No matter how amazing your product, it is impossible for any good or service to apply to absolutely every single human on the planet. Therefore, you have to know how to cater to your target market. However, even within the target market, there will still be niches (or “segments”) that you need to consider.
What Is Target Market Segmentation?
Segmenting your target market means being even more specific within your target audience and then catering more specifically to them.
There are four types of Target Market Segmentation. Each of these serve as a way to identify the best way to reach the niche that suits your product the best. This serves to unify the different target audiences. By finding their common ground, a marketing strategy can be identified that will reach the different target audiences. Four forms of segmentation have already been appropriately identified.
Four ways to segment a tarket market are:
- Demographic segmentation
- Geographic segmentation
- Behavioral segmentation
- Psychographic segmentation
Demographic Segmentation
Demographic Segmentation tends to be the most used form of segmentation due to its more easily identifiable markers.
When you segment a target market via their demographics, this breaks down the identifiers that people use to relate to the community around them.
Demographic segmentation considers:
- Age
- Gender
- Social class
- Religion
- Race
- Nationality
- Income
…among other details. A lot of the data that is collected from by web browsers and social media platforms does exactly this first. Imagine trying to reach a single mother in the Bronx or a teenage boy somewhere in Alaska. While they might use similar products (like a cell phone) this does not mean you will reach them the same way.
Geographic Segmentation
Geographic segmentation might seem like an obvious form of segmentation, but there’s actually more to it than you’d think.
No matter how big or small a country usually is, it still will have its subcultures depending on where you live. Where people live, where they go to school, where they work, all influences the beliefs people have, how they communicate, and the products they might find important. Geographic Segmentation, therefore, is a key factor in determining the target market. That being said, given how the internet is allowing businesses to become more and more globalized, geographic segmentation can change based on the influences of other demographics. This is why Geographic Segmentation alone may not be enough and is better to consider combining with Demographic Segmentation. Global Marketers are known to use this form of segmentation, called geodemographics.
Behavioral Segmentation
Behavioral Segmentation is a much more nuanced approach, focusing on consumers’ relationships to said product.
A big aspect of this form of segmentation is a consumer’s loyalty. What drives their loyalty? Do they tend to stick to a brand or to a goal? Investigating things like how they approach the service or product will give you information on how to influence that behavior in the future. The goal of this is to understand why the target market acts the way it does in relation to a product and service.
Psychographic Segmentation
Of the four major forms of Target Market segmentation, psychographic is the most difficult one to analyze due to its intimate and evolving variables.
Psychographic segmentation is the primary driving factor in a consumer’s choice. While geographic segmentation focuses on how where you live affects you, psychographic studies what the effect actually is. It isn’t determined by something that can “physically” be measured like age, gender, where you were born or where you live. It is more about the choices you will make and why. It is similar to behavioral segmentation, but much more personal and harder to measure. Due to the globalization of businesses, there are more niche markets worldwide, like Fortnite players or social app users. Psychographic Segmentation explains the similarity and differences in a niche market by focusing on the human aspect of the market.
Where do you think the line of morality is when people collect information on you to sell you things?
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