Gender a company which segments itself down to gender is an insurance company Sheila’s Wheels it offers insurance only to women this allows them to offer cheaper insurance because the majority of claims come from males.
Income an example of a business that segments its products to people of a certain income would be the Burj Dubai Hotel it was rumoured to be so expensive to build and run it will never make a profit. The purpose of it was to build the reputation of the city this is aimed at powerful and rich people. Also at the other end there is C and C lemonade it very cheap and would be a favourable for people who do not have such a high income.
Geographical Location an example of a product which is segmented for these specific terms would be Wellington boots these would be specifically made for people who live in the countryside.
Buying Habits peoples buying habits can also help segment them. The business would get repeat purchase due to them meeting expectations. Nike would get a lot of repeat purchases they realise that they may need to pay a little extra but they will get better value for money.
Family Life Cycle
This is based on the idea that the structure, membership and lifestyle of a family changes over time, with the age of the individual.
Bachelorhood this is young people not living at home.
Newly married, young, no children
Full nest 1, young children under 6
Full nest 2, youngest child six or over
Full nest 3, older married couple, with dependent
Empty Nest 1, older married couples, no children at home, head of family retired
Empty Nest 2, older married couples, no children at home, head of family retired
Solitary Survivor, old person living on their own, partner passed away
Compare Full Nest 1 with Empty Nest 2 with regards to products and services required and income levels.
Benefit Segmentation
This segmentation criterion can be applied when customer seek different benefits from a particular product.
For example, the fruit drink market could be segmented by benefits sought by customers. The leading product in the vitamin drinks would be ribena, in the low calories drink it would be diet squash, in natural ingredients would be pure orange juice and the low cost section would be mainly supermarkets own brand.
Purchase Behaviour
Customers can be segmented into groups due to their purchase behaviour this involves putting them into two groups usually. When you separate customers into loyal customers and switchers you can target the loyal customers offer them rewards for their loyalty and try different advertising or incentives with switchers.
Branding
Branding is the process which companies distinguish their product offerings from the competition. This can be done by a logo like Nike have the swoosh and Addidas have the three strips also a slogan can be used Nike “just do it” Addidas “impossible is nothing”.
Benefits of strong brands
To the seller
- Consumer perceptions and preferences
People relate to brand names they see the brand name and base there opinion on their reputation. People purchase Coca Cola or its other products because they no it they’ve had it before they know it nice and it’s a reliable and trustworthy brand. As opposed to some supermarket brands that they haven’t heard of people are prepared to pay a bit extra for quality.
The key to achieving this is to using the marketing mix and getting the 4 p’s right. All successful businesses do this Carlsberg have done this to perfection the past few years I would imagine sales would have increased dramatically they have become more famous around the UK they Sponsor Liverpool fc, catchy slogan and also they can be purchased almost in every pub now.
Quality is big deal people want to buy something and know it will last or it is fit for its purpose. The one thing I would definitely look for a quality certification on when I bought something would be meat I would look for cee stamp I would like to know that the product I’m about to purchase is of the standard I expect it to be.
Loyal customers is what products need in order to be successful. I am a loyal customer to Nike I always buy Nike football boots also footwear for everyday trainers. This is because I have never had any problems with them they are of a high standard and look fashionable aswell. I would not mind paying abit extra in order to buy the branded goods because of my positive experiences with the company