Rediscovering Market Segmentation, Harvard Business Review & Analysis

Summary:

This report analyses the article which is for rediscovering the market segmentation and has been given by D. Yankelovich and D. Meer. This article introduced the idea of non-demographic segmentation wherein he stated that the consumers are classified as per the different criteria apart from residence, earnings, age, etc. The predictive capacity of marketing research as per demographics was not any more quite strong enough to act as a basis for marketing strategy. As per the article, the purchasing trend has become an enhanced way of predicting the future purchases of customers. Moreover, appropriately created nondemographic segmentation could assist the businesses in determining the goods to be developed, distribution channels to be used for selling, prices to be charged, and the way of advertising them. However, even after four decades, non-demographic segmentation has turned out to be only as non-instructive as demographic segmentation had been. Nowadays the approach applied is usually exclusive to accomplishing the requirements of advertising, which it offers usually for advertisements with characters so that one can relate with them.

The article shows that segmentation is useful for making strategic decisions for the benefit of the business and for driving profits. Segmentation is also useful to assess the potential buying behavior and does it can be used for senior management decision-making procedure. The article states that it is important to expand the uses of segmentation so that it not only informs about advertisements but also regarding product innovation, distribution prices pricing commerce channels of distribution, and many other aspects. Segmentation has a broader concept. Within this article, the facets of a great segmentation strategy have been explained. It also shows how segmentation has been useful for strengthening brand identity and having an emotional relationship with customers. This article also provided a recommended tool known as the gravity of decision spectrum which lays stress on the kind of customer behavior which would be useful for marketers.

It is right that psychographic forms such as “High-Tech Harry” and “Joe Six-Pack” might capture a little truth regarding actual people’s ways of living, outlooks, personalities, and objectives. However, they are not superior to demographics at forecasting buying behavior. Therefore they provide the corporate managers with very less suggestions of ways to retain clients or get new ones. In this article, there has been an argument among two authors regarding their views of non-demographic segmentation. They describe the elements of a smart segmentation strategy, explaining how segmentations meant to strengthen brand identity differ from those capable of telling a company which markets it should enter and what goods to make. They introduce their “gravity of decision spectrum,” a tool that focuses on the form of consumer behavior that should be of the greatest interest to marketers–the importance that consumers place on a product or product category.

In the chosen article, is critical evaluation of the elements of smart segmentation policy will be described and it will also explain the way segmentation is used for strengthening the brand identity and how it differs from those who can tell a business which market it has to get into and what kind of goods to be created. The two authors introduced the tool, as stated above which focuses on the kind of consumer behaviour that should be a focus for the marketers that is the significance that customers place on an item or the segment.

In this article, non-democratic segmentation was used which promoted the classification of customers as per the criteria apart from residence, age, income, and other common ones. Their outcome is not as much positive as market segmentation is till now not having appropriate implementation for looking for client behavior on the reason behind their purchasing of a good. Both explained the causes of failure like the stress on description of segments rather than description of buying Behavior for attributes of good, and there has been lesser stress laid on the customer Behavior for protecting their future purchases. There has been a strong detailing on the technical aspects that help in decision making and the choice of customers for purchase of an item. Through this article, the two authors look for successful segmentation which places stress on one or two key problems that a customer wants to resolve through the purchase of an item.

Pedagogical aim:

Currently, the companies usually investigate a huge number of factors that are connected with statistical processes and usually don't make any sense to marketing professionals and not to the customers because there isn't any relevant experience so this can lead to lower profitability in a few segments. These two authors stated a critical perspective on standard segmentation which is socio-economic aspects of demographic aspects which are rigid in a dynamic economic arrangement and do not give more opportunity for flexibility because of the steadily altering environment. Moreover, they demand re-assessing psychographics as aspects that can assist in shedding light on high motivation of why a customer purchases or doesn’t purchase an item although noting that “failings of psychographics … disappointments it has produced … must not cast doubt on the validity” (Yankelovich 2006:124). Segmentation exercise has to lay stress on towards exploration of the personality of clients rather than just performing grouping activities segregated by age, lifestyle, and earnings.

Looking for the personality, is the area in which desk research won't assist to a great extent and it is important to watch clients in straight contact with their item use, just by watching those practices one can outline and recognize personality characteristics that assist in making decisions regarding internal inspirations and the entrenched surroundings that form those purchasing decisions.

The article is relatively small and just exchanges a thought of what can be known as a reminder. Market segmentation should be viewed as "living being" and not as just the one "thing" a marketing official would do only to practice his stamp check.

The article does not use any references, different cases are stated but these are inadequate with regards to convenience regarding how psychographics assisted in implementation, and the procedure on the most proficient method to apply psychographics isn't identifiable. So, this leaves space for facilitating a literature study, and the quoted review on the unsatisfactory presentation of the segmentation exercise isn't referenced so can't be explored. Hire an expert from 'Assignment Help'.

References

Yankelovich, D. Meer.D, (2006), Rediscovering Market Segmentation, Harvard Business Review; Feb2006, Vol. 84 Issue 2, p122-131, 10p, 2 charts, 2

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