Consider the criteria for the segmentation before you draw any lines. Seasoned marketers divide segmentation methods into seven types.
- Geography
Country, continent, city, or others.
- Demography
Gender, age, occupation, and other similar aspects.
- Behavior
An individual's usage, loyalty, attitude, knowledge, or other behaviors.
- Lifestyle
Activities, interests, and opinions of the individual.
- Culture
Sometimes more precise than geographical segmentation.
- Occasion
Analyzes the occasion in which product is bought.
- Benefit
The benefit a customer derives from the product.
Choose a method based on the product or service itself. Each must consider their own selling points. Unilever has multiple products that are very similar in function yet are packaged differently based on a segmentation style. Soaps from Unilever are typically segmented based on demography. Their food and beverages division segment based on lifestyle, culture, and demography.
Focus on the various tangible and intangible attributes customers associate with the product. Understanding these qualities will help you choose the method to segment your market.
Market research using a survey is the best way to segment the target market. A survey gives you a better picture of the product from the customer perspective. It also can help you segment customers based on the attributes they desire from the product. These attributes, sectioned by customers, is the segment you seek.
For example, running a survey on men in the west coast of the US, we might discover that different age groups prefer different attributes in their deodorant. We might also discover that certain sections of these men prefer perfumes over deodorants. A closer study of the data would reveal the various segments, their preferences, and give you a great starting point for your marketing efforts.
Sometimes, you need more answers than your contacts can give you. To reach more respondents you could consider using a research panel. They are groups of verified people, with varied cultural, demographics and geographic backgrounds, who would be willing to be part of your research.
Zoho Survey's Buy Responses feature helps you pick a panel based on demographic, economic, and geographic attributes, and quickly collect responses for your research.
What are the external characteristics of the segment?
a) Geographic
b) Demographic
c) Lifestyle
d) Economic and social statusWhat are the internal characteristics of the segment?
a) Culture
b) BehaviorWhat are the attributes that they love/hate in products and services?
Who makes the purchase decision?
What was their past behavior during purchase?
a) Brand Loyalty
b) Evaluation methods of product/service
c) Attribute trade-off
Question 1 : Can we attribute a profile to the segment?
Question 2 : Can we reach the segment to deliver our products?
Question 3 : Is the segment large enough to justify producing the product?
Question 4 : Can a profit be made from the segment?
Answers to all four questions must be a 'Yes'. There is a potential target market only if the segment can be profiled, reached, and profited from. If, for example, we can not profile our segment, we would not be able to tailor marketing strategies for them, defeating the purpose of segmentation.
Zoho Survey's features help you cut time and resources spent in the segmentation process. With varied question types, customizable themes, logics you can craft the best survey that will lead to honest and accurate responses. Thus, helping you make the right decisions for your business.
