TARGET MARKET

Q15: What are the possible strategies to target the market? 

INTRODUCE:

Market segmentation reveals a company's market segmentation opportunities. The company must now evaluate the difference segments and decide how many and which segments it can best serve. Now let's see how the companies rate and select target segments.

 TARGET MARKET:

A target market can be defined as:
“A collection of buyers who share a common need or characteristic that a company
service decision.

It can also be defined as:

"The target market is a group of customers within the company's available offering.
market to which a company directs its marketing efforts and resources.
TARGET MARKET SELECTION PROCESS:

Here is the process of identifying the target market:

One's Choice
target market
Evaluation
market
segment
Make a choice
target market

STEP 1: ASSESS THE MARKET SEGMENTS:

When evaluating different market segments, a business should consider three factors:

1. Size and growth of the segment:
2. Segment structural attractiveness and
3. Company goals and resources. 

1. Size and growth of the segment:

The company must first collect and analyze data on the current segment's sales, growth, and forecasts. profitability of different segments. It will focus on segments of the right size and growth rate featured. But "right size and right growth" is a relative question. The largest and fastest growing segments are not always most attractive to each company. Small businesses may lack the skills and resources needed to serve larger segments. Or they may find these segments too competitive. These companies can target segments are smaller and less attractive in absolute terms, but are more profitable for surname

2. Segment structural attractiveness

The company should also consider the key structural factors that influence the segment's attractiveness over the long term. These factors could be Competition: A segment is less attractive if it already has many strong and aggressive competitors. Substitutes: The existence of many actual or potential substitutes can limit prices and Profits can be made in a segment. Buyer Power: Buyers have strong bargaining power over sellers who will try to lower prices, require more services and create competition with each other, all to the detriment of the seller's bottom line. Strength of suppliers: A segment may be less attractive if it contains strong controllable suppliers. price or reduce the quality or quantity of goods and services ordered. 

3. Company's Objectives and Resources

Even if a segment has the right size, growth, and structural attractiveness, the company must still consider own goals and resources. Some attractive segments can be quickly dropped because they don't fit together with the company's long-term goals. Or the company may lack the skills and resources needed to success in an attractive segment.

STEP 2: SELECT TARGET MARKET SEGMENT 

After evaluating different segments, the company must decide which and how much to target.
Market targeting can be done at many different levels. Define target market levels: Companies can target very broadly (undifferentiated marketing), very narrowly (micromarketing), or somewhere in between (differentiated or focused marketing).

 

1) Undifferentiated Marketing / Mass Marketing:

A market hedging strategy in which a firm decides to ignore market segment differentiation and target the entire market with a single offer. Such a strategy focuses on what is popular in consumer demand rather than what distinctive. The company designs a product and a marketing program that will attract more buyers.

2) Differentiated/segmented marketing:

A market coverage strategy in which a company decides to target multiple market segments and Design provided separately for each. By offering product variations and marketing to segments, companies hope to increase sales and a stronger position in each market segment. Develop a stronger position in multiple segments generates more total revenue than undifferentiated marketing across all segments. But differentiated marketing also increases the cost of doing business.

3) Focused Marketing/Nine marketing:

A market hedging strategy in which a company targets a large market share of one or a few segments or recess. Through concentrated marketing, the company gains a strong position in the market due to better knowledge of consumer needs in the niches it serves and the distinctive reputation it has get. It can market more effectively by adjusting its products, prices, and programs to according to the needs of carefully defined segments. The niches are smaller and may attract only one or a few competitors. Focused marketing can be very profitable. At the same time, it involves many normal risks. Companies that rely on one or a few segments for their entire business will be hit hard if that segment goes bad. Or larger competitors may decide to join fragment has more resources. For these reasons, many companies want to diversify several market segments. 

4) Micromarketing:

Tailoring products and marketing programs to specific individual needs and desires
and local customer segments; He understands:

 Local marketing
 Personal marketing. 

a) Local marketing:

Local marketing involves tailoring brands and promotions to the needs and wants of consumers customer groups - cities, neighborhoods and even specific stores. The brand's store designers create the format of each new store based on the neighborhood
features - for example, shops near the office park have islands featured with
Prepare meals for busy workers. Utilize loads of customer data on daily sales in
per store, Walmart adjusts each store's merchandise with the same precision. Local marketing has some downsides. This can increase production and marketing costs
reduce economies of scale. It can also create logistical problems when companies try to
to meet the diverse requirements of different regional and local markets. In addition, a brand
The overall image may be diluted if the product and message differ too much
localities.

b) Personalized Marketing/Personalized Marketing:

Tailor products and marketing programs to individual needs and preferences
customer - also known as one-to-one marketing, one-to-one marketing, and one-to-one markets marketing. Mass customization is the process by which companies interact directly with the masses customers to design products and services tailored to their individual needs. One-on-one marketing has made customer relationships more important than ever. Choose a targeting strategy Companies need to consider many factors when choosing a market targeting strategy.

What The best strategy depends on the following factors:
Company
Resources
Choosing the best strategy depends on the company's resources. When the company
With limited resources, focused marketing makes the most sense. product level
change The best strategy also depends on how variable the product is. Undifferentiated marketing is more suitable for homogeneous products, such as pomelo or steel. Product Lifecycle
(PLC)
The stage of the product life cycle must also be taken into account. When a company introduces a new product, it may be convenient to just release one version and
Undifferentiated marketing or focused marketing can make the most of
feel. However, during the maturity stage of the product life cycle (PLC),
Differentiation marketing often makes more sense. Changes in the market If most buyers have the same taste, buy the same quantity and react the same
marketing, marketing without discrimination is appropriate. Competitors’
marketing
strategies
When competitors use differentiated or concentrated marketing,
undifferentiated marketing can be suicidal.

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