Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got? – Deckard from ‘Bladerunner’
During my MBA days, we learned that segmentation is, or rather should be considered as a part of a trio: Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning. I’ll try to cover these distinct activities in the coachParfait blog.
Rose-coloured glasses
Putting it simply, it’s about how we see a market, or a part of a market through a prism. Any given population can be divided into a sub-groups that share a common characteristic. A characteristic could include: declarative categories such as gender, location, income, behavioural categories: what people buy, how often, where… psychological categories: what people ‘like’ or think, preferences, for example gravel cycling and mountain-biking rather than cyclotourism…
Segmentation is understanding.
Not just about the world around you but also about understanding yourself. It’s about who you are, how you perceive the world around you and how you interact with others. The quality of understanding ourselves and the world around us conditions the quality of everything we do.
Stephen Covey said “Seek to understand before making yourself understood” and this is very apt here. The objective here is to learn and be receptive to information. In the following articles I will cover targeting and positioning.
Modern BI tools are used to ‘slice n’ dice’ your customer list so you gain a fuller understanding of who customers are, who decides, what customers buy, when they buy, how they buy, for how much they buy and how recently they have opened an email, clicked a link or bought a product on-line. This understanding becomes the foundation on which you will build a sustainable and mutually beneficial business relationship.
Thanks for reading,
Stephen
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