The Basics Regarding Behavioral Segmentation In Marketing

By Harriett Crosby


Behavioral segmentation is a key advertisement strategy that involves the categorization of large markets into smaller units. The smaller units are easier to manage and satisfy. The creation of the segments depends on the various behaviors of customers as relates to the use of various goods and services. The patterns of responses of customers as related to changes in the market are studied and this is used in marking important decisions related to production. The popularity of this strategy has grown over the years due to its numerous advantages.

The strategy is very different from the previous approach of mass marketing. In the latter, all the consumers were considered the same. Advertisements were typically targeted at the larger market in the hope that potential customers will be reached. Not only was this approach an expensive undertaking, but the returns were also not that good. Segmenting allows for specific groups to be targeted.

Occasional buying is a common behavior that is exhibited by different groups of customers. Some goods or services appear to be increasingly demanded during specific occasions and at no other times of the year. For instance, religious gifts are usually on high demanded during religious seasons and occasions such as Christmas and Easter. The business needs to identify these users and to satisfy them appropriately.

Even for the same product, there is some form of difference in the reasons that lead to usage of the given products. Some customers will choose to use a product for a given reason and others will use for an entirely different reason. The producer needs to be aware of the existence of the various groups and to modify their products in a manner that all the concerned groups will be satisfied.

Product or brand loyalty helps to keep a business going. It is a fairly common behavior among customers. To establish the presence of loyalty, a business needs to conduct research. It will be possible, after such research, to classify consumers into those who are loyal and those who are not. Efforts should be made to retain the loyal customers and to bring the not so loyal closer.

The market can also be broken into segments based on the different usage rates of products among customers. The main groups here would be the heavy, moderate and the lesser users. Heavy users may welcome a decision to repackage products in a manner that helps them get more from a smaller package.

By identifying usage rate segments, it will be possible to make important business decisions. The group with lesser usage rates, for example, can be targeted for more aggressive advertisement campaigns aimed at improving demand for the products or services. Similarly, the moderate and heavy users can be rewarded so as to encourage them to continue using the products frequently.

There are several other criteria that are available today besides behavioral segmentation. These include demographic, psychographic and geographic segmentation. Demographic categories are centered on factors such as age, gender, income and so on. Geographic subdivision is based on the different geographical locations of the potential customers. Psychographic segmentation is uses customer attitudes as the basis for categorization.




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