: Public Relation (PR) 8 Why we do PR? 8 How we do it? 8 The steps you go through: 8 Types of PR 9 Problems of PR 10 Issues in PR 10 Benefits of PR: 10 Aims of PR 10 Why is PR important 10 Conclusion 11 Reference 12 Section 1: Segmentation Why we do it? ‘Segmentation’ represents a process by which a market is divided into submarkets called segments or target groups. Each segment is characterised by a homogenous set of consumer behaviour (Conrady & Buck, p.135). This is done to find out exactly what customer can the product can cater to. Segmentation allows developing target customers for a product. How you do it? Market segmentation is associated with country screening, global marketing research, decision making before entering a new market, developing the positioning strategies and formulating marketing mix policies. Steps to go through to do segmentation: While conducting the market segmentation, following steps need to be followed: Figure 1: The steps of Market segmentation (Source: Croft, 1994, p.7) First, the market should be segmented on the basis of customer behaviour; after that, the target market should be identified and finally policies should be developed for proper positioning of products. Example of Porsche The different psychographic groups identified by Porsche comprises of five main segments: the first segment comprises of people for them power and control matters a lot. The second segment comprises of elitist people that still follow the old mentality and for them a car is a car, no matter how expensive it is. The third segment represents people who got the ownership of the car with the money earned through hard effort. The fourth segment presents the passionate and thrill lover and the fifth segment comprises of those people who never prefer to impress others so often their car is unimpressive for others. Issues in Segmentation Segmentation has its own pros and cone. Market segmentation is done of the basis of inferences derived from the data collected for analysing the consumer behaviour. The entire process is falsified if the data are tampered or it is very small in size. Benefits of Segmentation Market segmentation helps to identify those target groups where the possibility of converting prospects into customers is high (Weinstein, 2004, p.15-16). Therefore, segmentation assists in understanding the customers’ requirements, developing new products to cater these needs and developing strategies. Problems of Segmentation Stability of the market segment in relation to time is one of the most influential issues. Characteristic of a target market often changes due to change in customer’s behaviour, reversal in the economic & political conditions or due to the advent of any new technology. Types and Differentiation of Segmentation: Geographical segmentation is done on basis of geographical location on the customers. Demographic segmentation is based on age, gender, education and income of the people. Psychographic segmentation takes into account factors like life style, social class and personality of the potential customer. Behavioural segmentation is based on customer’s purchasing behaviour (Conrady & Buck, 2008, p.135-141). Conclusion Segmentation is the primary tool that assists marketers and product managers to analyse the different customer groups. Segmentation is very critical for the success of a product because often a great product might fail due to incorrect segmentation. Section 2: Public Relation (PR) Why we do PR? PR can be defined as “the act of evaluating public opinion, and identifying your organization’s policies and practices with the interests of your audiences, followed by the development and execution of plans that earn public awareness, understanding, acceptance, support, and action” (Hiebing, 2004, p.364). How we do it? John Marston (1963) advocated RACE (research, action, communication and evaluation) as the necessary element in every PR process (Smith, 2004, p.9). With time, other researches gave few more acronyms related to PR. The steps you go through: Philips Kotler suggested four steps for effective PR. These are, “analysis of the environment, identification of the audience & objectives, development of a strategic approach and development of the implementation process” (Smith, 2004, p.10). The below given model illustrates the four phases and nine steps to be followed in an effective PR. Figure 2: Steps to be followed in PR (Source: Smith, 2004, p.10) Types of PR PR can be classified in two broad parts: technical section i.e., publication and the second is problem solver. The inter-relation between PR and marketing can be explained from the below given diagram: Figure 3: Interrelation between PR and Marketing (Source: Johnston & Zawawi, 2009, p.12) Problems of PR The chief dilemma of the PR is the conflict ensuing from the information that the organisation wants to convey to the public and what actually the public assumes. Negligence of this fact can destroy the good image of the company. Issues in PR PR strategies should also be modified with the changing market condition, so that they are effective in dealing with the contemporary conditions like culture, customer behaviour and legal issues. Benefits of PR: PR does help the organisation to develop healthy relation with its external as well as international stakeholders. PR assists in spreading awareness among the public about the products and the services offered. Through effective PR policies, companies differentiate their products from the rival companies’ products. Aims of PR The main aim of public communication is to develop a line of communication, understanding and cooperation between the organisation and its public. Every organisation must maintain a healthy PR with all its stakeholders to avoid misunderstanding between the organisation and its stakeholders. Why is PR important In the modern business, PR is important because it is the most influential way of communicating with the target customer of any company. PR is required let the outer world know of the inner information of a company. In this way, customers can be made to feel important by sharing relevant information with them. In some cases, enhanced PR activities can lead to higher sales for a company. Conclusion PR assists in retaining healthy relation with the public; however, it is quite important that the company undertakes benefits, issues and the problem associated with segmentation and public relation. A minor mistake can result in severe consequences for the organisation. Reference Conrady, R. & Buck, M. 2008. Trends and issues in global tourism 2008. Springer. Croft, M. J. 1994. Market segmentation: a step-by-step guide to profitable new business. Routledge. Hiebing. 2004. The Successful Marketing Plan:A Disciplined And Comprehensive Approach. Tata McGraw-Hill. Smith, R. D. 2004. Strategic planning for public relations. Routledge. Weinstein, A. 2004. Handbook of market segmentation: strategic targeting for business and technology firms. Routledge. Read More