Define market segmentation and describe the management tasks

Define market segmentation and describe the management tasks involved in applying the concept. Select a product (other than toothpaste) about which you are fairly knowledgeable and develop a preliminary description of possible benefit segments following the structure presented in Exhibit 15.3. Identify potential advantages and problems associated with marketing to benefit segments. Use the VALS^TM categories to suggest marketing strategies for psychographic segments of buyers for hotel/motel services. Consider person/situation segmentation as a way to view the snack food market. State the needs and objectives of consumers in situations for at least three segments that you identify. Explain each of the five approaches to product positioning and offer an example (not in the text) for each approach. How does the concept of segmentation relate to positioning strategies? What options are available to the organization after it identifies segments in the market? When would eac

Solution

Ans-1

Market segmentation is the process of dividing the whole market according to the demography into different segments. It helps the company to focus their marketing strategies according to the segmet they are going to offer their products.

Ans-2

The product chosen is LCD tv. the benefit of this product is that it saves electricity and takes less space too as compared to conventional TV\'s.

Ans-3

The advantage of focused marketing to a segment is cost saving. and the major disadvantage is for the product to get marketd to a particular segment when it is of general chracter.

Ans-4

VALS is different for different people. Lets take income as an example. If you are a person with high income your lifestyle would probably include habits of the SEC A class such as dining out of home frequently and that too in top class restaurants, wearing only branded clothes and buying the best cars out there. Whereas if you are a middle class income group consumer, you would be more wary of spending money and would rather concentrate on savings.

Ans-5

The three segments that we have are:

1. The college goers.

2. Housewives

3. Teenagers

Ans-6

Step 1: Understand your target market

Step 2: Understand your competition

Step 3: Map buying criteria against competitive positioning

Step 4: Assess your product’s strengths against the buying criteria

Step 5: Analyze the gaps

Ans-7

Market segmentation provides important impetus to position the product in the market. That is how both of them are related.

Ans-8

The options that are available are:

1. Define different strategies to segments.

2. Use proper marketing for the same.

3. Target the groups as per the life style.

Ans-9

They differ in terms of the scope of using the strategies. In a large firms the scope of using and gettings results are much large as compared to a small firm which only would cater to a smaller segment.