Wednesday, December 25, 2013

The Basics Regarding Behavioral Segmentation In Marketing

By Harriett Crosby


Behavioral segmentation describes a marketing strategy that has been around with us for a while now. It is only in the recent past, however, that the benefits of its use have been fully appreciated. In this marketing approach, the marketer divides the group of potential customers into a number of smaller groups. There are several criteria that are used to achieve this but the main one is the knowledge of the services or products by the customers. The pattern of responses exhibited by different customers also plays a major role in the categorization.

The use of market segmentation as a general marketing tool represents a major shift in doing business. The traditional way of reaching out to consumer was mainly through mass marketing. This method was very ineffective. In the mass marketing approach the entire pool of consumers was regarded as a single homogenous pool of customers. The message is sent out to the whole pool in the hope that a large number of potential customers will be reached.

There various types of behaviors frequently used in the creation of segments. Occasional buying refers to the act of buying goods or demanding for services at given times and at no other time. For example, the demand for Christian gifts tends to be particularly high at the time of Easter and Christmas. Similarly, cakes and chocolates sell highly during festivities. The business needs to recognize the presence of these buyers and to plan accordingly.

It is also to create segments that are sought by customers when using various goods or services. Different customers may have the same or different reasons for using products. This is especially common for goods that have multiple uses. There is a need to understand the groups that demand the product for each of the available benefits. The product may be modified in a manner to suit a group or groups of consumers.

Product or brand loyalty helps to keep a business going. It is a fairly common behavior among customers. To establish the presence of loyalty, a business needs to conduct research. It will be possible, after such research, to classify consumers into those who are loyal and those who are not. Efforts should be made to retain the loyal customers and to bring the not so loyal closer.

The usage rate of different customers is another criterion commonly used. For any given service or product, the rate usage is variable among different consumers. The main groups that can be considered are the heavy, the moderate and the light users. Usage rate can also be regarded in terms of quantity. This refers to the amount of goods that are bought at any given time.

Important marketing decisions can be made based on the usage rate segments. It is important to carry out research to establish the reasons behind the differences in usage rate among the various groups. Appropriate steps can then be taken depending on the findings. The heavy and moderate users can be rewarded with discounts so as to challenge the light users. More aggressive marketing campaigns may be needed to attract the light users.

Other than behavioral segmentation, there are many other ways in which a market can be segmented. Geographic, demographic and psychogenic characteristics can also be used. All the segments that have been created must be economically significant to warrant changes in product design otherwise such a move would result in unnecessary losses.




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