Wednesday 22 January 2014

The Basics Regarding Behavioral Segmentation

By Judy Sullivan


Consumers have a lot of similarities among them. The differences are also many and significant. Having differences of opinion, preferences and tastes is part of human nature. We have differences in our genetic make-up, our cultural practices, religious beliefs and so on. In the same way, we view services and products that have been placed up for sale. In behavioral segmentation, the marketer divides their pool of customers into smaller groups based on their differences and similarities.

The traditional way of marketing is rather straightforward but has poor returns. The marketing involves targeting the entire pool of consumers regardless of any differences that exist between them. The marketer sends out a message to all the potential consumers in the hope of reaching out to willing buyers. This is different from the segmentation approach where different groups of customers are treated differently depending on their specific demands.

There are several types of behaviors that one may choose to use in the stratifying the market. There are really no hard and fast rules about these. All that you need to do is to identify the determinants of the demand for your goods. Product loyalty varies widely among clients. By identifying the groups of loyal and the less loyal customers, several segments can be created on this basis. The next this is to identify the reasons behind this difference.

Using benefits sought is also a common way of segmenting. It is important for the producer and the marketer to understand that consumers demand goods and services for different reasons sometimes even when the use of that product appears straightforward. It is the responsibility of the marketer to establish the driving forces behind the demand of their goods. If this is properly understood, then modifications can be made to make sure that benefits are maximized.

A number of goods are only bought occasionally. Their demand is noted to be unusually high during specific periods of the year when marking particular occasions or festivities. Christians buy lots of religious goods during Christmas and Easter. For this reason, they form a very important segment that needs to be recognized. If one is not aware of the existence of this segment of customers then they will not adequately meet the demand.

The rate of usage is proportional to the demand. Clients who demand more of a product are more likely to be heavier users than those who demand less. One can use this attribute to divide their pool of clients into the heavy, moderate and light users depending on the frequency of use of a certain product. Apart from the frequency of use, the quantity used should also be factored in.

Buyer readiness is a term that is used to describe the likelihood of a potential consumer to spend on a good or service. There are about six categories of readiness that exist. The first stage is known as awareness and in this stage are people who only know about the product. In the sixth stage are clients willing to spend on the product.

Other than behavioral segmentation, there are a number of other criteria that may be used. Commonly demographic, geographic and psychographic characteristics are used. What you need to have as a top priority is the homogeneity of the clients in the group.




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