Thus, the needs are different for different customers and a company cannot accommodate all the demands into one product. There have been various studies that have been conducted and these show that companies which choose one group of customers over another tend to be more successful. Segmentation is not a simple decision and in a number of cases it requires the companies to take extremely tough choices. In the case of the water company, segmentation involves considering a number of different variables.
These include the factors like, a) sales of the retailer, b) demand for bottled water in the area, and many more. It would be completely useless for the company to choose an area where the demand for water is least and the supply is high. Hence proper segmentation becomes as essential aspect of the business and allows for higher revenues to be earned as well. Targeting: The next step that needs to taken is targeting. This is where the companies target one or more segments. The choice of the target markets is based on a number of factors.
This includes analyzing the existing segments that are catered to by other manufacturers. For the water company this would be a relatively easier task as it can use the target markets of the competitors and use this to build the strategic plans. Once the company is able to understand the needs of the markets this task becomes relatively much easier. Positioning: This involves the implementation of the previous section, i.e. Targeting. One of the best examples of this is of Apple Computers. The company has created a brand image for itself by high number of advertisements.
It has positioned itself in the markets as computers for ‘non geeks’. Consider the positioning that Evian Mineral water has created for itself in the market. This is one of main reasons for the success of the company. A new start company is developing a new range of consumer products (you should identify a
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