In Marketing, capturing the right customer base is a lot like winning in darts – one needs to hit the target straight on. To do that, we must follow the philosophies of Market Segmentation. Defining the age, location and profile of your intended customer base is crucial – otherwise you are wasting your time. You’ve got to hit the bullseye in this industry. Understanding market segmentation is vital, first and foremost. Then, one can examine the tools we can use to harness the right target market.
Understanding the Market Segments
When performing market research and learning the best category or “segments” that would best fit a new product, a firm needs to understand some key points to remember. First and foremost, always keep in mind the four major market segments: Demographic, Geographic, Psychographic and Behavioral. Demographics are defined as personal categories such as age, gender, income, occupation, education and marital status (Kardes 2020). Our shopping and living habits are usually in relation to one or more of these categories. However, when we seek to market towards one or more of these demos, we must never fall into a trap of stereotyping. We don’t want to pigeon-hole our own customer base and make too many assumptions based on these personal characteristics. That truly is one of thee most important points to remember when marketing.
Geography is the second marketing segment. One region or area in the country may be more geared towards outdoor activities in a warmer climate as compared to Northern states. Californians probably kayake and surf more than Alaskans whereas Anchorage residents buy more heavy coats than a local Mom living in San Diego.
Psychographic is the next market segment. It depicts the measurement of lifestyle, attitudes, beliefs, and social values (Kardes 2020). One’s lifestyle is a means to describe simply how we live -our hobbies and interests and our core belief system. Understanding our customers on the inside can not only help market to them now but also in the future.
Lastly, the Behavioral segment focuses on our consumers buying habits with similar products – how they use it, how much the like it and their propensity to purchase the product again. All of this can be used to create a buyer persona, or a “customer profile” to whom we seek to target.
Marketing Tools
By understanding the how and what of marketing segments, one can put together a plan of attack in order to seize their audience. The next step is to utilize the right tools in order to find this audience. Market research is required first. This can come in many differerent ways, however. Here are few examples of how one could focus in on the right target market for one’s brand or product:
- Conduct research surveys either via phone or at malls gaining perspective on the product or service you’re introducing
- Engage with customers on social media outlets such as Snapchat, twitter, Facebook and Instagram
- Use digital marketing analytical tools / programs i.e. Google Analytics that provide one with consumer breakdowns / analytics to define a demo and target them by reaching them in the right platform and the right time (traffic on social media is higher at lunch times and after work hours so capitalize on that)
- Pew research center is a great site to use as well; this provides datasets on a host of topics
- Statista is another site that can be used to harness one’s target audience
- Utilizing SEO, or search engine optimization, such that our brand is widely seen with users searching for beard grooming kits and key search words that would entail beard upkeep
References:
Kardes, Frank, et al. Consumer Behavior. Cengage Learning US, 2020. [MBS Direct].
