Marketing Segmentation A Market segmentation means dividing a market for goods or services into distinct subdivisions. It takes a vague undistinguished group of consumers and uncovers those who have similar needs, those who make purchases or use products or services in the same. A market segment is a subgroup of people sharing similar consumer characteristics. And because each segment shares the same attitudes and behaviors, they generally respond the same to a given marketing strategy. B Markets can be divided in many ways. Small segments are sometimes called niche or specialty markets. One broad distinction is between industrial (business) and consumer markets. Despite overlaps in approach, the segmentation processes for these two separate markets can be quite distinct. Market also involves helping to choose which segments to focus on, or designing an appropriate set of ways to approach each market segment, or planning ways and methods to address the competition. C After identifying similar groups among customers and potential customers, the next goal of market segmentation is to prioritise which groups to address so as to best maximize market results. And then, to craft appropriate marketing strategies that satisfy the different consumers’ preferences of each segment. D The process of market segmentation is to study, define, attract, serve and hold segment or segments of the market which the company can most effectively and profitably address. Since the needs of customers, and how they decide between to choose one product or service over another, are shared by similar individuals in a segment, companies can use that to find groups of consumers that share those similar buying habits and criteria and study them in depth and address and satisfy them better. In that way the company can determine which groups of customers it can best and most profitably serve and which of its products and services can outstrip the competition in dominating that target market. Products or services should vary and serve different groups of consumers.