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Free Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Essay Sample
Marketing is one of the leading business pillars in every business. It purely entails the act of selling products and services to prospective members with the ideal aim of making a profit. This activity normally takes place under serious strategies that are laid down by the business holders. Several strategies are laid down in order to establish a firm and coherent connection between the seller and the buyer of any good that is of concern. Good business therefore entails what we call segmentation, targeting and positioning. Here, goods have to be sold at an agreed price that is within the reach of the buyer, yet again with an aim to make a reasonable price. The seller and the buyer will have to adhere to their needs before coming to an agreement on the level of pricing of the good, this basing on some factors as the demand and the supply curve (Winer 2010, pp. 87).
Sales techniques, communication in business and developments are the key features at the process of marketing. The buyer and the seller of any good have to come to a common ground on which to explore into the concepts that have to be of importance. Strong customer relations must exist within companies and any other business organisation. Marketing must be managed in such a way that ensures quality buying and selling. Many companies would love to participate in any business that is considered mature. For this to take place, the buyers and the seller of the concerned goods have to be at a common level in order to make sure that satisfaction is achieved at all times (Marshall 2009, pp. 2).
Segmentation, targeting and positioning are therefore some of the three stage processes that comprise marketing. Before carrying out any business, or rather establishing a business, first and foremost, one has to establish and know the kind of the customers that are existent within the heart of the business. This is critical and entails the art of segmentation. Secondly, one has to have the ability to select the ones that can be best served off. This entails the act of making sure that best customers are achieved in every endeavour of establishing a business. This includes the idea of targeting on the right customers. Finally, an individual has to have the ability and skill to implement the segmentation. This is normally done by the act of optimizing the products that are of major concern in the market. Moreover, communication is critical at this stage of marketing. An individual or business establishment has to market itself in the right realms in order to win the interests of the targeted customers at all levels of development. Therefore, the three terms can be critically introduced as follows: that segmentation entails the aspect of identifying meaningful and diverse customers who are of different groups, targeting majors on the kind of segments that can be best served within a group and finally, positioning involves the implementation of the chosen image and the making of appeals upon the chosen segments.
Research methods
The above research involved a tedious process that was aimed at establishing the right and timely responses to the above stated problems of the three stages in marketing: segmentation, targeting and positioning. Three methods of carrying out the research were of major concern. They involved the following: carrying out interviews, issuing of questionnaires and finally carrying out an objective project work upon a number of business establishments. (Baker & Hart 2007, 45)
The interview method involved the idea of going from one person or individual to another, asking various questions that were objective and carried in them some particular goals. Several interviewees were involved in the process of trying to find out how these businesses first took ground before getting to the levels that they have reached today. Correspondents were of major help at the process of trying to bring out the common aspects of segmentation, targeting and positioning involved by these businesses Ferrell, O. C. & (Ferrell & Hartline 2008, pp. 49). The results of the interview were all recorded in a systematic manner in wait for use. The second method that was involved in the research was issuing out questionnaires to the respondents who were to give out particular ideas to help in the study of the kind and the nature of the business. The questions in targeted at soliciting out information that could be in importance in studying marketing as concerns to the three stages of marketing. Finally, the other research method that was involved was that of carrying out a project upon a number of companies that had significant strategies in their developments (Weinstein 2004, pp. 79).
Literature review
Marketing segmentation has been practiced by many businesses and has yielded to the needs of several companies. The main aim of segmentation of a marketing or sales program in many establishments is to look unto the sub-groups of prospects who have a high potential to purchase your products or any other offering. When this stage is well managed and carried out, it will result in an improved or rather a high returns of the marketing sales or expenditure. When defining market segments, it will depend on the nature of the prospect to offer the products. This will be based on whether the prospect is an individual consumer or a business establishment as a company (Dalic 2007, pp. 98). An appropriate category of need as satisfied by the product at hand has to be established. There are various classifications that can be operated on as regards to these needs. Some of these classifications are based on the strategies laid down by the business, the nature of the operations that are of major concern in the business and specifically the functionality of the offerings that are of central concern. For the individual customer, the following are some of the features that have to be considered vehemently for segmentation to succeed. Some of them are the social esteem or pleasure that has to be satisfied in the consumer, and the functionality of the offering in the life of the consumer. In this perspective, the consumer should be in a position to feature out the way in which the offering has met his or her particular need (Oppermann 1997, pp. 654).
After considering these aspects, you mow move on with the process of segmenting the needs. You establish a need and gauge out who is likely to experience that particular need. This will largely rest upon the benefits that the seller has put on the offer and the need that the prospect is having at that particular time. The price of the product has to be reduced to a reasonable level. This is when the prospects are in businesses that are downsizing. The cash flow should be made to flow. This is particularly when the prospect is a business that has been operating in low profit margins for a long period of time, yet with high levels of inventories, or individuals who are living in expensive estates. The productivity should be improved. This will specifically gather for the prospects who are of low profit margins or hosts large families. Some of the other classifications are those of improving the quality of manufacturing, improvement of the delivery of the services, improvement of the working conditions of the workers and also the involvement with the trends of the society among others (Webster 1995, pp. 45).
The market has to be divided into different homogeneous groups basing on the nature of consumers. The seller should not offer a similar mix of marketing to the different consumers. There should be some difference as regards to the different consumers in the market. This will enable the seller to tailor particular goods to the specific customers hence winning their levels of satisfaction. This is a strategy that helps in planning out the necessary elements of marketing mix with an aim to better the entire business. There are some of the characteristics that a business segment has to be conversant with: it has to be measurable, accessible by all the communication and distribution channels that are available, has to be durable with time and finally, it has to be substantial enough in order to be profitable to the seller (Weinstein 2004, pp. 79). There are various levels in which a business can be segmented. Some of them are as follows:
Consumer market segmentation
The fundamental aspect of segmentation is keeps on varying among various groups in the market. There are specifically four bases in which a customer market can be segmented. They include the following: geographical segmentation. This is where segmentation is based on the variables in the region as climate, the population density and also the growth rate of the population, the demographic segmentation: this is where segmentation is based on some variables such as age, ethnicity, the age of an individual and also the income and family status among others, psychographic segmentation: this is where segmentation is done basing on variables as the lifestyles, the values and the attitudes of some people in one particular area, behavioural segmentation: this is where segmentation is based on variables such as the usage rate, the sensitivity of the price, the loyalty of the brand and also the benefits that are sought by the seller of the particular product, among other bases of segmentation (Schenck pp. 48).
When a research is carried out over a business, one is able to establish business market segmentation depending on the optimal bases of the particular situation. The segmentations can be those of geographic, customer type or even buyer behaviour. All these are the resultant products of carrying out segmentation having got to a particular marlet and done some research aimed at establishing the best possible ways of making sure that the customers have all been satisfied (Bly 1998, pp. 154)
It is now clear that before an individual or a company gets involved in business, and specifically aims to sell a particular product, it has to first and foremost get into the market. Secondly, an individual has to carry out research over the nature of the market before delivering the good or the service to the market. The process of segmentation normally starts with the identification of subsets of buyers who have particular needs and as a result of this, they demonstrate a particular behaviour. This is due to a fact that the world is full of people who have different tastes of life, likewise to the kind of the goods that they would like to purchase. Segmentation has one particular aim of matching the consumers, or rather buyers in different groups of needs. These groups or sub-groups are referred to as segments. It normally takes an example of an orange that has been divided into several sections that may or may not be of similar shapes. It can also be represented as a pie chart that depicts the various levels in which consumers behave in the market (Morris 2001, pp. 35-41).
Segmentation has often been used as a tool of evaluation of the nature of the consumers in the market. This is the specific reason why there are no two equal segmentations for two different markets. This is because of the fact that customer behaviour cannot be similar for any two or more market situations (Hollensen 2010, pp. 51).
It is the role of a company to examine different segments basing on the nature of the success of that particular business, and also the level of the success that has to be attained by the seller. The opportunities will thus depend on number of factors as the growth rate of the segment, the competitive nature of the segment with the other segments and also the amount of the profit that the segment will yield, the size of the segment, how the segment is in line with the direction of the company and also how the segment is in line with the vision and the mission of the company (Madura 2006, pp. 65).
In most businesses, the marketing orientation is based on the focus of the customers. Many business markets in the world are now focusing on the meeting the needs that customers have with an aim of winning their interests. It is a real world strategy in marketing that specifically evolved from the concepts of academic investigations by the late Wendell smith. At the moment, segmentation plays key roles in both large (even global) and small businesses. Other service organisations have also embraced the concept of building up a market muscle that will attach all the organisations whether making profits or not. This is specifically practised in the United States of America companies and organisations. The escalation of the costs of businesses in many parts of the world has necessitated that sellers of products match their products with the desires that the customers assume at all times. Moreover, they have to do this with an eye to be one step ahead of the other business establishments in the world. This process is therefore a science and an art (McDaniel, 2007, pp. 32).
This is the next stage after carrying out segmentation. It is normally preceded by segmentation as it takes place efficiently with the success of the segmentation stage. After the segments have been established, their differences are ignored then the seller will choose to aim at one particular product to fit in all the segments that have been established. This is the aim of then entire market. This characteristic is normally common with mass marketing that is exemplified by many businesses and companies in the American states. This is where the differentiation is less important than the cost of the product. The target market is the particular group of individuals, organisations or even companies who takes the preference of the producer and determines the nature and mode of selling that will be epitomised by the seller or the giver of the product or the service. The seller of a particular good will thus aims at satisfying the needs of these people who forms the target market (DeBonis & Peterson 2007, pp. 120).
Targeting is an important feature that enables the business to dwell in the maximisation of the needs of the customers in case of a high demand and a low supply. When efficient targeting is done, the business will not miss the point of ensuring maximum yields at the end of each and every year. It also promotes the growth of the business (Hooley 2008, pp. 56-89).
The term positioning is refers to an act of perpetually locating the business at the prospect of marketing its products. The main aim of carrying out this process is to make sure that the product of the business fits well in the market. Potential customers are supposed to be reached and made to get acquainted with the business and the products so that they will be able to get to them at their own convenience. It is a common thing that happens in daily life that individual position themselves in locations that will give them comfort all the time, and be able to access the necessities of life without any difficulty. This is an aspect that has been borrowed by the business world. It is a stage in establishing a business after carrying out what we call the segmentation and targeting of the business and the customers. Customers are always a bulwark to every business establishment and sustenance. It is therefore a necessity that they are kept coming for more and more of the goods, and that they always get the best of the products that they are in need of. Positioning is one of the features that can be done to make sure that this is achieved (Ries & Trout 2000, pp. 79-84).
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Positioning is an aspect that helps to reveal the true nature of the business, its start and where it is likely to end in. it reveals the uniqueness of the business as related to the existing market. The moment an individual has got the true nature of himself, he is presumed to take the necessary measures to make sure that the best is always revealed. Business and marketing use this principle in making sure that most customers are attracted and retained as far as the business is in existence (Peter 2010, pp. 3-7).
Image creation is a critical feature in the field of marketing. Positioning is a tool that has been used by many companies when dealing with marketing their products to the outside businesses, both locally and internationally. The image here is a blue print or rather a representation of what business intents to look like at the end of the day. It also entails all the plans that can be done to make a business what it wants to be and also what it aims to do at any particular time. Self positioning is therefore very essential to a business and especially at the process of marketing its products (Myers 2010, pp. 56).
A business should be situated in a position that will enable all the customers, both existing and non-existing to access the goods and services that are being offered by the business offered. This has been giving the entrepreneurs an opportunity to transform into market positions. There are various defining elements that are used to position a business. They include the following:
Ø Price: this depends on the level of and the nature of the product in the market, for instance, a product can be considered a luxury, a moderate or a cheap one depending on the stipulated price.
Ø Quality: this refers to the nature of the production of the product in the market. They mostly dwell on the control mechanisms that have been laid on the ground to ensure consistency of the quality of the product. Moreover, it centres on whether the business backs warranties and policies to safeguard the customers and the products as a whole (Brinckerhoff 2010, pp 45-50).
Ø Service: this exemplifies the activities that are done to the customers apart from letting them enjoy the products of the company. The products should be personalised and also customized to avoid piracy, hence taking care of the needs of the customers at all times.
Ø Distribution: this entails the channels through which the customers are able to get the products. The channels should be convenient and efficient to the customers, whether they are from far or near the location of the business.
Ø Packaging: packaging takes care of the brand name and the mission that the company has to itself and to all the customers. Packaging should be done in a way that will enable the customers to easily fall in love with the products of the company and thereby purchase them and enjoy using them. Positioning is therefore a complex strategy as it reveals the strengths and the weaknesses of the business.
Segmentation, positioning and targeting are the three features that are relevant in marketing situations. They are the tools that are used to make sure that customers are not only purchasing items of a particular company, but also that they are able to come back and purchase them again. Having created the segments and targeted on a specific one that forms the market of the product, positioning will make sure that the customer comes for the product with no hesitation (Winston 1982, pp. 45).
One of the companies that have embraced the idea of segmentation, targeting and positioning is the Pepsi Company. It deals with the production of the carbonated cola drinks, and has been doing well since it initiated the idea of the three strategies of marketing. It has involved a number of variables at the process of segmentation. They include the following: geographic variables: it has expanded its brands to a number of countries as all the major cities, the urban and the hot and dry parts of Pakistan, demographic factors: the company has made sure that it produces that are used by people of all sexes, male and females, married and the unmarried, of different educational backgrounds, of different religion and also people of different nationalities, psychographic factors: the company produces products and delivers to all people of different classes in the society and different lifestyles, and finally the behavioural factors: the company has made sure that it produces products that fit in different occasions, that are of significant benefits an those which improves the loyalty status of the people who use them. (Keller 2007, pp. 65)
The company has done positioning of its business with many considerations. The company produces the following products, soft drinks as coca cola, juices as pulpy and nestle, local drinks as Amrat and also energy drinks as the red bull and the cott.
Pepsi Company targets most of the young people. Its products have a large market with the young generation of people between the ages of 14 to 30. It has also extended its target to students in the colleges, universities, homes, restaurants, hotels and even stores. It therefore never discriminates (Hooley 2008, pp. 91).
Summary and conclusion
Segmentation, targeting and positioning are the main features that express the nature of the growth of a business. Many companies and small businesses have failed to perform due to failure to adhere to the three aspect of marketing. The market is getting dynamic day after day, yet with the many challenges that are supposed to be trounced by the companies and small brokers. Efficient and up to date strategies have to be involved in order to register survival mechanisms in any business. The changing technology has brought rampant changes in the field of business and specifically in marketing. Maximum care must therefore be embraced for the business to endure. The three aspects of marketing have played a role in helping small and large businesses overcome the daily struggles of marketing (Kotler 2001. Pp. 78)
Segmentation is a critical feature that ensures the right market is identified among a variance of markets. Targeting is a tool that brings about selecting one of the segments that best suits the product at hand. Finally, positioning enables an individual to locate the business in such a way that it will gain maximally from all the people and across the world.
