Acquisitive Growth – Workshop 3 (Segment Focus)
The Appleton Greene Corporate Training Program (CTP) for Acquisitive Growth is provided by Mr. Chicles Certified Learning Provider (CLP). Program Specifications: Monthly cost USD$2,500.00; Monthly Workshops 6 hours; Monthly Support 4 hours; Program Duration 24 months; Program orders subject to ongoing availability.
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Learning Provider Profile
Mr Chicles is an approved Certified Learning Provider (CLP) at Appleton Greene who is a business leader and strategist with broad experience in the global multi-industrial, aerospace and defense sectors. He is a seasoned operational leader of global industrial businesses, leading transformational strategies in highly competitive markets.
As a senior, C-suite strategist for multiple major industrial corporations he has led multiple mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and restructurings, as well as corporate break-ups and spin-offs. He has a distinguished track record of successful transformations of complex organizations in dynamic and uncertain market conditions while engendering the trust and buy-in of employees, customers, vendors, owners, corporate leadership and boards of directors.
A highly engaged leader at the personal and team level he has demonstrated the ability to engender effective senior teams and boards. He’s also an active mentor, teacher and community leader.
Mr Chicles is an active board member with AES Seals, global leader in sustainable reliability engineering, and Micro Technologies Inc, an electronics and advanced manufacturing company. He is a principal partner with ProOrbis Enterprises®, a management science consultancy with premier clients such as the US Navy and PwC, as well as the principal of Xiphos Associates™, a management and M&A advisory. Recently, he served as Board Director and Chairman of Global Business Development with Hydro Inc. the largest independent pump and flow systems engineering services provider in the world.
He was President of ITT’s Industrial Process / Goulds Pumps business segment a global manufacturer of industrial pumps, valves, monitoring and control systems, and aftermarket services for numerous industries with $1.2 billion in revenue, 3,500 employees and 34 facilities in 17 countries. Preceding this role he served as Executive Vice President of ITT Corporation overseeing the creation of a newly conceived ITT Inc. following the break-up of the former ITT Corporation to establish its strategy and corporate functions such as HR, communications, IT and M&A, building the capabilities, policies and organizations for each.
He joined ITT Corporation’s executive committee as its strategy chief in 2006 and instituted disciplined strategic planning processes and developed robust acquisition pipelines to respond to rapidly changing markets. Created successful spin-offs of 2 new public corporations Exelis Inc. and Xylem Inc. ITT Corporation was named one of “America’s Most Respected Corporations” by Forbes for exemplary management and performance during his tenure there.
Before joining ITT, Mr Chicles served as Vice President of Corporate Business Development and head of mergers and acquisitions for American Standard / Trane Companies, where he initiated and closed numerous transactions and equity restructurings globally.
Additionally, he created and led the corporate real estate function which entailed more than 275 real estate transactions around the world.
He began his career at Owens Corning rising through the ranks in various operational roles to Vice President of Corporate Development.
Recently, he taught advanced enterprise strategy at Stevens Institute of Technology as an adjunct professor and still supports start-ups through the Stevens Venture Center. He continues to be active as the Founding Board Member with several successful start-up technology businesses and non-profit organizations. A community leader, Mr Chicles has held the role of President of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Tenafly, N.J., He also led trips abroad to Cambodia and Costa Rica to build sustainable clean-water solutions and affordable housing.
His formal education includes earning a Masters of Business Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelors in Finance from Miami University.
MOST Analysis
Mission Statement
Every company aspires to grow. But, in a market where competition is fierce, inorganic business growth requires insight and innovation. Segmenting the market and customers is among the most effective techniques to promote acquisitive growth. Yet as numerous businesses have shown, artful segmentation can result in a significant competitive advantage. The purpose of segmentation is to inform your marketing approach. Using this method, it is feasible to recognize and categorize groups of potential clients based on their shared preferences, needs, and interests. This method effectively identifies the demographics most likely to value a specific good or service you provide. Furthermore, it may assist you in positioning that service so that it outperforms that of your rivals.
Objectives
01. Industrial Segmentation: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
02. Market-Size Based Segmentation: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
03. Product-Based Segmentation: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
04. Value-Based Segmentation: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
05. Channel-Based Segmentation: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
06. Supply Chain Segmentation: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
07. Behavioral Segmentation: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. 1 Month
08. Geographic Segmentation: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
09. Demographic Segmentation: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
10. Generational Segmentation: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
11. Challenges & Pitfalls: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
12. Emerging Segments: departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development. Time Allocated: 1 Month
Strategies
01. Industrial Segmentation: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
02. Market-Size Based Segmentation: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
03. Product-Based Segmentation: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
04. Value-Based Segmentation: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
05. Channel-Based Segmentation: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
06. Supply Chain Segmentation: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
07. Behavioral Segmentation: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
08. Geographic Segmentation: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
09. Demographic Segmentation: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
10. Generational Segmentation: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
11. Challenges & Pitfalls: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
12. Emerging Segments: Each individual department head to undertake departmental SWOT analysis; strategy research & development.
Tasks
01. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Industrial Segmentation.
02. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Market-Size Based Segmentation.
03. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Product-Based Segmentation.
04. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Value-Based Segmentation.
05. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Channel-Based Segmentation.
06. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Supply Chain Segmentation.
07. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Behavioral Segmentation.
08. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Geographic Segmentation.
09. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Demographic Segmentation.
10. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Generational Segmentation.
11. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Challenges & Pitfalls.
12. Create a task on your calendar, to be completed within the next month, to analyze Emerging Segments.
Introduction
What functions come to mind when you think about the crucial elements that determine acquisition success? Perhaps sales, operations, human resources, and finance. Marketing, though?
Yet, according to Mckinsey, marketing plays a crucial role in deal success and shouldn’t be neglected based on their experience and discussions with top M&A executives. Instead, marketing should take the initiative to establish the new organization’s brand strategy and create innovative, compelling value propositions. The value proposition’s narrative should then be delivered by marketers to drive above-market growth.
It is essential to understand the key difficulties that CEOs and chief marketing officers should address to have an impact because the integration of marketing’s role is so broad—ranging from strategy to tactical brand execution. Executives underlined the significance of getting six things right—the “six Ss”—in a 2020 Mckinsey research study.
The six Ss are:
• Story. Define the new organization’s value proposition
• Segments. Refresh your view of the market
• Service. Delight your most valuable customers
• Share. Deliver consistent value over time
• Science. Take an objective, fact-based approach to setting brand strategy
• Scope. Tackle less, not more, on and after Day 1.
Applying these six Ss can boost the success of marketing integration, measured by revenue synergies captured, as much as 1.5 to 2.0 times (exhibit).
Reexamining customer segmentation is made possible by integration. Marketing have to take the initiative in the discussion and suggest ways in which the whole range of goods, services, and solutions will better satisfy the needs of the united consumer base. Marketing should assess how its organizational structure and operating model should change to support the updated market view.
Think about one mobile telecom merger’s approach to segmentation. One company (early adopter) introduced a needs-based approach to segmentation, whereas the other introduced a functional approach (low cost, no frills). The market was changing quickly as consumers desired lifestyle solutions rather than just straightforward, practical voice-to-voice or text-to-text communication. The techniques catered to various market segments.
The CMO carefully reviewed the customer segmentation. The analysis examined the benefits and drawbacks of the traditional segmentation methods, speculated on how customers will use technology in the future, and assessed how challenging it would be to implement a novel segmentation method through the channels that are already in use.
Over a period of months, the new organization introduced a revised segmentation that was more technology-focused than communication-focused. This segmentation laid the groundwork for the organization to view new competitors (such as Google, smartphone manufacturers, and other tech companies), define value propositions, and pursue partnerships and M&A opportunities. Market-leading retention and revenue growth per customer were made possible by segmentation and its assistance in implementing value propositions.
If you would like to view the original Mckinsey article, please click here: www.mckinsey.com
Market segmentation can be a straightforward and inexpensive process. Or, given the vast amount of data companies now have, it can become complicated and expensive. Thanks to technology, we can create “markets of one.” But making the leap to one-to-one marketing may not be right for every company or brand — now or ever. So if your focus is on acquisitive growth, you may want to rethink your market segmentation strategy first.
Why segment your market?
Every product, as savvy marketers are aware, requires a target market. They are aware that no good or service can satisfy everyone’s needs. The market is segmented into segments based on shared demands and features. Members of the group are likely to have comparable purchasing habits as a result of these characteristics.
Market segmentation is a tried-and-true method for acquiring growth in both the consumer and business-to-business sectors. Every step of the product commercialization process can be facilitated with a solid segmentation model. When done properly, segmentation also boosts a business’s profitability by:
• Develop products and services that meet the needs of various segments
• Focus marketing resources on segments with the most potential
• Craft marketing messages that resonate with target audiences
• Set prices that optimize the balance between profitability and demand.
Businesses that correctly segment their markets and comprehend their clients benefit greatly. That also involves higher profits. According to a Bain & Company survey, organizations with segmentation strategies that enabled them to customize their products to the right client categories experienced up to 10% more earnings over a five-year period than those with less successful segmentation. Even while just 25% of executives polled thought their organizations were efficiently using customer segmentation, 81 percent of executives stated it was essential for boosting revenues.
Understanding Market Segmentation
Companies can generally use three criteria to identify different market segments:
1. Homogeneity, or common needs within a segment
2. Distinction, or being unique from other groups
3. Reaction, or a similar response to the market
For instance, a company that sells athletic footwear might have market segments for long-distance runners and basketball players. Basketball players and marathon runners react to commercials very differently as separate groups. The company that makes sports footwear is better able to promote its branding by having a thorough understanding of these various market niches.
Market segmentation is a development of market research that aims to pinpoint specific customer groups in order to develop products and branding that appeal to the group. By identifying which items have the best odds of capturing a share of a target market and figuring out the best approach to get those products to market, market segmentation aims to reduce risk. This enables the business to improve overall efficiency by concentrating scarce resources on initiatives that yield the highest rate of return on investment (ROI).
Keeping a face on big data
People have been transformed into units that can be targeted, acquired, tracked, and held with every click, like, follow, search, and sale. Information may become devoid of the actual people who give it meaning in this age of big data. That makes it simple to overlook the actual persons who are the source of the information. even forgetting that your objective as a marketer is to connect with actual people.
The marketing axiom is “know your consumer,” nevertheless. Good market segmentation aids in your comprehension of your target audience. This includes the likes and dislikes of your clients, which is a crucial step in quantifying their interaction with your brand and business.
Which Industries Use Market Segmentation?
The most obvious businesses to use market segmentation include media, retail, e-commerce, consumer goods, and retail. But, all industries gain from the customer insights that this study offers. For instance, Grand View Research, a U.S. market research firm, offers both syndicated and customized market segmentation reports on each of the following industries: pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, financial services, telecommunications, computer software and hardware, materials and chemicals, manufacturing and construction, shipping and transportation, energy and resources, and agriculture.
Market segmentation research is carried out on behalf of government agencies, academic institutions, law firms, advertising and marketing companies, as well as industry participants. Bloomberg, for instance, published the findings of a segmentation study on the customer experience (CX) management market, which is predicted to reach $38.98 billion by 2030 and register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.1% between 2022 and 2030 across the mobile touchpoint, cloud-based, end-use, and BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance) segments.
American Express: Finding the Sweet Spot of Market Segmentation
Prior to acting on findings from customer segmentation research, you must first identify a crucial portion of your current customer base: brand-loyal existing consumers who “truly, really like you.” Of course, that group isn’t your aim; you already have them. Instead, an overlapping subset inside the new client groups that your study produced is found using the traits of your most contented current customers.
Your sweet spot will be that overlap, which a Bain study dubbed “the design target”: the “bull’s-eye” of potential clients who were not only identified by the new research but who are also extremely similar to your happiest existing clients. Spending on marketing that is targeted to that precise segment—which can be a very small slice—will likely be very profitable and highly effective.
In the 1990s, American Express (AmEx) fended off fierce competition by expanding its product offering based on the proper kind of segmentation study. They focused on their sweet spot, a lucrative group of high spenders who were potential consumers and shared many traits with their best existing clients. The updated study was also used by AmEx to find additional things to offer to its present satisfied consumers.
As an illustration, AmEx developed credit cards that were integrated with rewards programs, enabling business executives to accrue frequent flier miles and hotel points. Although though this market was fairly small, it ended up being very profitable in the long run, in part because marketing expenses were so low. Offering enhancements to their current client base and then relying on word-of-mouth advertising to bring in new customers was all AmEx needed to do to tap into the lucrative executive market.
Choosing segment variables is a key strategic decision
There isn’t one optimal technique to segmenting a given market. Yet, the objective is to establish distinct, pertinent, recognizable, and quantitative categories.
If you have trouble deciding on a solid segmentation strategy, you’re not alone. Should you choose a variety of demographic factors? What about variations brought on by geographical factors? Can or should psychographic factors be layered on top? In practice, it is frequently necessary to combine traits to produce useful segments.
The kind of product or service chosen often dictates the choice of variables. However, the ultimate choice is still one of strategy. While various businesses will employ various segmentation strategies, the following fundamental characteristics ought to be present:
• Who
• Where
• What — including what they’ve done, what they do, what they think and what they are likely to do
• When
For the majority of goods and services, market segments are created using geographic, demographic, behavioral, and psychographic characteristics. Here is a quick summary of these popular segmentation techniques.
Demographic segmentation
One of the most popular and straightforward methods of market segmentation is demographic segmentation. That is a great place to start for any marketing campaign. Demographic segmentation makes use of qualities that are easily recognizable, objective, and quantifiable. Age/generation, gender, family size, marital status, ethnicity and nationality, education level, occupation, and religion are a few examples of these traits. We can learn who is buying our goods and services from their demographics. But, they are unable to articulate why customers favor one good or service over another.
Example: A new video game console’s market segmentation technique might show that young men with disposable income make up the majority of its consumers.
Geographic segmentation
The needs, interests, and preferences of people are influenced by where they reside. Additionally, it directs how customers use the goods and services offered by your business. For some firms, geography is one of the simplest and most straightforward segmentation techniques. Country, region, state, county, community, neighborhood, zip code, population density (urban, suburban, or rural), and climate are examples of geographic factors. When a product has a broad appeal and buyers are concentrated in a specific area, geographic segmentation should be taken into account.
Example: A clothing company that stocks more rain gear in its locations in the Pacific Northwest than in the Southwest.
Psychographic segmentation
The psychology of customer behavior is taken into account during psychographic segmentation. Members of a market sector often have similar views, passions, pastimes, values, or lifestyles. These characteristics are difficult to quantify, unlike demographic or geographic considerations. Nonetheless, they can offer profound, nuanced insights that support spatial and/or demographic data. Investigating psychographics can help us understand why people choose our goods and services.
According to Alexandra Samuel’s article in the Harvard Business Review, the internet has increased the significance, clarity, and relevance of psychographic distinctions. Now more than ever, gaining psychographic insights is simple. Additionally, they can be done in ways that were virtually impossible before social media. Psychographics can serve as the cornerstone of a strong product development and marketing strategy when combined with modern research, analytics, and ad targeting.
Example:A fitness apparel business, for instance, might focus on those who enjoy participating in or watching a range of sports.
Behavioral segmentation
Consumers are categorized by their behavior when using a product or service. In this instance, your market segments are acquainted with and have used your items before. Benefit preferences, amount or frequency of use, brand loyalty, and prospect or customer status are typical characteristics.
Example: Millennial consumers are more inclined to purchase national brands of beer than older generations.
A combination of approaches may be most useful
It is possible to create a quantitative and qualitative picture of your target market by combining demographic and psychographic factors. Additionally, when you combine demographic, psychographic, and behavioral factors, you get a potent marketing trifecta that can influence the creation of products, services, channel strategies, pricing philosophies, and brand message for your business.
How many market segments are enough?
How many market segments are adequate is a question without a right or wrong response. Qualtrics, an experience management and technology business, advises aiming for four divisions or less. Gartner, a research and advisory firm, urges clients to utilize as many as necessary. Gartner is quick to point out that the real question is how many segments can be utilized.
To be useful, market segments must meet several criteria:
Measurable
Measurable segmentation factors are ones that can be quantified and have a direct bearing on purchasing a good or service as well as key performance metrics.
Identifiable
Can the requirements, wants, desires, or preferences of each sector be quickly identified? Each client or prospective client must belong to just one sector. Moreover, it ought to be feasible to develop a unique character for each detected segment.
Reachable or accessible
Being able to contact your customers and comprehending them are two separate things. You should be able to determine the most effective method of contacting members and effectively contacting them using the traits and behaviors of your segments.
Actionable
Actionable denotes that each segment is distinct, individual, and reacts to a marketing offer in a certain way.
Substantial and relevant
The size or wealth of a market sector must be sufficient to support targeting it based on factors like stability, growth, or durability. An selected sector need to have a keen interest in the goods and services you offer. Members ought to be prospective customers.
Segmentation versus targeting
The first step of a two-step process is segmentation. You can choose the organizations you want to target once you are aware of their existence. Even though you may have defined a market sector, you are not required to allocate resources to it.
Your team’s ability to comprehend who your customers are and why they choose your company’s goods and services is aided by market segmentation. By using segmentation, your business can find unmet requirements and develop products and services to fill them. Your communication staff may create messages that appeal to current customers and draw in new ones with the help of segmentation.
Benefits of Market Segmentation
Implementing marketing segmentation requires time and money. Successful marketing segmentation strategies, however, can improve a company’s long-term profitability and health. Some benefits of market segmentation include;
• Increased resource efficiency. Marketing segmentation allows management to focus on certain demographics or clients. Marketing segmentation enables a targeted, precise approach that frequently costs less than a broad reach approach, as opposed to attempting to offer products to the entire market.
• Stronger brand image. Management must think about how it wants to be perceived by a particular group of people due to marketing segmentation. Management must decide what message to craft after identifying the market segment. The fact that this message is intended for a specific audience suggests that a company’s branding and marketing are more likely to be very deliberate. This can also have the unintended consequence of improving customer interactions with the business.
• Greater potential for brand loyalty. Marketing segmentation gives customers more chances to establish enduring relationships with a business. Customers may respond favorably to more direct, personable marketing strategies that encourage a sense of inclusion, community, and belonging. Market segmentation also increases your chance of finding the right customer who fits your product line and demographic.
• Stronger market differentiation. A corporation may pinpoint the precise message it wants to send to the market and to competitors thanks to market segmentation. By clearly stating how a business differs from its rivals, this can also aid in product differentiation. Instead of a wide approach to marketing, management builds a specific image that is more likely to be memorable and specific.
• Better targeted digital advertising. A company can implement more effective targeted advertising strategies thanks to marketing segmentation. This includes social media marketing strategies that target people of a certain age, area, or behavior.
Limitations of Market Segmentation
Without any potential drawbacks, the aforementioned advantages cannot be realized. Here are several drawbacks to take into account before putting market segmentation tactics into practice.
• Higher upfront marketing expenses. The long-term objective of marketing segmentation is efficiency. To achieve this efficiency, though, businesses frequently have to invest money up front in order to gather information about their target markets and client base.
• Increased product line complexity. By marketing segmentation, a huge market is divided into smaller, more manageable chunks. The drawback of this is that it runs the danger of resulting in an unnecessarily complex, fractionalized product line that places an undue emphasis on serving particular market niches. A company’s marketing mix may grow overly complex and inconsistently communicate its entire brand rather than having a consistent product line.
• Greater risk of misassumptions. The foundation of market segmentation is the idea that people with similar demographics would have comparable requirements. This may not always be the case. By grouping a population together with the notion that they have common qualities, a corporation may risk misidentifying the needs, values, or motives within individuals of a specific community.
• Higher reliance on reliable data. Market segmentation is only as reliable as the supporting evidence for the assertions it makes. This necessitates paying attention to the sources from which data is gathered. This entails being aware of evolving patterns and instances in which market segmentation may have changed from earlier surveys.
Examples of Market Segmentation
The products, marketing, and advertising that consumers utilize on a daily basis are all examples of market segmentation. The success of auto manufacturers depends on their ability to accurately identify market segments and develop products and marketing strategies that appeal to those segments.
In order to develop brand loyalty among the younger consumers, cereal companies aggressively market to three or four market segments at once. They promote traditional brands that appeal to older consumers and healthy brands to consumers who are health-conscious.
Elite athletes, regular gym attendees, fashion-conscious women, and middle-aged men looking for quality and comfort in their shoes are just a few examples of the market segments that a sports shoe maker might identify. In every situation, the manufacturer’s marketing knowledge of each market group enables it to create and promote items with a high appeal more successfully than it might by trying to appeal to a wider audience.
Market segmentation strategy
What justifies considering market segmentation as a strategy? A strategy is a well-thought-out plan that gets you from point A to point B in a helpful and efficient manner. Similar to market segmentation, there will be occasions when you need to review your market segments. For example:
In times of rapid change: The Covid-19 pandemic is an excellent illustration of how many firms were forced to reconsider how they market to customers. As restaurant owners contemplated collections, physical shop businesses looked at online ordering.
Your market segmentation should evolve as your consumers do so that you can easily comprehend what your new clients need and want from you.
On a yearly basis: Market segments might vary as a result of customers being impacted by outside forces that may modify their actions and reactions.
For instance, climate change-related natural disasters may influence whether a family decides to continue residing in a region more susceptible to such occurrences. On a bigger scale, you might want to think about refocusing your sales efforts in more populous locations if your target customer segment leaves one of your sales territories.
At periodic times during the year: If you researched your market and divided it into categories in the spring, the same market segments can have distinct features in the fall.
For instance, there are multiple holidays throughout the winter, with Christmas having a significant impact on families. This holiday will have an impact on your market segments’ purchasing patterns, behavior (they’ll spend more than usual during this period than any other), and travel plans (back home for the holidays). You can anticipate this period and prepare for it by having this knowledge.
When considering updating your market segmentation strategy, consider these three areas:
1. Recognize the changes that have occurred: Learn what has changed from one era to the next and what factors led to those changes. You may decide if you want to adjust your approach or stick with it by knowing the factors that make your market unique.
2. Start preparing right away. Since businesses are constantly changing to long-term trends, recent market segmentation research puts you in a proactive position to face these changes head-on during a period of acquisition growth. After you have your market segments, it’s a good idea to think about the potential problems or hazards in the long run for each segment and schedule some time in advance to talk about potential solutions.
3. Go from what to why: How did those motivating factors emerge? Why does your target market pose risks? It’s critical to comprehend the various facets of your target markets that promote or inhibit success.
Executive Summary
Chapter 1: Industrial Segmentation
A one-size-fits-all website and generic B2B marketing strategy will no longer cut it in an era of digital personalization where B2B marketers frequently have to service several sectors. Make your content count if you want to stand out in a crowded market. Learn about your customers, become more relevant to them, and provide them a sense of value across the entire customer journey. Market segmentation based on industry can provide a scalable method for delivering bespoke experiences while also assisting marketers in taking the first tentative steps toward comprehensive personalization.
So, what is industry segmentation?
Let’s begin by defining industry segmentation. In essence, it’s a technique that companies can employ to segment their clientele or audience based on the commonalities they have. Businesses will “segment” their audience according to the industry they are a part of in the instance of segmentation by industry. As a B2B company, you might offer a product that is used by the manufacturing industry, the healthcare industry, and the finance business. Assume that these are the main sectors you serve. When it comes to what people buy, how they interact with your business, and the information they want to see, each of these industries will have distinct wants, requirements, and preferences. Provide experiences and material that are pertinent to each of them to start.
You can go one step further to provide a more individualized experience, which will improve your chances of winning over and converting clients. There are various divisions or sorts of businesses that make up each industry. Take the finance sector, for instance. While they all fall under the umbrella of finance, insurance companies, banks, and accountancy organizations are extremely distinct from one another. and as a result, they might look for various items from your company or use the same one in various ways. So, you will use different platforms, generate different content, and disseminate different marketing messages. Draw attention to your Unique Selling Point (USP) for each market category, perform research to learn what they need, and adjust your strategy as necessary.
It’s hard to blame industrial marketers for thinking segmentation is a very challenging task for them. The topic as it relates to industrial markets has not only received little writing, but such analysis is also more difficult than that of consumer markets. Finding the ideal characteristics for classifying industrial markets is the issue.
Even if it can be challenging, segmenting the consumer market is more simpler and easier than industrial market segmentation. Industrial products frequently have many uses, and several different products can be employed in a single application. Consumers vary tremendously, and it can be challenging to determine which variations are significant and which are not when creating a marketing plan.
Industrial segmentation can help businesses in a number of ways:
• Analysis of the market—better understanding of the total marketplace, including how and why customers buy.
• Selection of key markets—rational choice of market segments that best fit the company’s capabilities.
• Management of marketing—the development of strategies, plans, and programs to profitably meet the needs of different market segments and to give the company a distinct competitive advantage while on their acquisitive growth journey.
An extensive understanding of client wants and perceptions of buying scenarios is made possible by industry knowledge. Certain businesses, like those that provide paper, office supplies, computers geared toward businesses, and financial services, target a variety of industries. Industry serves as a crucial foundation for market segmentation in these cases. For instance, although having some computer needs in common with retail outlets, hospitals have quite different client needs.
Marketers could want to separate up several industries. For instance, commercial banks, insurance businesses, stock trading houses, and savings and loan associations all differ greatly despite the fact that financial services are in some ways a single industry. To offer computers to the financial services industry, a more intricate segmentation strategy is required due to their disparities in terms of their requirements for goods and services, such as specific peripherals and terminals, data handling, and software requirements.
Chapter 2: Market-Size Based Segmentation
Imagine putting in months of arduous work just to learn that only 100 people in your nation will likely purchase your goods. Understanding this from the outset can help you make informed business decisions and choose what is worthwhile to pursue.
The term “market size” describes the total population that could potentially purchase a good or service, as well as the potential revenue that could result from that population. Calculating these figures in order to accurately assess the growth potential of your company is known as market sizing.
Every organization should spend time sizing its market for a number of reasons:
• It enables you to decide whether the investment is worthwhile – Let’s say you have a fantastic product idea, but there are currently only 100 people who would purchase it. From there, you can determine whether or not that population size justifies the expense of producing, distributing, and other costs for your product.
• It aids in estimating the highest possible profit – By knowing the potential market size of your company, you can calculate the potential revenue. Both investors and business owners can benefit from this.
• Whom are you marketing to and what are their needs? Without marketing, no company can be successful. Understanding your target market’s needs and the size of your market is the first stage.
Methods for Estimating Market Size
1. Choose your target market within the total addressable market (TAM), which changes depending on geography and other logistical considerations.
2. Assess the market penetration potential for your chosen target market.
3. To get your market size, multiply your target market by the penetration rate.
Chapter 3: Product-Based Segmentation
Being everything to everyone isn’t always the best course of action for businesses. You can sometimes increase market share, boost revenues, and cut expenses by targeting specific subsets of your client base with modest changes of your various goods and services. When applied to products, this process of differentiation is known as “segmentation,” and it might result in a number of marginally distinct product lines aimed toward various target markets.
Segmentation Strategy
According to the central tenet of product segmentation, a business can produce a single product with only minor variations, market it to various customer segments, sometimes under different brand names, and thereby increase market share while saving money by forgoing the development of vastly different products. Market analysis is used in segmentation to determine the features of products that appeal to target markets. The same basic model is then iterated upon by product development engineers to fulfill the desired characteristics for each market category.
Purpose
A corporation can spread the risk of selling an expensive product among various target segments by using product segmentation. The producer can sell sibling models of the product at various prices to various market groups rather than having one product with one market and one supply-and-demand curve, effectively placing all of the manufacturer’s eggs in one basket. Another segment may respond better than expected even if one portion does not. Segmentation also enables economies of scale. It’s simpler for a business to offer five distinct varieties of toasters than it is to sell one type of toaster, one type of dishwasher, and one type of foam-rubber action figure, despite the fact that there are disparities in the production of toasters, for instance.
Examples
At major corporations, product segmentation is widely used. For instance, General Motors divides its product line into various brands, such as Chevrolet, Buick, Hummer, and Cadillac, each of which is targeted at a particular socioeconomic category. Although the majority of the components across these several brands are interchangeable, saving GM money, the marketing approach varies. Similar to this, smartphone makers divide up their offerings. Several variants of Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy class Android phones are available with varying storage capacities, features, and prices.
Outcomes
Selling more items to more customers while incurring lower marginal production costs is the aim of a well-implemented product segmentation plan. Marketing experts can assess the profitability of individual products within the product family as sales grow in order to spot chances to stop selling some things or to fine-tune the segmentation model. Marketing analysts can understand what worked and use the lessons from one product’s success to improve future offerings.
Chapter 4: Value-Based Segmentation
Value-Based Segmentation is one of the most sophisticated methods of consumer market segmentation. Value-based segmentation separates customers based on their economic value, putting similar-value customers together into distinct segments that can be specifically targeted.
Value-Based Segmentation will allow:
• Develop or adjust the existing brand communication strategy that will hit the target and work with the needs of target segments;
• Better understanding consumers: Where do they buy? What are they guided by? What is of interest and value to them? Why?
• Understand what to focus on in the products or services so that this will resonate with the consumers.
Value-Based Segmentation helps create the ideal conditions for an individualized approach to each of the chosen groups by giving a thorough grasp of the needs and interests of customers, as well as their motivations and preference vectors.
The following value-based segment categorization is utilized for this kind of segmentation:
1. “Achievements”, representatives of this group have the following priorities: wealth, status, power, ambition, self-centeredness and attractive appearance. Predominantly, Achievements are more focused in a career, achieving a high status; products that are more expensive in their preference;
2. “Traditionalists” are characterized by traditions, faith, respect for ancestors, cultural purity, traditional gender roles, disinterest in fashion and trends;
3. “Thrifty”, the main characteristics of this group are modesty, frugality, hard work and simplicity;
4. “Caring”, for consumers of this category the most important priorities are: stable relationships, helping others, protecting family, friendship;
5. “Hedonists” are distinguished from other groups by their tendency to search for thrills, enjoying life, spirit of youth and craving for entertainment;
6. For “Rationalists” tolerance, equality, erudition, open-mindedness and social responsibility are in priority;
7. “Self-sufficient”, representatives of this segment stand out for their love of freedom, self-confidence, and life in harmony with themselves and with their principles.
Depending on the study’s objectives, the target audience, divided into value-based groups, might be described using socio-demographic, geographic, economic, psychographic, behavioral, and other categories.
Chapter 5: Channel-Based Segmentation
What is a distribution channel?
A distribution channel is a group of people and businesses who work together to move goods from a producer to a consumer. Marketing channels and marketing distribution channels are other names for distribution channels.
Types of distribution channels
There are three types of distribution channels: direct, indirect and hybrid.
1. Direct. The business sells to the customer directly through the direct channel. An example of a direct channel of distribution is a brewery that produces its own beer and sells it to clients at its own physical location. Customers receive the good or service straight from the seller. The vendor may also have its own sales team or use an online store to market its goods or services. Vendors who choose the direct channel strategy must bear the cost of assembling and training a sales force or setting up and running an online store.
2. Indirect. When distributing goods and services from the seller to clients through indirect channels, numerous distribution partners or middlemen are used. There are several configuration options for indirect channels:
• In a single-tier distribution model, sellers have direct dealings with channel partners who conduct client transactions.
• Under the two-tier distribution model, products are sold by the vendor to distributors who then sell them to channel partners who then package them for the final consumer. Smaller channel partners who would find it challenging to develop direct sales connections with major vendors benefit from two-tier distribution.
3. Hybrid. Direct and indirect channel traits are combined in hybrid channels. Both direct and indirect approaches are employed by the seller. For instance, a manufacturer may offer a product on its e-commerce website, but a third party would then deliver the actual item to the client. Although a middleman is also engaged, the customer still interacts directly with the seller.
Examples of distribution channel intermediaries
Indirect channels are used to distribute, sell, and advertise goods and services. Middlemen are a more popular term for intermediaries. These are some examples of intermediaries:
• Wholesalers are intermediaries between manufacturers and retailers.
• Agents represent a person or entity and serve as an intermediary between buyers and sellers.
• Brokers are similar to agents but represent a person or entity on a limited, per-transaction basis.
• Catalogs are collections of products gathered in a publication and distributed at regular intervals.
• Consultants are individuals who connect distributors with intermediaries lower on the supply chain and give advice on how to distribute product effectively.
• Distributors are in direct contact with the manufacturer but sell to end users.
• Retailers either buy from the manufacturer or another intermediary and distribute to consumers through shops, grocery stores or websites.
• Independent software vendors are vendors that sell their software using a marketplace.
• Managed service providers (MSPs) offer managed software services.
• Online marketplaces are e-commerce sites that connect buyers and sellers.
• Original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, are companies that sell a product and markets itself as the company that originally manufactured the product.
• Value-added resellers (VARs) are resellers that add value to a product or service before reselling it.
Every kind of intermediary is an individual channel with unique qualities. For instance, VARs are frequently small, regional enterprises that market IT services and horizontal goods to local businesses, such as office productivity programs and healthcare services. After the initial order fulfillment, VARs offer value. They offer value to the product and assist in getting it to the client while remaining separate from the maker and the consumer.
The importance of distribution channels
The numerous distribution channels are essential to a vendor’s go-to-market strategy. Any distribution channel model, whether it is completely centered on one mode, like direct sales, or it embraces several outlets, like multichannel distribution, can open or extend markets, surpass sales targets, and increase a vendor’s bottom line if it is well implemented.
Distribution channels can expand the range of goods and services that are offered to clients in addition to increasing revenue. Channel partners like VAR, SI, and MSP, for example, frequently offer consultation, technology implementation services, and post-sales support. Also, they might add a vendor’s product to an integrated IT package.
The focus is on whether a product or service fits the needs of the ultimate consumer. The complexity of distribution routes is frequently unnoticed or uncared for by the client.
Chapter 6: Supply Chain Segmentation
Supply chains today are getting more and more complicated as a result of factors including globalization, outsourcing, product configurations, fluctuating demand, costs, and a wide range of SKUs. Companies are under pressure to develop the most effective, timely, and profitable solutions to meet client expectations. However, different strategies and goals are needed for various products, clients, and logistical flows. There isn’t a single supply chain strategy that can satisfy the distinct needs of a wide range of clients from various marketplaces and segments. Operating under a “one-size-fits-all” supply chain strategy that underserves some clients and overserves others, compromising profitability and sales, is highly challenging. Supply chain segmentation continues to be one of the main concerns of supply chain leaders since the future belongs to businesses that can fit their supply chains to the unique needs of their client groups.
Gartner defines Supply Chain Segmentation as “Designing and operating distinctly different end-to-end value chains (from customers to suppliers) optimized by a combination of unique customer value, product attribute, manufacturing and supply capabilities, and business value considerations.”
By using distinct supply chain methods to serve various clients associated with various channels and products, based on their value to the organization, segmentation aims to maximize customer service and company profitability. Volume, revenue, profit margin, strategic relevance, or a mix of these characteristics may all be used to define value in this context. To serve each client and each product at a specific moment while increasing customer service and business acquisition growth, the optimum supply chain processes and rules must be identified.
Several approaches can be used to address supply chain segmentation. The following parameters deal with segmentation.
Because client demands are ever-changing, supply chain segmentation is an iterative process. It’s crucial to do the following to optimize the efficacy of supply chain segmentation:
• Analyze demand and cost-to-serve on a regular basis. Cost-to-serve is the price of all supply chain activities, from accepting orders from customers through delivering them. Companies must keep an eye on cost, profitability, and demand to successfully adopt segmentation plan.
• Improve engagement with customers and alignment with suppliers, contract manufacturers and other trading partners.
• Evaluate your suppliers. Regular supplier evaluations can assist you distinguish between your trading partners who contribute the most and those that don’t. It will assist in finding the underperforming suppliers and helping them.
• Keep up with Technology and Big Data: Businesses should have the proper tools in place to retain visibility across various segments, allowing decision-makers to receive the accurate business intelligence and real-time insights that are crucial for assessing the segmentation strategy.
To put it briefly, supply chain segmentation is a potent tactic for reducing supply chain complexity. Businesses that successfully implement segmentation methods will have increased revenue and customer satisfaction, larger margins for acquisition growth, and a deeper multi-channel penetration. However, segmentation strategies will not produce the desired results if the appropriate decision-support tools are not available.
Chapter 7: Behavioral Segmentation
Segmenting your customer base has always been crucial. Effective segmentation is necessary because today’s enterprises must orchestrate journeys that represent a customer’s full experience rather than just their most recent encounter within a siloed touchpoint.
Nevertheless, only 33% of businesses implementing customer segmentation claim to find it to be substantially impactful, according to a recent Forrester survey. The report claims that the main reason businesses fail is because they continue to use outdated customer segmentation strategies without taking advantage of the depth of consumer data and cutting-edge analytics tools currently accessible.
In other words, they don’t employ a cutting-edge behavioral segmentation strategy.
In order to enhance the success of the acquisitive journey and meet corporate objectives, we’ll provide you a thorough review of 10 different behavioral segmentation techniques in this course manual. These techniques can be utilized to better understand your customers and their aspirations.
What is Behavioral Segmentation?
The primary focus of traditional segmentation methods was on the identities of the consumers, and segments were based on demographic characteristics like age or gender as well as firmographic characteristics like industry or company size. Unfortunately, knowing who your consumers are is no longer sufficient.
By employing insights gleaned from consumers’ behaviors, behavioral segmentation aims to understand customers not just by who they are but also by what they do.
Customer segmentation that is based on patterns of behavior customers exhibit when interacting with a business or brand or when they make a purchase is known as behavioral segmentation. It enables companies to categorize customers into groups based on their familiarity with, attitude toward, use of, or reaction to a given good, service, or brand.
The goal is to identify client segments that give you the knowledge you need to address the specific wants or wishes of a group of consumers, find ways to improve their customer journeys, and calculate their potential value to your company.
Why Segment Customers by Behavior?
Here are four main advantages of grouping customers into different segments based on their behaviors:
1. Personalization. Recognize how to effectively assist consumers in moving forward toward successful outcomes in their journeys by targeting different groups of customers with various offers at the most suitable times using their chosen channels.
2. Predictive. To forecast and influence future consumer behaviors and outcomes, use historical behavioral patterns.
3. Prioritization. By identifying high-value customer segments and initiatives with the highest potential for business impact, you may make better decisions about how to effectively deploy your time, money, and resources.
4. Performance. To assess the health of the company and track progress toward objectives, keep an eye on growth trends and alterations in important client segments over time. At a high level, this entails calculating the size and value of client segments and monitoring the rate of expansion or contraction of “positive” and “negative” segments over time.
Chapter 8: Geographic Segmentation
A marketing tactic known as geographic segmentation targets goods and services at local residents and business owners. It operates under the premise that locals have comparable needs, desires, and cultural factors. Brands may focus more pertinent marketing messages and acceptable items to customers who are then aware and more inclined to buy by learning what people in that area need.
Why is it important to segment customers based on geographical variables?
• It keeps your brand relevant: Because they appeal to the requirements and goals of a specific geographic area, tailored marketing efforts draw clients and boost sales.
• You save money: rather than wasting money on promoting items that no one needs, your marketing budget is more effective when it promotes available and appropriate products and services.
• It’s easy: Location data can be measured and analyzed objectively, is less expensive, and easier to gather than psychographic, demographic, or behavioral segmentation.
• Larger companies: can provide different or more pertinent items in other regions and sell them more effectively there.
• Smaller businesses: instead of using an ineffective general strategy, they can direct marketing at their unique target audiences and areas of interest.
Geographic segmentation advantages
Geographic segmentation will provide you the best opportunity of successfully interacting with particular audiences because you have a limited budget for marketing. What it can accomplish for your company is as follows:
• Boost profitability: By targeting specific audiences and delivering customized marketing efforts, geographic segmentation enables you to create profits more quickly while conserving time and resources.
• Encourage growth: By focusing on the right demographics, you may boost sales and promote company expansion. To get the most out of your campaigns, make sure you frequently review your geographic segmentation, particularly when expanding into new regions or marketing new items.
• Focus your efforts: Geographic segmentation enables you to target keyword and demand concentrations by place. If you have a limited budget or want to raise awareness in a certain area, this is quite helpful.
• Boost communication: Needs, buying preferences, and business practices vary by region. The manner in which people communicate within areas and communities is taken into account during geographic segmentation. With this kind of knowledge, you can proceed with assurance and guarantee a high engagement rate right now.
Chapter 9: Demographic Segmentation
Demographic segmentation is about understanding the makeup of your audience and drilling down to create a number of audience groups according to things like age, location, socioeconomic background, and family situation.
It helps businesses show the right advertising to the right people – for example, only people in Scotland need to receive ads about Burns Night events. This means customers get more relevant messaging, and businesses can target their resources to where they’ll be most effective.
Demographic segmentation is predominantly used in marketing, but can also be helpful for things like brand positioning, UX design, and CX too.
The goal of demographic segmentation
A successful segmentation research will break up big, heterogeneous groupings into smaller target market segments that might be more receptive to a targeted message or product.
Demographic segmentation is a continuous process. You can find yourself segmenting your audience in different ways at different times, depending on the demands of that particular situation. Several types of segmentation may be effective for different companies and goods.
For instance, you might be highly interested in household size, child age, location, work status, and purchasing power if you were conducting market research before to the release of a new family vehicle. You’ll be viewing your audience quite differently if you’re conducting market research for a high-end convertible.
Demographic segmentation benefits: Why is it important?
Thus, why is demographic segmentation crucial? Well, relevancy is the root of all the advantages. Redundancy and wasteful effort will automatically decrease when you concentrate your efforts more narrowly on a particular sort of person.
In your quest for acquisitive expansion, demographic segmentation should play a significant role in your marketing and product plans for the following reasons in particular:
Better-informed product development
A crucial first step in enhancing your offering is understanding who is utilizing your goods or services, how many different demographics there are, and how they differ.
For instance, knowing that the majority of your customers make a given salary can influence product pricing and materials. Similar to this, you might wish to scale your customer care workforce to correspond with your audience’s waking hours if you are aware that the majority of them are located in a particular timezone.
More effective advertising and marketing
As buyers, we are innately more receptive to marketing messages that are pertinent to us; after all, this is the foundation of targeted web advertising. So, it should not be surprising that advertising and marketing campaigns created with a specific audience type in mind always have a greater impact than those that are more general and broad.
With the use of demographic segmentation, you may create several personas that can each receive a different type of campaign content, such as a focused social media ad or a special email.
Stronger customer retention
In the end, your target market will feel more like they are receiving goods and services tailored just for them the more you comprehend them. Metrics like customer happiness, customer loyalty, and customer retention will improve as a result of personalization.
But, bear in mind that it’s crucial to continually update your demographic segmentation data in order to stay up to date with who your target market is.
Chapter 10: Generational Segmentation
One of the major obstacles businesses encounter when trying to engage with customers is figuring out who they are and how that influences the way they shop. There are countless ways to categorize people, including by age or gender, geography or culture, or the kinds of marketing efforts that appeal to them. What if, though, you were to develop a generational marketing strategy?
It should come as no surprise that various generations think and act differently. Which generations, for instance, are more inclined to join a loyalty program? Which generations buy in stores less frequently? Their generational identity frequently shapes or even defines their mentalities. Generational segmentation offers marketers a comprehensive consumer profile that serves as a starting point for figuring out their beliefs, motives, and purchasing behavior rather than focusing on a single data point. How can businesses create a foundation for their marketing strategies using generational marketing?
What Is Generational Marketing?
Customers are classified and targeted in generational marketing based on the generation they belong to and the year they were born. There are currently four primary generations: generation Y (millennials), generation Z, and baby boomers (Gen Z). Every generation has its own set of shared experiences, beliefs, and preferences that have an impact on how they think and behave. Some of their main drivers include cultural and societal aspects, such as financial instability and technological advancements.
Their mindsets determine who they are as consumers as much as as individuals. For instance, 57% of Gen Xers claim that they are still recovering financially from the Great Recession, which makes them more likely to save for retirement than to spend their disposable income. Smartphones are used for internet shopping by 75% of millennials and Gen Zers who have grown up with modern technology. While some people could respond favorably to new advances, others would rather keep their goods and services the same.
The sole factor a business should take into account when deciding how to segment its customers is generational marketing. Usually, additional variables like location, income, and personal preferences enter the picture. It does, however, offer a solid framework for developing and analyzing individualized marketing campaigns that aids in the development of future strategies that are fully formed.
Chapter 11: Challenges & Pitfalls
Although marketing segmentation has significant drawbacks, it can be useful when targeting specific market niches. Segmentation entails categorizing groups of people based on traits or habits. For instance, a car dealership may categorize the region’s residents according to their level of income, allowing it to concentrate its marketing efforts on the group most likely to be interested in the models of automobiles it sells.
Poor Segmentation
The difficulty in determining which variable is most crucial is a significant flaw in market segmentation. According to the book “Essentials of Marketing,” by Charles W. Lamb and colleagues, possible segmentation factors include age, gender, area, ethnicity, income level, life-cycle position, buying patterns, personality, and reasons. Market segmentation is a dangerous endeavor because choosing to concentrate on one or more of these criteria over the others can mean the difference between success and failure.
Oversegmentation
According to the book “An Introduction to Property Marketing” by Abdul Hamid Mar Iman, another drawback of market segmentation is the potential to produce groups that are too small to be lucrative targets. Consider a car dealership that targets a specific income bracket because it believes that this group of people is most likely to purchase its vehicles. No matter how effective the dealership’s marketing strategy is, the prospective income will be too low if that sector has too few members.
Market Leaders
Segmentation doesn’t have many benefits if your good or service dominates the market as a whole. If you are the sole owner of the local bakery, for instance, you should probably aim to increase public awareness rather than focus on a certain subset. Yet, very few small enterprises have complete market dominance. It might still be beneficial to consider which markets to target before it becomes absolutely required because once they do, competitors can’t be far behind.
Lack of Data
It can be challenging to effectively analyze a market for small enterprises since they frequently lack vast databases of consumer research information. You are more likely to err during market segmentation if your data and subsequent analyses are shaky. For instance, you can choose to focus on a high-income demographic because you think that only they can purchase your good or service. Nevertheless, a telephone poll may have indicated that focusing on middle-class consumers is actually better for your company. Get a professional market research organization to assist you in analyzing your market to avoid such issues. If they enable you to prevent costly mistakes, the upfront research fees are cost-effective.
Chapter 12: Emerging Segments
Staying informed of developments in your sector might help you stay on top of things. You may start arming yourself with knowledge you can use in your profession by actively seeking out new material and keeping up with trends.
It need not be challenging to stay current in your field. Here are some tips on how to put this into practice at work and how it might help your learning.
The benefits for keeping up to date with your industry
Whether your position or area of expertise, keeping up with industry news and trends will help you develop knowledge, spot chances for acquisitional expansion, and provide you a competitive edge. Whether you’ve been in your field for a while or are trying to advance in your position, you will always benefit from being current.
You can speed up the decision-making process by identifying significant developments, industry evolutions, new technology, or business practices.
4 Ways To Stay Up-To-Date on Industry Developments and Trends
If you don’t keep an eye on what’s going on in your sector, you won’t be able to improve your career or your company’s acquisitive growth. It’s critical to keep up with trends if you want to establish your credibility, add value, and demonstrate that you are aware of where your industry is headed. Make time in your day for these methods since successful people spend time each day staying up to date on the most recent news and advancements in their industry.
1) Industry publications
The most recent news, opinion, and trends are published on free web journals, blogs, and e-newsletters in every business. Pick a few magazines you enjoy, then subscribe to them. If the journal is credible and genuinely benefits your learning process, you might also consider investing in subscription-based periodicals. Use an RSS feed to provide you access to headlines from the websites to which you have subscribed, allowing you to view them all in one convenient place and help you filter through the clutter.
#2) Events
Professional associations and conferences are excellent tools for staying current and discovering future trends. These are excellent locations for networking and establishing contacts. Ask your coworkers for advice if you are unsure of which associations and events are actually valuable for your expertise.
#3) Social Media
Even while social media is frequently a cesspool of mind-numbing blather, many thought leaders are also active online. It pays to look for these useful internet hotspots. Start by following the social media accounts of the publications you already subscribe to, as well as the authors of the articles you read. Don’t be hesitant to interact with them by leaving comments on their postings or posing queries. By participating in the discourse, you can learn a lot and establish important new relationships. Start with LinkedIn if you’re not much of a social media user. There are lively forums and communities where individuals converse, share information, and gain knowledge from one another.
#4) Podcasts
Take a moment to look into the podcast industry’s recent growth if you aren’t already aware with it. For almost every business and niche, there are podcasts that are both educational and entertaining. If you’re unsure what to subscribe to, look for suggestions in your favorite trade journals. While passing the time on your commute, at the gym, while cleaning, or even while walking your dog, podcasts are a terrific way to stay informed about trends and learn new information.
Curriculum
Acquisitive Growth – Workshop 3 – Segment Focus
- Industrial Segmentation
- Market-Size Based Segmentation
- Product-Based Segmentation
- Value-Based Segmentation
- Channel-Based Segmentation
- Supply Chain Segmentation
- Behavioral Segmentation
- Geographic Segmentation
- Demographic Segmentation
- Generational Segmentation
- Challenges & Pitfalls
- Emerging Segments
Distance Learning
Introduction
Welcome to Appleton Greene and thank you for enrolling on the Acquisitive Growth corporate training program. You will be learning through our unique facilitation via distance-learning method, which will enable you to practically implement everything that you learn academically. The methods and materials used in your program have been designed and developed to ensure that you derive the maximum benefits and enjoyment possible. We hope that you find the program challenging and fun to do. However, if you have never been a distance-learner before, you may be experiencing some trepidation at the task before you. So we will get you started by giving you some basic information and guidance on how you can make the best use of the modules, how you should manage the materials and what you should be doing as you work through them. This guide is designed to point you in the right direction and help you to become an effective distance-learner. Take a few hours or so to study this guide and your guide to tutorial support for students, while making notes, before you start to study in earnest.
Study environment
You will need to locate a quiet and private place to study, preferably a room where you can easily be isolated from external disturbances or distractions. Make sure the room is well-lit and incorporates a relaxed, pleasant feel. If you can spoil yourself within your study environment, you will have much more of a chance to ensure that you are always in the right frame of mind when you do devote time to study. For example, a nice fire, the ability to play soft soothing background music, soft but effective lighting, perhaps a nice view if possible and a good size desk with a comfortable chair. Make sure that your family know when you are studying and understand your study rules. Your study environment is very important. The ideal situation, if at all possible, is to have a separate study, which can be devoted to you. If this is not possible then you will need to pay a lot more attention to developing and managing your study schedule, because it will affect other people as well as yourself. The better your study environment, the more productive you will be.
Study tools & rules
Try and make sure that your study tools are sufficient and in good working order. You will need to have access to a computer, scanner and printer, with access to the internet. You will need a very comfortable chair, which supports your lower back, and you will need a good filing system. It can be very frustrating if you are spending valuable study time trying to fix study tools that are unreliable, or unsuitable for the task. Make sure that your study tools are up to date. You will also need to consider some study rules. Some of these rules will apply to you and will be intended to help you to be more disciplined about when and how you study. This distance-learning guide will help you and after you have read it you can put some thought into what your study rules should be. You will also need to negotiate some study rules for your family, friends or anyone who lives with you. They too will need to be disciplined in order to ensure that they can support you while you study. It is important to ensure that your family and friends are an integral part of your study team. Having their support and encouragement can prove to be a crucial contribution to your successful completion of the program. Involve them in as much as you can.
Successful distance-learning
Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes or workshops, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. But unlike traditional internal training courses, it is the student’s responsibility, with a distance-learning program, to ensure that they manage their own study contribution. This requires strong self-discipline and self-motivation skills and there must be a clear will to succeed. Those students who are used to managing themselves, are good at managing others and who enjoy working in isolation, are more likely to be good distance-learners. It is also important to be aware of the main reasons why you are studying and of the main objectives that you are hoping to achieve as a result. You will need to remind yourself of these objectives at times when you need to motivate yourself. Never lose sight of your long-term goals and your short-term objectives. There is nobody available here to pamper you, or to look after you, or to spoon-feed you with information, so you will need to find ways to encourage and appreciate yourself while you are studying. Make sure that you chart your study progress, so that you can be sure of your achievements and re-evaluate your goals and objectives regularly.
Self-assessment
Appleton Greene training programs are in all cases post-graduate programs. Consequently, you should already have obtained a business-related degree and be an experienced learner. You should therefore already be aware of your study strengths and weaknesses. For example, which time of the day are you at your most productive? Are you a lark or an owl? What study methods do you respond to the most? Are you a consistent learner? How do you discipline yourself? How do you ensure that you enjoy yourself while studying? It is important to understand yourself as a learner and so some self-assessment early on will be necessary if you are to apply yourself correctly. Perform a SWOT analysis on yourself as a student. List your internal strengths and weaknesses as a student and your external opportunities and threats. This will help you later on when you are creating a study plan. You can then incorporate features within your study plan that can ensure that you are playing to your strengths, while compensating for your weaknesses. You can also ensure that you make the most of your opportunities, while avoiding the potential threats to your success.
Accepting responsibility as a student
Training programs invariably require a significant investment, both in terms of what they cost and in the time that you need to contribute to study and the responsibility for successful completion of training programs rests entirely with the student. This is never more apparent than when a student is learning via distance-learning. Accepting responsibility as a student is an important step towards ensuring that you can successfully complete your training program. It is easy to instantly blame other people or factors when things go wrong. But the fact of the matter is that if a failure is your failure, then you have the power to do something about it, it is entirely in your own hands. If it is always someone else’s failure, then you are powerless to do anything about it. All students study in entirely different ways, this is because we are all individuals and what is right for one student, is not necessarily right for another. In order to succeed, you will have to accept personal responsibility for finding a way to plan, implement and manage a personal study plan that works for you. If you do not succeed, you only have yourself to blame.
Planning
By far the most critical contribution to stress, is the feeling of not being in control. In the absence of planning we tend to be reactive and can stumble from pillar to post in the hope that things will turn out fine in the end. Invariably they don’t! In order to be in control, we need to have firm ideas about how and when we want to do things. We also need to consider as many possible eventualities as we can, so that we are prepared for them when they happen. Prescriptive Change, is far easier to manage and control, than Emergent Change. The same is true with distance-learning. It is much easier and much more enjoyable, if you feel that you are in control and that things are going to plan. Even when things do go wrong, you are prepared for them and can act accordingly without any unnecessary stress. It is important therefore that you do take time to plan your studies properly.
Management
Once you have developed a clear study plan, it is of equal importance to ensure that you manage the implementation of it. Most of us usually enjoy planning, but it is usually during implementation when things go wrong. Targets are not met and we do not understand why. Sometimes we do not even know if targets are being met. It is not enough for us to conclude that the study plan just failed. If it is failing, you will need to understand what you can do about it. Similarly if your study plan is succeeding, it is still important to understand why, so that you can improve upon your success. You therefore need to have guidelines for self-assessment so that you can be consistent with performance improvement throughout the program. If you manage things correctly, then your performance should constantly improve throughout the program.
Study objectives & tasks
The first place to start is developing your program objectives. These should feature your reasons for undertaking the training program in order of priority. Keep them succinct and to the point in order to avoid confusion. Do not just write the first things that come into your head because they are likely to be too similar to each other. Make a list of possible departmental headings, such as: Customer Service; E-business; Finance; Globalization; Human Resources; Technology; Legal; Management; Marketing and Production. Then brainstorm for ideas by listing as many things that you want to achieve under each heading and later re-arrange these things in order of priority. Finally, select the top item from each department heading and choose these as your program objectives. Try and restrict yourself to five because it will enable you to focus clearly. It is likely that the other things that you listed will be achieved if each of the top objectives are achieved. If this does not prove to be the case, then simply work through the process again.
Study forecast
As a guide, the Appleton Greene Acquisitive Growth corporate training program should take 12-18 months to complete, depending upon your availability and current commitments. The reason why there is such a variance in time estimates is because every student is an individual, with differing productivity levels and different commitments. These differentiations are then exaggerated by the fact that this is a distance-learning program, which incorporates the practical integration of academic theory as an as a part of the training program. Consequently all of the project studies are real, which means that important decisions and compromises need to be made. You will want to get things right and will need to be patient with your expectations in order to ensure that they are. We would always recommend that you are prudent with your own task and time forecasts, but you still need to develop them and have a clear indication of what are realistic expectations in your case. With reference to your time planning: consider the time that you can realistically dedicate towards study with the program every week; calculate how long it should take you to complete the program, using the guidelines featured here; then break the program down into logical modules and allocate a suitable proportion of time to each of them, these will be your milestones; you can create a time plan by using a spreadsheet on your computer, or a personal organizer such as MS Outlook, you could also use a financial forecasting software; break your time forecasts down into manageable chunks of time, the more specific you can be, the more productive and accurate your time management will be; finally, use formulas where possible to do your time calculations for you, because this will help later on when your forecasts need to change in line with actual performance. With reference to your task planning: refer to your list of tasks that need to be undertaken in order to achieve your program objectives; with reference to your time plan, calculate when each task should be implemented; remember that you are not estimating when your objectives will be achieved, but when you will need to focus upon implementing the corresponding tasks; you also need to ensure that each task is implemented in conjunction with the associated training modules which are relevant; then break each single task down into a list of specific to do’s, say approximately ten to do’s for each task and enter these into your study plan; once again you could use MS Outlook to incorporate both your time and task planning and this could constitute your study plan; you could also use a project management software like MS Project. You should now have a clear and realistic forecast detailing when you can expect to be able to do something about undertaking the tasks to achieve your program objectives.
Performance management
It is one thing to develop your study forecast, it is quite another to monitor your progress. Ultimately it is less important whether you achieve your original study forecast and more important that you update it so that it constantly remains realistic in line with your performance. As you begin to work through the program, you will begin to have more of an idea about your own personal performance and productivity levels as a distance-learner. Once you have completed your first study module, you should re-evaluate your study forecast for both time and tasks, so that they reflect your actual performance level achieved. In order to achieve this you must first time yourself while training by using an alarm clock. Set the alarm for hourly intervals and make a note of how far you have come within that time. You can then make a note of your actual performance on your study plan and then compare your performance against your forecast. Then consider the reasons that have contributed towards your performance level, whether they are positive or negative and make a considered adjustment to your future forecasts as a result. Given time, you should start achieving your forecasts regularly.
With reference to time management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual time taken in your study plan; consider your successes with time-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; consider your failures with time-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future time planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to time planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your time expectations. You need to be consistent with your time management, otherwise you will never complete your studies. This will either be because you are not contributing enough time to your studies, or you will become less efficient with the time that you do allocate to your studies. Remember, if you are not in control of your studies, they can just become yet another cause of stress for you.
With reference to your task management: time yourself while you are studying and make a note of the actual tasks that you have undertaken in your study plan; consider your successes with task-efficiency and the reasons for the success in each case; take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; consider your failures with task-efficiency and the reasons for the failures in each case and take this into consideration when reviewing future task planning; re-evaluate your study forecast in relation to task planning for the remainder of your training program to ensure that you continue to be realistic about your task expectations. You need to be consistent with your task management, otherwise you will never know whether you are achieving your program objectives or not.
Keeping in touch
You will have access to qualified and experienced professors and tutors who are responsible for providing tutorial support for your particular training program. So don’t be shy about letting them know how you are getting on. We keep electronic records of all tutorial support emails so that professors and tutors can review previous correspondence before considering an individual response. It also means that there is a record of all communications between you and your professors and tutors and this helps to avoid any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation. If you have a problem relating to the program, share it with them via email. It is likely that they have come across the same problem before and are usually able to make helpful suggestions and steer you in the right direction. To learn more about when and how to use tutorial support, please refer to the Tutorial Support section of this student information guide. This will help you to ensure that you are making the most of tutorial support that is available to you and will ultimately contribute towards your success and enjoyment with your training program.
Work colleagues and family
You should certainly discuss your program study progress with your colleagues, friends and your family. Appleton Greene training programs are very practical. They require you to seek information from other people, to plan, develop and implement processes with other people and to achieve feedback from other people in relation to viability and productivity. You will therefore have plenty of opportunities to test your ideas and enlist the views of others. People tend to be sympathetic towards distance-learners, so don’t bottle it all up in yourself. Get out there and share it! It is also likely that your family and colleagues are going to benefit from your labors with the program, so they are likely to be much more interested in being involved than you might think. Be bold about delegating work to those who might benefit themselves. This is a great way to achieve understanding and commitment from people who you may later rely upon for process implementation. Share your experiences with your friends and family.
Making it relevant
The key to successful learning is to make it relevant to your own individual circumstances. At all times you should be trying to make bridges between the content of the program and your own situation. Whether you achieve this through quiet reflection or through interactive discussion with your colleagues, client partners or your family, remember that it is the most important and rewarding aspect of translating your studies into real self-improvement. You should be clear about how you want the program to benefit you. This involves setting clear study objectives in relation to the content of the course in terms of understanding, concepts, completing research or reviewing activities and relating the content of the modules to your own situation. Your objectives may understandably change as you work through the program, in which case you should enter the revised objectives on your study plan so that you have a permanent reminder of what you are trying to achieve, when and why.
Distance-learning check-list
Prepare your study environment, your study tools and rules.
Undertake detailed self-assessment in terms of your ability as a learner.
Create a format for your study plan.
Consider your study objectives and tasks.
Create a study forecast.
Assess your study performance.
Re-evaluate your study forecast.
Be consistent when managing your study plan.
Use your Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) for tutorial support.
Make sure you keep in touch with those around you.
Tutorial Support
Programs
Appleton Greene uses standard and bespoke corporate training programs as vessels to transfer business process improvement knowledge into the heart of our clients’ organizations. Each individual program focuses upon the implementation of a specific business process, which enables clients to easily quantify their return on investment. There are hundreds of established Appleton Greene corporate training products now available to clients within customer services, e-business, finance, globalization, human resources, information technology, legal, management, marketing and production. It does not matter whether a client’s employees are located within one office, or an unlimited number of international offices, we can still bring them together to learn and implement specific business processes collectively. Our approach to global localization enables us to provide clients with a truly international service with that all important personal touch. Appleton Greene corporate training programs can be provided virtually or locally and they are all unique in that they individually focus upon a specific business function. They are implemented over a sustainable period of time and professional support is consistently provided by qualified learning providers and specialist consultants.
Support available
You will have a designated Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and an Accredited Consultant and we encourage you to communicate with them as much as possible. In all cases tutorial support is provided online because we can then keep a record of all communications to ensure that tutorial support remains consistent. You would also be forwarding your work to the tutorial support unit for evaluation and assessment. You will receive individual feedback on all of the work that you undertake on a one-to-one basis, together with specific recommendations for anything that may need to be changed in order to achieve a pass with merit or a pass with distinction and you then have as many opportunities as you may need to re-submit project studies until they meet with the required standard. Consequently the only reason that you should really fail (CLP) is if you do not do the work. It makes no difference to us whether a student takes 12 months or 18 months to complete the program, what matters is that in all cases the same quality standard will have been achieved.
Support Process
Please forward all of your future emails to the designated (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit email address that has been provided and please do not duplicate or copy your emails to other AGC email accounts as this will just cause unnecessary administration. Please note that emails are always answered as quickly as possible but you will need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general tutorial support emails during busy periods, because emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. You will also need to allow a period of up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Please therefore kindly allow for this within your time planning. All communications are managed online via email because it enables tutorial service support managers to review other communications which have been received before responding and it ensures that there is a copy of all communications retained on file for future reference. All communications will be stored within your personal (CLP) study file here at Appleton Greene throughout your designated study period. If you need any assistance or clarification at any time, please do not hesitate to contact us by forwarding an email and remember that we are here to help. If you have any questions, please list and number your questions succinctly and you can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each and every query.
Time Management
It takes approximately 1 Year to complete the Acquisitive Growth corporate training program, incorporating 12 x 6-hour monthly workshops. Each student will also need to contribute approximately 4 hours per week over 1 Year of their personal time. Students can study from home or work at their own pace and are responsible for managing their own study plan. There are no formal examinations and students are evaluated and assessed based upon their project study submissions, together with the quality of their internal analysis and supporting documents. They can contribute more time towards study when they have the time to do so and can contribute less time when they are busy. All students tend to be in full time employment while studying and the Acquisitive Growth program is purposely designed to accommodate this, so there is plenty of flexibility in terms of time management. It makes no difference to us at Appleton Greene, whether individuals take 12-18 months to complete this program. What matters is that in all cases the same standard of quality will have been achieved with the standard and bespoke programs that have been developed.
Distance Learning Guide
The distance learning guide should be your first port of call when starting your training program. It will help you when you are planning how and when to study, how to create the right environment and how to establish the right frame of mind. If you can lay the foundations properly during the planning stage, then it will contribute to your enjoyment and productivity while training later. The guide helps to change your lifestyle in order to accommodate time for study and to cultivate good study habits. It helps you to chart your progress so that you can measure your performance and achieve your goals. It explains the tools that you will need for study and how to make them work. It also explains how to translate academic theory into practical reality. Spend some time now working through your distance learning guide and make sure that you have firm foundations in place so that you can make the most of your distance learning program. There is no requirement for you to attend training workshops or classes at Appleton Greene offices. The entire program is undertaken online, program course manuals and project studies are administered via the Appleton Greene web site and via email, so you are able to study at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office as long as you have a computer and access to the internet.
How To Study
The how to study guide provides students with a clear understanding of the Appleton Greene facilitation via distance learning training methods and enables students to obtain a clear overview of the training program content. It enables students to understand the step-by-step training methods used by Appleton Greene and how course manuals are integrated with project studies. It explains the research and development that is required and the need to provide evidence and references to support your statements. It also enables students to understand precisely what will be required of them in order to achieve a pass with merit and a pass with distinction for individual project studies and provides useful guidance on how to be innovative and creative when developing your Unique Program Proposition (UPP).
Tutorial Support
Tutorial support for the Appleton Greene Acquisitive Growth corporate training program is provided online either through the Appleton Greene Client Support Portal (CSP), or via email. All tutorial support requests are facilitated by a designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). They are responsible for deciding which professor or tutor is the most appropriate option relating to the support required and then the tutorial support request is forwarded onto them. Once the professor or tutor has completed the tutorial support request and answered any questions that have been asked, this communication is then returned to the student via email by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). This enables all tutorial support, between students, professors and tutors, to be facilitated by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM) efficiently and securely through the email account. You will therefore need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general support queries and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because all tutorial support requests are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Consequently you need to put some thought into the management of your tutorial support procedure in order to ensure that your study plan is feasible and to obtain the maximum possible benefit from tutorial support during your period of study. Please retain copies of your tutorial support emails for future reference. Please ensure that ALL of your tutorial support emails are set out using the format as suggested within your guide to tutorial support. Your tutorial support emails need to be referenced clearly to the specific part of the course manual or project study which you are working on at any given time. You also need to list and number any questions that you would like to ask, up to a maximum of five questions within each tutorial support email. Remember the more specific you can be with your questions the more specific your answers will be too and this will help you to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or duplication. The guide to tutorial support is intended to help you to understand how and when to use support in order to ensure that you get the most out of your training program. Appleton Greene training programs are designed to enable you to do things for yourself. They provide you with a structure or a framework and we use tutorial support to facilitate students while they practically implement what they learn. In other words, we are enabling students to do things for themselves. The benefits of distance learning via facilitation are considerable and are much more sustainable in the long-term than traditional short-term knowledge sharing programs. Consequently you should learn how and when to use tutorial support so that you can maximize the benefits from your learning experience with Appleton Greene. This guide describes the purpose of each training function and how to use them and how to use tutorial support in relation to each aspect of the training program. It also provides useful tips and guidance with regard to best practice.
Tutorial Support Tips
Students are often unsure about how and when to use tutorial support with Appleton Greene. This Tip List will help you to understand more about how to achieve the most from using tutorial support. Refer to it regularly to ensure that you are continuing to use the service properly. Tutorial support is critical to the success of your training experience, but it is important to understand when and how to use it in order to maximize the benefit that you receive. It is no coincidence that those students who succeed are those that learn how to be positive, proactive and productive when using tutorial support.
Be positive and friendly with your tutorial support emails
Remember that if you forward an email to the tutorial support unit, you are dealing with real people. “Do unto others as you would expect others to do unto you”. If you are positive, complimentary and generally friendly in your emails, you will generate a similar response in return. This will be more enjoyable, productive and rewarding for you in the long-term.
Think about the impression that you want to create
Every time that you communicate, you create an impression, which can be either positive or negative, so put some thought into the impression that you want to create. Remember that copies of all tutorial support emails are stored electronically and tutors will always refer to prior correspondence before responding to any current emails. Over a period of time, a general opinion will be arrived at in relation to your character, attitude and ability. Try to manage your own frustrations, mood swings and temperament professionally, without involving the tutorial support team. Demonstrating frustration or a lack of patience is a weakness and will be interpreted as such. The good thing about communicating in writing, is that you will have the time to consider your content carefully, you can review it and proof-read it before sending your email to Appleton Greene and this should help you to communicate more professionally, consistently and to avoid any unnecessary knee-jerk reactions to individual situations as and when they may arise. Please also remember that the CLP Tutorial Support Unit will not just be responsible for evaluating and assessing the quality of your work, they will also be responsible for providing recommendations to other learning providers and to client contacts within the Appleton Greene global client network, so do be in control of your own emotions and try to create a good impression.
Remember that quality is preferred to quantity
Please remember that when you send an email to the tutorial support team, you are not using Twitter or Text Messaging. Try not to forward an email every time that you have a thought. This will not prove to be productive either for you or for the tutorial support team. Take time to prepare your communications properly, as if you were writing a professional letter to a business colleague and make a list of queries that you are likely to have and then incorporate them within one email, say once every month, so that the tutorial support team can understand more about context, application and your methodology for study. Get yourself into a consistent routine with your tutorial support requests and use the tutorial support template provided with ALL of your emails. The (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit will not spoon-feed you with information. They need to be able to evaluate and assess your tutorial support requests carefully and professionally.
Be specific about your questions in order to receive specific answers
Try not to write essays by thinking as you are writing tutorial support emails. The tutorial support unit can be unclear about what in fact you are asking, or what you are looking to achieve. Be specific about asking questions that you want answers to. Number your questions. You will then receive specific answers to each and every question. This is the main purpose of tutorial support via email.
Keep a record of your tutorial support emails
It is important that you keep a record of all tutorial support emails that are forwarded to you. You can then refer to them when necessary and it avoids any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.
Individual training workshops or telephone support
Please be advised that Appleton Greene does not provide separate or individual tutorial support meetings, workshops, or provide telephone support for individual students. Appleton Greene is an equal opportunities learning and service provider and we are therefore understandably bound to treat all students equally. We cannot therefore broker special financial or study arrangements with individual students regardless of the circumstances. All tutorial support is provided online and this enables Appleton Greene to keep a record of all communications between students, professors and tutors on file for future reference, in accordance with our quality management procedure and your terms and conditions of enrolment. All tutorial support is provided online via email because it enables us to have time to consider support content carefully, it ensures that you receive a considered and detailed response to your queries. You can number questions that you would like to ask, which relate to things that you do not understand or where clarification may be required. You can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each individual query. You will also then have a record of these communications and of all tutorial support, which has been provided to you. This makes tutorial support administration more productive by avoiding any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.
Tutorial Support Email Format
You should use this tutorial support format if you need to request clarification or assistance while studying with your training program. Please note that ALL of your tutorial support request emails should use the same format. You should therefore set up a standard email template, which you can then use as and when you need to. Emails that are forwarded to Appleton Greene, which do not use the following format, may be rejected and returned to you by the (CLP) Program Administration Manager. A detailed response will then be forwarded to you via email usually within 20 business days of receipt for general support queries and 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Your tutorial support request, together with the corresponding TSU reply, will then be saved and stored within your electronic TSU file at Appleton Greene for future reference.
Subject line of your email
Please insert: Appleton Greene (CLP) Tutorial Support Request: (Your Full Name) (Date), within the subject line of your email.
Main body of your email
Please insert:
1. Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) Tutorial Support Request
2. Your Full Name
3. Date of TS request
4. Preferred email address
5. Backup email address
6. Course manual page name or number (reference)
7. Project study page name or number (reference)
Subject of enquiry
Please insert a maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Briefly outline the subject matter of your inquiry, or what your questions relate to.
Question 1
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 3
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 4
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 5
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Please note that a maximum of 5 questions is permitted with each individual tutorial support request email.
Procedure
* List the questions that you want to ask first, then re-arrange them in order of priority. Make sure that you reference them, where necessary, to the course manuals or project studies.
* Make sure that you are specific about your questions and number them. Try to plan the content within your emails to make sure that it is relevant.
* Make sure that your tutorial support emails are set out correctly, using the Tutorial Support Email Format provided here.
* Save a copy of your email and incorporate the date sent after the subject title. Keep your tutorial support emails within the same file and in date order for easy reference.
* Allow up to 20 business days for a response to general tutorial support emails and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because detailed individual responses will be made in all cases and tutorial support emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received.
* Emails can and do get lost. So if you have not received a reply within the appropriate time, forward another copy or a reminder to the tutorial support unit to be sure that it has been received but do not forward reminders unless the appropriate time has elapsed.
* When you receive a reply, save it immediately featuring the date of receipt after the subject heading for easy reference. In most cases the tutorial support unit replies to your questions individually, so you will have a record of the questions that you asked as well as the answers offered. With project studies however, separate emails are usually forwarded by the tutorial support unit, so do keep a record of your own original emails as well.
* Remember to be positive and friendly in your emails. You are dealing with real people who will respond to the same things that you respond to.
* Try not to repeat questions that have already been asked in previous emails. If this happens the tutorial support unit will probably just refer you to the appropriate answers that have already been provided within previous emails.
* If you lose your tutorial support email records you can write to Appleton Greene to receive a copy of your tutorial support file, but a separate administration charge may be levied for this service.
How To Study
Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can help you to plan a task list for getting started so that you can be clear about your direction and your priorities in relation to your training program. It is also a good way to introduce yourself to the tutorial support team.
Planning your study environment
Your study conditions are of great importance and will have a direct effect on how much you enjoy your training program. Consider how much space you will have, whether it is comfortable and private and whether you are likely to be disturbed. The study tools and facilities at your disposal are also important to the success of your distance-learning experience. Your tutorial support unit can help with useful tips and guidance, regardless of your starting position. It is important to get this right before you start working on your training program.
Planning your program objectives
It is important that you have a clear list of study objectives, in order of priority, before you start working on your training program. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance here to ensure that your study objectives have been afforded due consideration and priority.
Planning how and when to study
Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. This approach is designed to let you study efficiently away from the traditional classroom environment. It is important however, that you plan how and when to study, so that you are making the most of your natural attributes, strengths and opportunities. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance and useful tips to ensure that you are playing to your strengths.
Planning your study tasks
You should have a clear understanding of the study tasks that you should be undertaking and the priority associated with each task. These tasks should also be integrated with your program objectives. The distance learning guide and the guide to tutorial support for students should help you here, but if you need any clarification or assistance, please contact your tutorial support unit.
Planning your time
You will need to allocate specific times during your calendar when you intend to study if you are to have a realistic chance of completing your program on time. You are responsible for planning and managing your own study time, so it is important that you are successful with this. Your tutorial support unit can help you with this if your time plan is not working.
Keeping in touch
Consistency is the key here. If you communicate too frequently in short bursts, or too infrequently with no pattern, then your management ability with your studies will be questioned, both by you and by your tutorial support unit. It is obvious when a student is in control and when one is not and this will depend how able you are at sticking with your study plan. Inconsistency invariably leads to in-completion.
Charting your progress
Your tutorial support team can help you to chart your own study progress. Refer to your distance learning guide for further details.
Making it work
To succeed, all that you will need to do is apply yourself to undertaking your training program and interpreting it correctly. Success or failure lies in your hands and your hands alone, so be sure that you have a strategy for making it work. Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can guide you through the process of program planning, development and implementation.
Reading methods
Interpretation is often unique to the individual but it can be improved and even quantified by implementing consistent interpretation methods. Interpretation can be affected by outside interference such as family members, TV, or the Internet, or simply by other thoughts which are demanding priority in our minds. One thing that can improve our productivity is using recognized reading methods. This helps us to focus and to be more structured when reading information for reasons of importance, rather than relaxation.
Speed reading
When reading through course manuals for the first time, subconsciously set your reading speed to be just fast enough that you cannot dwell on individual words or tables. With practice, you should be able to read an A4 sheet of paper in one minute. You will not achieve much in the way of a detailed understanding, but your brain will retain a useful overview. This overview will be important later on and will enable you to keep individual issues in perspective with a more generic picture because speed reading appeals to the memory part of the brain. Do not worry about what you do or do not remember at this stage.
Content reading
Once you have speed read everything, you can then start work in earnest. You now need to read a particular section of your course manual thoroughly, by making detailed notes while you read. This process is called Content Reading and it will help to consolidate your understanding and interpretation of the information that has been provided.
Making structured notes on the course manuals
When you are content reading, you should be making detailed notes, which are both structured and informative. Make these notes in a MS Word document on your computer, because you can then amend and update these as and when you deem it to be necessary. List your notes under three headings: 1. Interpretation – 2. Questions – 3. Tasks. The purpose of the 1st section is to clarify your interpretation by writing it down. The purpose of the 2nd section is to list any questions that the issue raises for you. The purpose of the 3rd section is to list any tasks that you should undertake as a result. Anyone who has graduated with a business-related degree should already be familiar with this process.
Organizing structured notes separately
You should then transfer your notes to a separate study notebook, preferably one that enables easy referencing, such as a MS Word Document, a MS Excel Spreadsheet, a MS Access Database, or a personal organizer on your cell phone. Transferring your notes allows you to have the opportunity of cross-checking and verifying them, which assists considerably with understanding and interpretation. You will also find that the better you are at doing this, the more chance you will have of ensuring that you achieve your study objectives.
Question your understanding
Do challenge your understanding. Explain things to yourself in your own words by writing things down.
Clarifying your understanding
If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your understanding.
Question your interpretation
Do challenge your interpretation. Qualify your interpretation by writing it down.
Clarifying your interpretation
If you are at all unsure, forward an email to your tutorial support unit and they will help to clarify your interpretation.
Qualification Requirements
The student will need to successfully complete the project study and all of the exercises relating to the Acquisitive Growth corporate training program, achieving a pass with merit or distinction in each case, in order to qualify as an Accredited Acquisitive Growth Specialist (AAGS). All monthly workshops need to be tried and tested within your company. These project studies can be completed in your own time and at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office. There are no formal examinations, assessment is based upon the successful completion of the project studies. They are called project studies because, unlike case studies, these projects are not theoretical, they incorporate real program processes that need to be properly researched and developed. The project studies assist us in measuring your understanding and interpretation of the training program and enable us to assess qualification merits. All of the project studies are based entirely upon the content within the training program and they enable you to integrate what you have learnt into your corporate training practice.
Acquisitive Growth – Grading Contribution
Project Study – Grading Contribution
Customer Service – 10%
E-business – 05%
Finance – 10%
Globalization – 10%
Human Resources – 10%
Information Technology – 10%
Legal – 05%
Management – 10%
Marketing – 10%
Production – 10%
Education – 05%
Logistics – 05%
TOTAL GRADING – 100%
Qualification grades
A mark of 90% = Pass with Distinction.
A mark of 75% = Pass with Merit.
A mark of less than 75% = Fail.
If you fail to achieve a mark of 75% with a project study, you will receive detailed feedback from the Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and/or Accredited Consultant, together with a list of tasks which you will need to complete, in order to ensure that your project study meets with the minimum quality standard that is required by Appleton Greene. You can then re-submit your project study for further evaluation and assessment. Indeed you can re-submit as many drafts of your project studies as you need to, until such a time as they eventually meet with the required standard by Appleton Greene, so you need not worry about this, it is all part of the learning process.
When marking project studies, Appleton Greene is looking for sufficient evidence of the following:
Pass with merit
A satisfactory level of program understanding
A satisfactory level of program interpretation
A satisfactory level of project study content presentation
A satisfactory level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
A satisfactory level of the practical integration of academic theory
Pass with distinction
An exceptional level of program understanding
An exceptional level of program interpretation
An exceptional level of project study content presentation
An exceptional level of Unique Program Proposition (UPP) quality
An exceptional level of the practical integration of academic theory
Preliminary Analysis
Online Article
“Why Marketers Are Refreshing Segmentation Strategies
By Paul Talbot,
Forbes
Disruption is prompting marketers to revisit segmentation strategies and take a fresh look at how to effectively engage with specific clusters of customers.
I recently asked Stefan Lysak, principal, product commercialization and analytics practice at Kantar, for his perspective on recent segmentation innovations.
Paul Talbot: What impact has the Covid-19 pandemic had on the process marketers use to design and manage the best possible segmentation strategies?
Stefan Lysak: The pandemic has impacted business strategy over the past several months, in many cases causing marketers to pause on large-scale strategic offers such as segmentation during such a turbulent time for consumers as well as the economy.
However, there are industries such as tech, and gaming in particular, where marketers have seized upon the opportunities presented during the pandemic to develop broader, more educated targeting efforts through the implementation of global segmentations.
Talbot: How should a marketer evaluate the strength of their existing segmentation strategy to determine if changes make sense?
Lysak: The strength of any existing segmentation strategy lies in its ability to assess the needs, behaviors and motivations across the market and reach the various groups of targeted consumers with the right messaging at the appropriate point in their purchasing journey.
In most cases, marketers can determine the strength of their targeted efforts by measuring the ROI of segment-specific marketing and deployment efforts.
Identification of diminished impacts from existing targeted efforts may signal a need to revise the marketing strategy to account for fundamental changes in the product or category of interest.
Talbot: How should this process be managed to avoid making potentially harmful changes?
Lysak: In many cases, changes to the market are more subtle or perhaps simply temporary in nature. To that end, most segmentation schemes can be refreshed to incorporate the existing framework while simultaneously exploring the nuances and implications of any slight changes in the dynamics across the market.
Talbot: Which types of changes to the market are subtle?
Lysak: This would include changes in consumer needs, attitudes or behaviors that do not dramatically influence the strategic initiatives of existing brands in the market.
Talbot: Can you provide an example?
Lysak: While there were certainly groups of consumers who displayed dramatic reactions to the pandemic, many felt the need to maintain a similar routine and structure in their lives, purchasing the same brands or maintaining similar nutritional habits.
However, even those who resisted change were forced to try new things, such as cooking healthier meals, shopping online or using credit/debit cards as their regular payment method. For some, these were simply viewed as minor inconveniences to endure during an extremely difficult period of time.
Talbot: How can a change which is temporary best be distinguished from a change with more permanence?
Lysak: The best method to truly determine whether a change can be considered more permanent is to track these behaviors over time. In many cases, forced behavioral change will not ultimately lead to a change in preference unless we observe a similar change to a consumer’s underlying attitudes or needs. For some, the impact of an event may have created a long-term shift in their needs or a change to their lifestyle that requires a more permanent change in their behaviors.
Talbot: How should a segmentation tactic be refreshed?
Lysak: Segmentations are often ‘refreshed’ when the underlying assumptions related to the creation of the original segments have undergone slight changes over a period of time, such as the introduction of a new competitive brand in the market, the expansion of an existing portfolio of products or services or the desire to explore potential growth opportunities across adjacent or even entirely new categories.
In many cases, organizations wish to maintain a link to the core framework from the existing segmentation while infusing fresh insights and strategic ideas to allow for the identification of newly evolved consumer segments.
Talbot: Any other insights on shifts in segmentation strategy you’d like to share?
Lysak: During the height of the pandemic and economic shutdown, marketers were quite cautious about changing strategies and making large-scale segmentation decisions while lacking critical information about potential future implications on consumer attitudes and behaviors.
However, as we began to emerge from the pandemic into a ‘new normal’ way of life, evolving segmentation strategies were at the forefront of many client initiatives as they began to look forward into 2023 and beyond.”
If you would like to view the original article, please visit: www.forbes.com
Online Article
“What You Need to Know About Segmentation
By
Gretchen Gavett,
July 09, 2014,
Harvard Business Review
The marketers of Clearblue Advanced Pregnancy Test, a product that can tell you if you’re one-week, two-weeks, or three-plus weeks pregnant, asked a couple of D-list celebrities to tweet out their positive tests back in 2013. As Businessweek’s Jessica Grose reported, the maker of the test, Swiss Precision Diagnostics, has a 25% share of the at-home pregnancy-testing industry and is targeting its marketing efforts at Millennials. Grose quotes IbisWorld researcher Jocelyn Phillips as pointing to the high-tech aspects of Clearblue’s test, also noting that young women might be more willing to shell out more money for such technology — the digital version costs about $5 more than the boring old blue and pink line version.
There is nothing new about this kind of segmenting in the pregnancy test market, however. And it’s actually a really useful (if not slightly unsettling) example of how you might segment potential customers with very different needs and behaviors.
For example, you could segment the market for early pregnancy tests based on demographics such as age and income, or you could segment the market based on consumers’ price sensitivity. But in this situation, it is useful to ask why: Why would a woman want to take a pregnancy test? And are these reasons the same for everyone? A little bit of thought would suggest that there are two groups of women: hopefuls, those who want to be pregnant, and fearfuls, those who are afraid that they might be pregnant.
How would you identify these two segments and market to them differently? Often companies offer multiple products that appeal to different market segments and let customers self-select. That is, the firm does not identify customers in various market segments; instead, the customers reveal their market segment identity by choosing different products. Quidol, a company based in San Diego, California, created two different products to appeal to two segments in the market for early pregnancy tests: the hopefuls and the fearfuls. The actual test products were almost identical, but the two products were given different names and package designs, were placed in different aisles of a drugstore, and were priced differently.
Segmenting, at its most basic, is the separation of a group of customers with different needs into subgroups of customers with similar needs and preferences. By doing this, a company can better tailor and target its products and services to meet each segment’s needs. This isn’t, as McKinsey’s John Forsyth says, simply for marketing or retail firms. “We see many, many companies saying, ‘I want to get more consumer-driven and customer-facing. But sometimes the organizations don’t know how to start. I’d say you really start with a basic understanding of your consumers or customers, right? And that’s segmentation.”
It sounds straightforward but often it isn’t. Here are a few pitfalls that many companies fall into when they start thinking about segmentation. One, companies rarely create a segment — more often they uncover one. Two, segmentation and demographics are very different things. “You have two people, we know they’re the same age, we know they’re British citizens, and we know they’re of royal blood,” explains Forsyth. “One of them is Prince Charles. The other is Ozzy Osbourne, the Prince of Darkness. They’re in the same demographic segment, but I can’t imagine marketing to them the same way.”
And three: you have to ask yourself why you want to segment and what decisions you’ll make based on the information. “Many companies say, well, I think I just need a segmentation,” says Forsyth. “But before you even start the segmentation, you need to really understand why you’re doing it and what some of the actions are that you’re planning to take, based on what you think you might see. It helps you understand what’s actionable in terms of driving a company’s business.”
Once you’ve answered these questions, you have to decide whether you want to start segmenting by needs or behaviors. “If you’re doing something strategic and you’re trying to figure out if you have the right brands, the right value proposition, the right product line, then I would say you should start with needs or attitude segmentation,” explains Forsyth. This is basically trying to identify what needs your product or service is or could meet.
“But if you think you’ve got that pretty much under control,” he continues, “and you need to understand how to go to market or target your digital and TV spending, then I would start with behavior.” This involves trying to identify differences in customer groups based on their buying and lifestyle patterns, for example.
Regardless of your approach, a useful segmentation should include these six characteristics:
1) Identifiable. You should be able to identify customers in each segment and measure their characteristics, like demographics or usage behavior.
2) Substantial. It’s usually not cost-effective to target small segments — a segment, therefore, must be large enough to be potentially profitable.
3) Accessible. It sounds obvious, but your company should be able to reach its segments via communication and distribution channels. When it comes to young people, for example, your company should have access to Twitter and Tumblr and know how to use them authentically — or, as Clearblue smartly did, reach out to celebrities with active Twitter presences to do some of your marketing for you.
4) Stable. In order for a marketing effort to be successful, a segment should be stable enough for a long enough period of time to be marketed to strategically. For example, lifestyle is often used as a way to segment. But research has found that, internationally, lifestyle is dynamic and constantly evolving. Thus, segmenting based on that variable globally might not be wise.
5) Differentiable. The people (or organizations, in B2B marketing) in a segment should have similar needs that are clearly different from the needs of other people in other segments.
6) Actionable. You have to be able to provide products or services to your segments. One U.S. insurance company, for example, spent a lot of time and money identifying a segment, only to discover that it couldn’t find any customers for its insurance product in that segment, nor was the organization able to design any actions to target them.
Now you can start breaking down segments by who buys, what they buy, and why they buy (or use or view, etc.) it. The pregnancy test interactive above is a great example of how this works.
There are also prominent failures that companies should heed. One of the most infamous is when Bic decided to segment its young female consumers. The “Bic Cristal for Her” writing utensils were thinner, designed with more pastel colors, and priced higher than other pens. Women, in general, were offended, taking to Amazon to write some very creative reviews. The pen market, in other words, was not as heterogeneous along gender lines as Bic had thought.
When thinking about how you segment, John Forsyth has several suggestions. For one, he notes, “focus groups are dead. If you’re still using focus groups, you’re using 30-year-old technology.” A much better way to understand customer needs and behaviors is to spend time with people in their homes, stores, or health clubs. “You watch them, you talk to them while they’re doing the kinds of things we want to be observing.”
This type of qualitative research is all the more important because it showcases real stories that are key to convincing stakeholders. “When we illustrate things with qualitative research, we get CEOs going, ‘Wow, you’re really telling me my marketing strategy is all wrong and I need to change it,’” says Forsyth. “It’s very powerful, and it’s really exploded in the last 10 years.”
Big Data and technology have changed how companies approach segmenting. “The old model, particularly in the market research world was, ‘I understand people’s needs and attitudes, and behaviors will come from that,’” Forsyth explains. “Today, in many situations, [marketers] have flipped it to say, ‘I’m going to do segmentation based on their behaviors, and then I’m going to try to understand the needs that drive behavioral differences.”
He warns, however, that this type of segmentation is “a lot harder to do than people think, and I don’t think we’re anywhere near being good at it yet.”
Forsyth’s also seeing a lot of movement in the area of segmenting emerging markets worldwide, which poses a number of challenges. For one, scales marketers use to measure needs or behaviors in one country may be way off in another due to different cultural norms.
He also notes that affordability is still a huge factor in developing countries, too, whereas it may not be elsewhere — as the $20 pack of digital pregnancy tests demonstrates nicely.”
If you would like to view the original article, please visit: www.hbr.org
Online Article
“Customer Segmentation: Taking A Multi-Lens Approach To Understanding Customer Behavior
By Rajesh Kari,
Forbes
The pandemic has been a huge reset of our times. The historical understanding of customers and their segments is undergoing change. In fact, I’m finding that new-age customers are multilayered and cannot be put into generally designated segments.
There has been an evident shift in spending power of different demographics in the market today as well. A new spending behemoth is emerging in Generation Z. The microsegments within each customer segment are also influencing purchase decisions. As a result, I believe there is a need for brands to reevaluate their customer segmentation strategies and how they build segment profiles.
Customer Segments From A Hybrid Lens
As an expert in social media analytics and research, I believe customer bases have diversified demographically, culturally and psychologically. Putting customers in broadly defined categories doesn’t achieve any purpose. A new hybrid approach needs to be adopted for more robust and relevant customer segmentation. The new approach has to be multicultural, multilingual and multichannel in character. This is where social media becomes crucial.
Social media has useful information about changing customer behaviors, but the unstructured format of social media data can make it difficult to leverage. However, this information needs to be combined with your other structured data sources to create more comprehensive customer segments.
A hybrid customer segmentation strategy that uses social media as a data source will reveal microsegments within the primary segments and help in tracking microshifts in their behaviors and preferences. A hybrid approach also needs to be used to create customer segment profiles that go beyond character traits and reveal behavior patterns, unmet needs and emotional motivators.
Gen Z As Customers
Gen Zs hold a great deal of spending power today. What differentiates Gen Zs from other generations is that they were born amid the digital milieu. They have had maximum exposure to gadgets, apps and devices. They shop online, seek information online and even influence online. Their digital behavior hides insights that are crucial for any brand. Gen Zs also reveal a great deal about themselves and their preferences on social media channels such as TikTok. I’ve observed they initiate trends on these channels, actively support causes and do not shy away from calling out brands.
A business should ideally be combining information from their digital usage behavior, social media conversations and offline behavior in their customer segmentation strategy. Merely depending on one data source for deconstructing Gen Z behavior will only lead to fraught segment intelligence.
Customer Segments And Their Emotional Motivators
So far, businesses have often relied on sentiment analysis of different customer segments. But sentiments don’t move customers; emotions do. I’ve observed Gen Z and millennial customer segments are unapologetically passionate about their emotional associations with brands. A brand’s customer segmentation strategy should also factor in emotional analytics.
Each customer segment will have unique emotional motivators that drive them to make purchase decisions. These emotions go beyond sentiments and can play a role in making happy customers brand advocates. Your customer segmentation strategy should deconstruct customer profiles and map them against the emotions wheel. It should identify the whole range of emotions a customer segment experiences and identify the real motivators.
Conclusion
The pandemic has made customers rethink their priorities and choices in life. It has made them more conscious about what they buy, what they consume and where they spend their money. It has also made them vocal about things that impact them. Social and digital media have given customers a platform to share their thoughts and most honest opinions.
Integrating social media in your customer segmentation strategy is no longer an option but a necessity. Businesses need customer segment intelligence that can help them connect with their target customers at a deeper level and stay relevant to them.
A hybrid customer segmentation approach that includes data from social and digital media will just lead to enriched customer segment intelligence for business leaders to use.”
If you would like to view the original article, please visit: www.forbes.com
Online Article
“10 Tech Trends That Will Influence Your Marketing Strategies
By Bennett Conlin,
Business News Daily Council Member,
Updated Feb 28, 2023
While many principles of marketing remain the same each year, the tools businesses use to achieve marketing success vary greatly over time. Newspaper advertising was once commonplace. Now, digital advertising and artificial intelligence play critical roles in the marketing tactics of businesses.
Every year, there are more technological trends for entrepreneurs to keep an eye on. Business owners who stay ahead of the curve might even find new heights of marketing success. Here are 10 trends we believe small businesses should take advantage of this year.
Let’s take a deeper dive into these trends and how they can benefit your business.
1. Authentic long-form content remains king.
In content marketing, the trend has been toward long-form, educational content that aims to help users rather than sell to them. That trend will only continue, with developments like Google’s Helpful Content Update, which rolled out late last year. The content that will perform the best is content that thoroughly answers the questions people have and guides them toward the right decision for their circumstances.
Sharing about topics that interest your customers is a great way to build brand awareness and customer loyalty. You can build trust by showing you care about more than just a sale. Whether your content takes the form of a social media post, a blog or an email blast, ensure a balance between highlighting your products and providing valuable, actionable advice.
2. Short-form video content is coming for the crown.
Although long-form educational content remains potent for blogging or podcasting, short-form video content is increasingly popular. Thanks to the rise of TikTok and Instagram Reels, users are increasingly attuned to short snippets of entertaining or informative video content. Brands can use this trend to speak to their audience quickly and effectively amid a sea of other video content.
As users’ attention is pulled in many directions at once and attention spans shorten, clever short-form video content can get a brand’s message across in a matter of seconds. To capture the widest swath of your audience, deploy long-form content for users who want to dive deep and educate themselves, but create short-form video content for users who are scrolling to kill time.
3. Adoption of chatbots and conversational AI will increase.
Chatbots, as well as more sophisticated conversational AI, will continue to make their way into the market and become increasingly accessible for small businesses. These tools can answer customers’ basic questions at all hours of the day or night, even if you’re focused on different tasks.
The emergence of ChatGPT, for example, shows that the era of AI-driven marketing is already here. Expect more small businesses to take advantage of accessible tools that can help generate marketing copy or connect with their customers around the clock.
“AI-powered chatbots can be used for customer support, expanding contact strategy dramatically with a controlled message,” said Joey Penick, former vice president of marketing at Lumen Technologies. “These chatbots have become so lifelike that many customers don’t even know the difference, but they offer the added benefit of being able to gather, analyze and provide actionable data that can be used to improve the customer experience.”
According to revenue acceleration platform Drift’s State of Conversational Marketing report, almost 42 percent of consumers use conversational AI and chatbots for purchases. Yet most small business owners surveyed said they didn’t use the technology.
4. Voice search will remain a critical focus.
With mobile devices and voice services like Microsoft Cortana and Google Assistant increasing in popularity, voice search is one area where your small business can stand out among your competitors. If your business is online, there’s an increasing chance people will find your website or content marketing materials via voice search.
“A few years ago, we had to adapt to the growing use of mobile,” said Chris Hornak, owner of Blog Hands. “And now, according to Google, mobile searches are over 50 percent [of searches]. Marketers will need to begin adapting to voice searches, which currently make up 20 percent of mobile searches, and that’s expected to continue its growth similarly to how mobile has.”
A simple technique you can apply this year is to provide answers to questions that customers frequently have about your product on your website, according to Hornak. “Remember to be detailed and conversational with your answers.”
5. Data analytics will provide deeper insights.
Most brands make data analytics a priority, but marketers still have a ways to go, said Curtis Tingle, former senior vice president of product for intelligent media delivery company Valassis.
“Marketers must learn how to better use the data that they collect,” he said. “Customers are constantly feeding personal information to the companies they engage with — from purchase behaviors to favorite products to the best ways to reach them through advertising and marketing efforts. With this data share, customers are looking for some sort of return, whether it be in the form of more personalized advertisements or targeted coupons/deals.”
Tingle’s observation is important: Marketers need to do more than gather data. The data needs to be meaningful, and businesses need to use that data to improve marketing campaigns.
Current trends center around predictive data; smarter, scalable and more flexible datasets; edge computing for faster analysis; and hybrid computing that blends off-premise and on-premise cloud solutions. You’re also going to see growing use of machine learning-driven solutions that include augmented analytics; engineered decision analytics; and data visualization for better decision-making, business management, and insights and automation.”
If you would like to continue reading this article, please visit: www.businessnewsdaily.com
Course Manuals 1-12
Course Manual 1: Industrial Segmentation
Have you ever wondered how segmenting the industrial market helps an industrial company market and sell its products and services? Do you know how segmenting the industrial market helps with digital marketing for industrial goods and services? By providing insightful information on the industrial market segmentation, this course manual makes an effort to provide answers to these questions.
Industrial Market Segmentation – Meaning and Bases
It is a system for classifying into various groups the diverse potential clients of an industrial market or B2B market. It assists in making strategic and tactical decisions about the marketing and sales of industrial goods and services in the targeted market niche. However, segmenting the industrial markets is more difficult and complex than segmenting the consumer markets due to the complexity of the goods/services and purchasing processes there.
The following list includes many criteria for segmenting the industrial market:
1. Industry Type
Industrial markets for B2B products are formed by several types of industries. As a result, these sectors are divided into those related to cars, IT, chemicals, FMCG, textiles, iron & steel, services, and so forth.
2. Geographic
Geographic B2B markets are divided into the following categories based on location. –
● Markets are divided into local, regional, national, and international markets according to distance.
● Markets are divided into rural (buyers in the countryside) and urban (buyers located in cities) segments based on the location of the purchasers (buyers located in a city or a town).
3. Business Operations
The variety of operations carried out by the industrial units is taken into account when segmenting the industrial market. This involves producing, putting together, shipping, selling, consulting, etc.
4. Consumption Rate or Size
Industries are divided into large, medium, and small scale industries based on the annual consumption of resources and the size of orders processed.
5. Ownership
Ownership Industrial companies are divided into sole proprietorships, partnerships, private, public, government, and corporations based on their ownership structure.
6. Buying Techniques
Various industrial purchasers divide the industrial markets or consumers according to the purchasing methods they use, including leasing, service contracts, direct purchasing, agency-approved purchasing, sealed-bidding, and leasing.
7. Payment Procedures
Cash buyers, credit buyers, full-paying buyers, and installment-paying buyers are all classified according to the method and timing of their payments.
Influence Of Industrial Market Segmentation On Industrial Marketing Strategies
In order to develop effective industrial marketing strategies for your business, industrial market segmentation is crucial. When markets are segmented, you can choose one or more industries or particular market segments as your target markets to determine the kinds of industrial markets or customers that your industrial company intends to serve (targeting and positioning strategies) throughout your journey towards acquisitive growth. Hence, you can choose whether you want to buy out or merge with another business that is succeeding in a different market, explore potential new markets for your current products, launch new products in your current markets, or create new products to launch in new markets.
Additionally, segmentation aids in the modification of your goods and services as well as the creation of unique commercial marketing plans for promoting them to the targeted market segment or customer base (promotional strategies). Similar to that, it affects how your customers set their prices based on how they pay and make purchases.
Market segmentation helps commercial marketers develop unique marketing plans for various geographic regions. As a result, marketing strategies are different for domestic and international markets, or consumers in rural and urban markets are treated differently. Similar to how different company sizes and industry types require varied marketing approaches. To create a successful marketing strategy for industrial enterprises, marketers assess the operational, financial, and technological capabilities of the potential customers in each market category.
Digital Marketing For Industrial Companies
Digital or internet marketing is extremely popular across all industries and market segments in today’s highly digitalized world. High-value traffic can be attracted to your company’s website with the help of digital marketing technologies (such as SEO, UI/UX, pay-per-click advertising, email marketing, commercial content marketing, and online advertising on various social media platforms). These tools also help in creatively and successfully contacting potential customers in the target markets.
Industrial firms enlist the aid of digital marketing consultancies to develop comprehensive internet marketing and brand strategies for their goods and services. To give businesses in various industrial market segments a wide reach, these organizations create comprehensive B2B digital marketing plans.
In order to increase sales for your industrial company, produce quality internet leads, and expand your business online, hire the services of a top digital marketing firm or agency.
The benefits of industrial segmentation
Using industrial segmentation in marketing campaigns has a number of advantages. Among the main advantages are:
● Improved targeting: Businesses can target specific industrial consumer segments with customized marketing campaigns thanks to industrial segmentation. This can improve the relevance and efficiency of marketing initiatives and, as a result, enhance sales and revenue.
● Better customer understanding: Businesses can better understand the needs and preferences of industrial clients by segmenting them based on characteristics like industry, size, and geography. This can enhance client interactions while also assisting firms in creating more targeted and efficient marketing tactics.
● Increased efficiency: Instead of attempting to target the entire market, industrial segmentation enables organizations to concentrate their marketing efforts on specific industrial consumer categories. As a result, marketing expenses may be decreased and marketing activities may become more effective.
● Competitive advantage: Businesses can set themselves apart from rivals and achieve a competitive edge in the market by employing industrial segmentation to target particular segments of industrial consumers.
The challenges of industrial segmentation
Notwithstanding the potential benefits of industrial segmentation as a marketing tactic, there are a few drawbacks to be mindful of. Among the principal difficulties are:
● Cost and time investment: Due to the fact that it frequently necessitates gathering and evaluating sizable volumes of data about industrial consumers, implementing industrial segmentation can be expensive and time-consuming. Businesses may need to make a large investment in this, and there may not always be a clear return on that investment.
● Limited data availability: Businesses occasionally might not have access to enough information on their industrial clients to implement industrial segmentation successfully. Due to this, it may be challenging to isolate particular industrial consumer segments and adjust marketing strategies to suit their requirements and preferences.
● Complexity of industrial markets: Industrial markets can include many various types of industries, sizes, and locations, making them complicated and multifaceted. Accurately segmenting industrial consumers and creating winning marketing plans may be difficult as a result.
● Changing customer needs: Both the market conditions in which industrial customers conduct business and their demands and preferences may vary over time. This implies that in order to keep their relevance and effectiveness, industrial segmentation plans need to be periodically examined and changed.
Best practices of industrial segmentation
It’s crucial to adhere to a few best practices in order to utilize industrial segmentation in marketing initiatives successfully. Consider some of the most important best practices:
Use a variety of data sources
Market research, sales data, customer surveys, and other data sources should all be used to inform industrial segmentation. This can assist in delivering a more thorough and nuanced grasp of the demands and preferences of industrial customers.
Use multiple segmentation methods
Industry or size should not be the only criteria used in industrial segmentation. Instead, it ought to combine various segmentation techniques to give a more thorough and precise understanding of industrial clients.
Regularly review and update segmentation strategies
Market conditions and industrial clients’ needs and preferences are subject to change over time. Thus, it is important to continually examine and update industrial segmentation techniques to ensure their continued applicability and efficacy.
Involve different teams and departments
Sales, marketing, and customer support teams and departments from across the company should collaborate on industrial segmentation. This can aid in ensuring that segmentation plans are in line with the broad goals and objectives of the company.
Communicate segmentation strategies to the entire organization
The firm as a whole should be made aware of the industrial segmentation strategies so that all teams and departments are aware of how to target and interact with various industrial client segments. This can aid in ensuring that marketing initiatives are reliable and successful.
Pitfalls of industrial segmentation
Industrial segmentation is a useful marketing strategy, but it also has certain possible drawbacks that should be considered. The following are some of the major dangers to avoid:
Oversimplification of industrial customers
Industrial clients can have a diverse range of wants and preferences, making them complicated and multifaceted. It might oversimplify industrial clients and result in an incorrect or insufficient knowledge of their needs if industrial segmentation is based solely on one aspect or technique.
Lack of understanding of the underlying reasons behind industrial customers’ behaviors
The actions of industrial clients are frequently influenced by a number of variables, including their industry, size, and location. Industrial segmentation may lose out on crucial information about the motivations behind the decisions made by industrial clients and how to interact with them successfully if it solely concentrates on the behavior itself.
Cost and time investment
Due to the fact that it frequently necessitates gathering and evaluating sizable volumes of data about industrial consumers, industrial segmentation can be expensive and time-consuming to perform. Businesses may need to make a large investment in this, and there may not always be a clear return on that investment.
Changing market conditions
Industrial markets have the potential to evolve quickly and be quite dynamic. Industrial segmentation techniques can easily become out-of-date and unproductive if they are not constantly evaluated and modified.
Industrial Marketing vs. Consumer Marketing: Difference and Comparison
Difference between Industrial and Consumer Marketing:
1. Industrial Marketing
Marketing of industrial goods/services in the industrial market is referred to as industrial marketing or B2B marketing. Industrial enterprises and the professional buyers of their highly specialized products must be able to communicate effectively through competitive tendering processes and other channels. It entails a drawn-out sale-purchase procedure with the goal of offering creative answers to industrial customers’ challenges.
2. Consumer Marketing
Marketing of finished goods or services to potential end-users in a consumer market is referred to as consumer or B2C marketing. It depends on learning a great deal about the tastes and preferences of the final consumers. Using marketing strategies including advertising campaigns, eye-catching packaging, after-sales services, etc., it focuses on creating demand.
Summary
According to their industry, size, location, and purchasing power, distinct groups of industrial clients are divided into markets as part of the marketing approach known as industrial segmentation. This strategy aims to isolate particular industrial consumer groups so that marketing activities can be customized to their particular wants and needs.
Yet there are also some possible hazards to be wary of, such as oversimplifying industrial customers, failing to comprehend the fundamental causes of their actions, and the expense and effort involved in putting the method into practice. Businesses should use a variety of data sources and analysis techniques, as well as regularly review and update their industrial segmentation strategies, to avoid falling victim to these pitfalls.
Large, heterogeneous industrial markets can be divided into more manageable segments using a technique called industrial market segmentation. Industrial marketers employ segmentation factors to create digital growth marketing plans for pricing, positioning, and product/service promotion.
Automobile Industry Marketing Segmentation Success: Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz launched “Generation Benz,” an online community of roughly 200 to 250 people between the ages of 20 and 39, in 2010 as the first step in leveraging marketing segmentation to attract a younger audience. The Mercedes-Benz marketing team received advice from this online community regarding the buying patterns and preferences of this group of consumers.
Mercedes Benz used the “Generation Benz” online community to create a consumer profile. The business used community feedback to help launch the Mercedes-Benz CLA model with a successful marketing campaign.
Usher and Kate Upton appeared in a Super Bowl advertisement for the campaign Mercedes-Benz produced, and the company also sponsored the stadium where the Super Bowl was played (Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans).
In order to reach important influencers in the target demographic and build brand equity, Mercedes-Benz used digital and social media channels to target Millennials. This strategy included a combination of earned media, paid media, and owned media.
Exercise 3.1: Survivor
Course Manual 2: Market-Size Based Segmentation
Imagine that you’ve just invested three years in creating a fantastic company. Your product is excellent, your website is cutting edge, your staff is motivated and well-trained, and your clients are in love with what you offer.
You’re losing money because there aren’t enough clients to sustain your firm, which is the problem.
This is a tragic situation that happens a lot. Because of this, many experienced business owners and investors perform “market sizing” analysis before making an investment in a startup or starting an M&A.
In this course manual, we’ll look at how to analyze your market size and how to use this information to create strategic decisions that are well-informed.
What Is Market Sizing?
The total number of prospective customers for a good or service inside a certain market, along with the potential revenue from those sales, make up the “market size.”
For a number of reasons, it’s critical to determine and comprehend market size.
First, market sizing can be used by business owners and organizations to determine how much money they might stand to gain from starting up or acquiring a new company, line of goods, or service. This aids those making decisions in determining whether to invest in it.
If you decide to proceed, this study will also assist you in creating a marketing plan that takes into account the particular requirements and potential of your core market.
Instead of “feeling your way” while you test your new market, market sizing can assist you estimate the size of the business you need to acquire before you launch a new product or service. If you are aware of this from the beginning, you can tailor your M&A or recruitment strategies to ensure that you have the proper personnel available when you need them.
Market Sizing Methods
Two techniques are frequently employed for market sizing:
1. Top-Down Market Sizing – Despite being straightforward, the top-down approach is frequently unreliable and too pessimistic. It determines the “relevant” market size for your good or service before estimating the potential revenue for your company.
Consider the case when your company sells educational materials to educational institutions. According to your investigation, your nation has 6,000 suitable schools. You are aware that the average sale at each school is roughly $50,000, which translates to a $300 million market.
Of course, this is a ridiculously optimistic estimate. It may be difficult to gain even a modest share of this market because not all schools require your products and they are unlikely to spend $50,000 on each one. You get inflated data from a top-down approach, and you frequently can’t rely on it to make wise decisions.
2. Bottom-Up – Because you conduct all of your own market research and don’t just rely on broad projections and trends, this method frequently takes more time than top-down market sizing. You will, however, receive a more accurate and realistic appraisal of the possibilities of your market.
We’ll concentrate on using a bottom-up strategy to estimate your market size in this post.
How to Calculate Market Size
To determine the size of your market, follow these three steps:
1. Define Your Target Market
You must understand the demographics of your target market in order to estimate the size of your market. You must identify the group of people for whom your offering is intended to uniquely satisfy a need or address a problem.
Consider how you can contact these clients as well; if you can’t do so affordably, there’s no use in considering them.
To divide your market into distinct segments, employ market segmentation. This will help you gain a deeper understanding of each demographic that your product or service will target, allowing you to better adapt your offering to meet their unique demands.
Once you’ve determined the many market segments that might exist, decide which ones you want to concentrate on developing for your company.
The size of the market for each of the indicated segments must now be determined. Assemble a list of possible customers in your chosen segments by contacting business groups, data providers, civic organizations, local and state development offices, or regulatory authorities that deal with business and commerce.
Example
Mid-sized grocery stores are the target market for the point-of-sale software that your company is creating. But, you need to be sure that the market is big enough and that people are interested in your product enough to buy it before you spend the time and money to develop the software.
After researching online and contacting your region’s business and commerce department, you determine that there are roughly 10,000 mid-sized grocery stores in your country, and you source a list of these stores.
Why Lucky Charms Changed their Target Market
Lucky Charms Target Market: Kids (then) to Diverse Millennials (now).
It could seem as though children are the only ones who enjoy eating marshmallows for breakfast. The biggest seller, according to Lucky Charms, is ultimately fondness for their cereal. In fact, 40% of people who eat Lucky Charms are adults!
General Mills has changed the Lucky Charms target market from children to adults, particularly millennials, as a result (anyone between the ages of 26 to 41). The Lucky Charms commercials have become more mature, but social media has undergone the most significant changes. In particular, the digital campaign #LuckyToBe celebrated everyone during Pride month. Consumers now perceive the “magically wonderful” cereal differently as a result of all these adjustments.
2. Use Market Research to Assess Interest in Your Product
Of course, not every member of your target market will be interested in purchasing your goods. The next step is to calculate a realistic interest estimate.
One strategy for doing this is to concentrate on rival businesses that serve the same market. Exactly what is their market share? And what are their comparable goods and services’ yearly sales?
This can help you determine the size of the prospective market if your competitors are wholly committed to it. Yet, if they also focus on other areas or are a part of larger commercial organizations, it may be nearly impossible to find this information.
Surveys, focus groups, and individual interviews are additional methods for gauging interest. Ask a sizable sample of consumers or companies in your target market about themselves, then describe your offering. Your analysis will be more accurate the larger your sample size.
Query them on things like:
• Are you interested in this product?
• What price would they be willing to pay for it?
• In the next two years, how likely are you to buy this product or a similar one?
On the basis of the feedback you receive from these focus groups or polls, it’s crucial to make conservative conclusions. People frequently say one thing while acting differently. Before actually completing a purchase, people frequently “think twice,” and this is particularly true if finances, interests, and market conditions change.
Example
You speak with 100 randomly chosen mid-sized grocery stores over the period of three months, which account for 1% of your target market. You describe the new software’s concept and the advantages it will bring store owners.
35 stores exhibit a keen interest in the programme and a desire to purchase it once it is released following the demonstrations. You lower this number to 18 to be cautious. Thus, this product will be of interest to 18% of the retailers in your market. This indicates that 1,800 out of 10,000 potential food retailers could make a purchase.
Tip:
It is evident that setting up and carrying out this kind of research would take a lot of time. Consider carefully what additional market research data you might require, and if necessary, obtain it concurrently.
How Dove Used Market Research to Grow their Business
Women were twice as likely to tweet something bad about themselves on Twitter as they were to tweet something good, according to Dove’s award-winning #SpeakBeautiful campaign.
In order to launch the #SpeakBeautiful campaign, the soap company teamed up with Twitter in 2015. This campaign heavily incorporated social media market research. These 5 million critical tweets fell to 3.4 million after the introduction in 2015, a 36.8% year-over-year decline. More than 168,000 times were used the hashtag, and the campaign as a whole was a big success for the company.
Similar to detective work, market research occasionally includes going out and asking people questions. Sometimes you need to make use of the information that is all around you. Some businesses were successful because they were able to identify changing patterns through some kind of inquiry.
3. Calculate Potential Sales
You now have a more accurate estimate of how well-liked your goods or service might be among your target market. Utilize this information to determine whether the risk and investment in your product are worthwhile.
Create a financial model of your company utilizing the information you have acquired to accomplish this (see our articles on Cash Flow Forecasting and use of NPVs and IRRs for more on this.)
Then, use a method like scenario analysis to identify the important assumptions in your model and test them.
Example
You’ve discovered that 1,800 grocery retailers could spend $30,000 on your software. If all of these stores buy the software, a $54 million profit would be generated.
Your company has already calculated that the cost of creating, testing, and promoting the new software will be at least $7 million. Even if the outcome isn’t as favorable as anticipated, the risk is limited because this investment represents only 13% of prospective annual sales. As a result, your company decides to continue with the creation of new software.
Key Points
The entire number of potential customers for your goods or services inside a certain area is your “market size.” Businesses and entrepreneurs wishing to invest in new items may find this information especially valuable. Additionally, it may help you make strategic decisions and give you the tools you need to develop an evidence-based marketing plan.
There are two ways to estimate the size of your market:
● Top Down: This method determines the size of the “relevant” market for your good or service before estimating the potential revenue for your company.
● Bottom Up: You conduct your own market research to determine the size of the market for your good or service in a more precise and realistic manner.
The following three procedures should be followed to determine market size using the bottom-up method:
1. Define your target market.
2. Use market research to assess interest in your product.
3. Calculate potential sales.
Exercise 3.2: Sculpture Peek
Course Manual 3: Product-Based Segmentation
Every customer is different. After all, this is why your marketing department creates buyer personas and conducts customer segmentation. When customers are segmented in this way, it is much easier to connect with people of different personality types. It’s one thing to reach out to those potential customers; it’s quite another to draw them in and make them into paying clients. Different personality types are accompanied by various client needs and preferences. A wonderful technique to satisfy everyone’s preferences in your specialized market space is through product segmentation.
What is product segmentation?
When you offer many versions of your product to various groups of consumers, you are practicing product segmentation. Consider that your SaaS business produces project management software. Your product’s user base of software developers may require bug-tracking features. Tools may be required by a group of manufacturing experts to facilitate the organization of part lists. Your business may have a base product with the essential features and a number of variations based on it that are tailored to different industries.
Why is product segmentation important?
You may be thinking if product segmentation is worth the effort. The amount of work required to produce different variations of your product will depend on your industry. It helps if you consider it more as an effortless expansion of your product line rather than a time-consuming development of one product. If not, let’s look at some of the advantages of a successful product segmentation strategy. This perspective shift might have been enough to convince you of the idea.
Cater to different customer groups
If you don’t separate your product offerings, you’ll either provide clients less or more of what they want. More features aren’t necessarily a bad thing, but you don’t want your consumers to feel like they’re overpaying for features they don’t require. By excluding some of the features they might require, you are encouraging them to hunt for a company that is more suited to their needs. By using product segmentation, you can close the gap between these two extremes, increase customer acquisition, and boost customer retention. This is especially true when the segmentation is based on your core buyer personas.
Segment willingness to pay data
If there is only one identical product available for purchase by everyone, you can split your willingness to pay data by customer segment, but that data won’t be particularly relevant. You can leverage that willingness to pay data by segmenting it according to your product segments and pricing them appropriately by developing many goods that cater to various segments.
Monitor individual product performance
By keeping an eye on your product’s performance, you can effectively reduce churn and create a roadmap for new features. As items more closely fit with a certain client segment, you’re able to take each product in turn and monitor its performance. This will enable you gain a better view of how each consumer segment responds to your product by letting you watch the product most closely connected with them, rather than one non specific product.
Expose new growth opportunities
Product segmentation should be seen as an expansion of your product line, as we’ve already discussed. The benefit of segmenting your offering in this way is that growth activities are simple to find. A picture of how you can further segment your basic product to appeal to a wider audience and open up new growth levers will start to emerge as you look at the types of consumers that are using your product and the feedback you receive from your target demographic.
Understand the target market to determine the right pricing
You can also stop using one-size-fits-all pricing if you stop using the one-size-fits-all strategy of a single product offering. Your product appeals to various customer bases because it is a general single item. As a segmented product geared to specific consumer bases, you’re also able to adopt a price plan that is optimal for each of those target markets.
What product segmentation strategy entails
You must start the segmentation process as soon as you decide that segmenting your products is a good idea. But how exactly do you do that? What phases does product segmentation entail, and which approach is best? After all, if you select the incorrect strategy, you can find yourself investing a lot of time and money with little to show for it. These are four essential components of a successful product segmentation plan.
Analysis of product usage & why people buy your product
You may already learn a lot from your current consumer base about how to segment your offering, at least initially. Take a look at the product’s usage by your existing consumers. Consider which industries they are in, which features each client category uses most frequently, and how those features might be enhanced to more effectively reach the aforementioned industries.
Customer & market segmentation strategy
Having a strong customer and market segmentation strategy in place is crucial for the first phase. Your consumers may be simply and reliably segmented based on their industry, region, gender, and other characteristics. You may segment your target market, products, and consumers successfully by using ProfitWell Segmentation, for example. (A free product)
Product segmentation examples you can look up to
Let’s now examine some actual instances of some of the biggest companies in the world using product segmentation. Your understanding of how and why product segmentation functions specifically should be completed by reading this section.
Coca-Cola
You’ve probably seen Coca-product Cola’s segmented in the least visible ways if you’ve been to any of the smaller convenience stores. The Mexican version of Coke is sold in a few tinier shops in the United States. Although a sizable percentage of the Mexican market prefers real sugar to high fructose corn syrup, it is well-liked in several parts of the United States. Pepsi, a Coca-Cola rival, sells both a high fructose corn syrup and a genuine sugar version of its coke in the United States.
Additionally, both beverage firms provide a number of minor variations to their original colas. You can get diet variants, ones without caffeine, and versions with additional flavors.
General motors
Another excellent example of product segmentation is the auto industry. There are countless trim packages available for almost every model from every manufacturer, and each one offers a unique set of options for consumers to pick from. Additionally, various brand names operating under the same banner provide an even greater level of segmentation. A pickup built by Chevy may be more popular with general people, but a Cadillac model may be preferred by those who can afford it. GMC is the preferred brand for heavy-duty use and enterprises.
Why product segmentation is important
DPAs are a major victory for retailers, but when determining which products to advertise throughout your entire site, the algorithm performs less well. In actuality, only 1% of the catalog’s items receive 50% of all impressions according to Facebook’s algorithm.
Also, these items weren’t picked based on the criteria that matter most to you, like profitability or ROAS (return on ad spend). Products with the highest involvement typically receive the most promotion, which causes such products to receive repeated promotions.
This may be avoided by making distinct product sets for each campaign, which will let you decide which products are pushed.
I’ll go through the top segments you should be employing now that you know the what, the how, and the why of segmenting your products.
The best product segments to use
There are many ways to segment your products:
Bestsellers
The top 10–20% of your catalog’s items by total revenue generated across all channels are your bestsellers. The top 10% of your catalog’s products often account for 80% of your sales.
Top campaign for bestsellers
Bestsellers are a good option for scalability in client acquisition campaigns.
A Meta segmentation tool called a “lookalike audience” is used to locate potential consumers whose interests overlap with those of your current clients. It’s likely that a similar audience will be interested in buying the same products because your current customers are the ones who make specific things your bestsellers. Because of this, it’s crucial that your bestsellers are the first things that potential consumers view.
Bestsellers campaign example
Sephora is a fantastic illustration of good bestselling marketing. Google Analytics helped Sephora identify their top 20% best-selling products, from which they subsequently developed a Facebook product collection. Sephora was able to choose which of its items would be promoted throughout Black Friday week prospecting because of this distinct product set.
Due to Sephora’s best selling campaign, they spent 17% less on advertising, saw a 14% rise in sales and transactions, and saw a 43% increase in return on investment.
Trending Products
Trending products are items that are popular right now.
Companies utilize Google Trends data to gain an approximate idea of the most popular search phrases, but they don’t provide information on the volume of searches.
You can look at product page and category views to find current trends. You may also estimate the number of searches for specific keywords using Google Keyword Planner.
Also, if users conduct searches on your website, you can examine the phrases they use to see if they are looking for goods or services that you might not offer (for example, the search results can return “0 results” or so few that visitors choose not to continue shopping with you).
The GMC best sellers report is another resource for learning what’s popular (Google Merchant Center). This page lists the top brands and products on the market throughout a specific time period according to Google Shopping Advertising. These goods can be sorted by nation or by category.
Top campaign for trending products
While you could use the strategies mentioned above to identify trending products, a PPM platform makes it easier to find these items. You can easily filter to find trending goods based on the amount of impressions they received in Google Analytics, for example, during a given period of time, by integrating all the data from all your channels into one place using a PPM platform.
Then, you can create a product set that automatically updates with the items that are currently popular, ensuring that the top trending products are the ones that always get promoted. This will automatically promote popular items.
Additionally, since clicks for popular products on Google are frequently rather expensive, you can leverage the fact that a product is popular to place a bid on it on Meta, where clicks are still less expensive.
Trending products campaign example
Life Style Sports wanted to run Facebook campaigns that were more successful.
They did this by consolidating all of their product-level data into a single source of truth using a PPM platform.
Based on Google Shopping impressions from the previous seven days, Life Style Sports developed a product set for trending products using this newly integrated data pool.
The results: CTR (click-through rate) on their Facebook promotions climbed by 287% while CPA (cost per action) on Facebook decreased by 87%! Their ROAS (return on ad spend) also increased by an astounding 515%.
Dead Stock
Unsalable inventory is known as dead stock. Your dead stock will lose value faster and may possibly need to be written off as a loss the longer you keep it. Also, the more money you spend promoting your expired inventory, the more resources it consumes and the more actively it reduces your profitability.
You may identify which of your items are out-of-stock or in danger of being out-of-stock by using the product performance data in a PPM platform to determine your longtail (items that are not bestsellers), depending on their performance.
Top campaign for dead stock
After identifying your dead stock products, you can remove them from the campaigns you’re conducting, lowering bounce rates and increasing profits.
Exclude low and out-of-stock variants
Fashion e-commerce companies sell their products in a variety of colors and sizes. Although less popular sizes (such as extra large and small) are frequently still available, the most popular sizes are frequently sold out or nearly gone. The same is true with colors (e.g. your navy shirts are sold out).
Even when these variations are out of stock, these products are still advertised, costing you money and decreasing the relevance of your advertisements.
Top campaign to exclude low and out-of-stock variants
It is simple to determine if a product set’s individual item is about to run out by getting access to and examining your stock-level data. The Stock Out Score (SOS) concept was established as a way of measuring this.
Stock Out Score = variants in stock / total number of variants per product
Let’s use selling socks as an example. You have 10 different variants (colors, sizes, etc.), but only 2 of them are available. Your Stock Out Score would then increase to 20%. Math is simple, right?
Once each of your products has been given a Stock Out Score, you may set up automatic rules to prevent promotions of those products if there are too many varieties that are unavailable.
Final thoughts
While segmenting your consumer base is crucial, you should also devote resources to segmenting your products. You can make incredibly specialized groups based on your particular aims by including product performance data.
A PPM platform is the ideal location to connect your product performance data with your native and custom sources.
Exercise 3.3: Sell Me This Pen
Course Manual 4: Value-Based Segmentation
Today’s chief marketing officers see it as just another aspect of their work to turn everyday obstacles into fresh opportunities. More than just inventiveness is required to control spending, monitor ROI, promote acquisitive growth, and generate revenue.
A balanced product portfolio approach aids in market potential analysis but may not provide definitive answers to issues like:
• Should you develop new product offerings or improve your existing features?
• Which of your prospects or clients are the most valuable?
• Where can you identify fresh chances to boost sales?
Understanding buyer motives is the main goal of value-based segmentation, which enables CMOs to reposition their portfolios for greater profits. A balanced portfolio strategy with value-based segmentation on top will reveal the targets with the greatest potential for acquisition growth.
What is value-based segmentation?
It is a frequently used approach that segments prospects and guides them through a tailored journey in order to turn them into customers. Customers are willing to pay more for a particular service that they believe has a higher value, according to a value-based segmentation method. It is comparable to pricing segmentation, with the exception that it frequently occurs earlier in the life cycle of the product and may rely on primary or secondary research to pinpoint the value factors that affect consumers’ purchasing decisions.
What are the benefits of value-based segmentation?
The tactics of CMOs can become more flexible and responsive with value-based segmentation. Marketers may minimize portfolio clutter and increase the return on investment from fresh M&A activities.
Value-based segmentation helps to identify customers who:
• Are poorly served by competitors.
• Require more attention from sales and service teams.
• Are price-insensitive when shopping for a service or product.
By focusing on providing greater fantastic value to those subgroups, the corporation is able to charge more thanks to the identification of these market segments.
How does value-based segmentation work?
The segmentation, targeting, and positioning model is probably already familiar to marketers. It guides every choice, from journey mapping to content curation. Segmentation based on value can improve this procedure.
Effective value-based segmentation requires you to:
• Extend existing segments by adding value drivers. Anything that alters a customer’s perception of the value of a good or service is a value driver. Obtaining feedback from current clients, sales teams, distributors, rival purchasers, or industry experts may be necessary in order to identify buying motivations and the value drivers that underpin them.
• Map value drivers to current capabilities. Marketers can relate value drivers to the organization’s current capabilities by ranking them for each section. Give the highest priority to those that will have the biggest impact on the marketing plan while using the fewest resources.
• Develop a value delivery strategy. As part of the STP process, the business should create a value delivery framework after having a comprehensive grasp of the buying reasons. In accordance with your capacity to elicit material differences and your understanding of the areas where the criteria will have a significant impact on price decisions, create primary and secondary value categories.
• Optimize outcomes with additional segmentation. CMOs should set the metrics and barriers for assessing and optimizing their strategy after deploying the value delivery framework. Pricing choices and managing future investments will benefit from using key performance indicators to monitor performance.
Value-based segmentation is a technique for dividing brand portfolios into groups that actually contribute to organizational growth.
What does a balanced product portfolio strategy look like?
A product portfolio matrix that displays growth shares, in my opinion, will enable the company to determine the ideal ratio of new and established items. By classifying a good or service as a star, a cash cow, a dog, or a solution with unproven development potential, each category can be improved (question marks). Features or services that don’t provide clients with additional value can be found using a balanced portfolio matrix. In order to improve its bottom line and customer base, the company can then decide to retire or change their product offerings. Assessments can assist you in choosing products within a balanced portfolio and in deciding which techniques to use based on the category that a product belongs to. CMOs can better grasp each product/position within the current market environment with the aid of a well-maintained balanced portfolio strategy.
Which strategy and segmentation process should CMOs focus on?
Using a value-based segmentation strategy, it is possible to pinpoint the customers that have the highest potential ROI and target them for campaigns that promote acquisition-driven growth. In a maze of channels, funnels, platforms, and portfolios, you can find a road to riches by determining the value drivers with the highest potential. It offers a simple and straightforward framework for comprehending how consumers feel about and interact with your brands or items. Combining a value-based segmentation model with a balanced portfolio strategy can eliminate any uncertainty and allow the framework to adapt to changing client demands and perceptions.
Create hybrid or multivariate consumer segments using both models.
Through time, we’ve come to understand the power of having a value-centric marketing strategy, which empowers CMOs to balance upcoming investment choices around this framework in order to foster accretive growth, optimize portfolios, and maximize profitability from your customer base. While employing a balanced portfolio strategy gives CMOs better targeting capabilities, several questions remain. When assessing a customer’s potential lifetime worth to the business, it disregards the seller’s operational expenses and limitations. The whole lifetime spend of their entire clientele can be optimized by combining the two approaches. Start utilizing the advantages of value-based segmentation along with a strategy for a balanced product selection in your company’s marketing endeavors.
Value-Based Market Segmentation – Dividing the Market into Value Categories
There are numerous models for market segmentation. These plans frequently focus on the apparent, including statistical variances in firmographics or human demographics (e.g. customer size, standard industrial classification, etc.). Although this strategy to segmentation is rather simple and appears to be pretty precise, pricing decisions are rarely aided by segmentations, particularly when setting varied prices that optimize profit from various categories. Value-based market segmentation models, which are based on actual value perceived and provided to customers, are more beneficial. Only then can a marketer be certain that every distinct consumer subgroup is paying the highest possible profit margin.
For pricing, it’s crucial to understand how value-based market segmentation differs from other approaches. First off, the majority of segmentation criteria have a weak correlation with the many reasons why distinct buyer groups are willing to pay more or less. Second, even segmentations based on customer demands only provide attention to differences that matter to the client. The client needs that have the most operational effects on the seller’s costs to meet those wants are the other half of the narrative that they neglect to mention. Because the overall goal is not merely sales and market share but also profitability, the seller’s costs and limits are equally significant when determining pricing. Finally, the in-depth customer interviews necessary for value-based market segmentation also provide the rationale behind why customers find particular product features alluring. Evidently, such information offers chances to create new goods and services.
How to conduct Value-based Market Segmentation
A six-step process should be used to segment the market based on value.
Step 1: Determine Basic Segmentation Criteria
Any market segmentation aims to separate a market into subgroups whose members share characteristics that distinguish their purchasing tendencies.
A descriptive profile of the overall market is the first step in selecting these segmentation criteria in order to discover the most obvious segments and the distinctions between them. Basic demographics like age, gender, and income serve as clear discriminators in consumer marketplaces. Enterprise firmographics, such revenue, industry, and personnel count, clearly categorize businesses into nominally similar groupings. Existing segmentation studies, industry databases, official statistics, and other secondary sources can all be used as inputs for this fundamental study. A preliminary list of current consumer needs, a provisional list of unmet customer wants, client descriptions, and purchasing patterns are among the outputs.
Step 2: Identify Discriminating Value Drivers
You discover value drivers after having completed your basic segmentations. Value drivers are nothing more than the factors that influence purchases and differ the most between segments while having more or less uniform levels within segments. This enables you to focus on the issues that each consumer segment considers to be most crucial. Never presume that preliminary segmentations based on obvious criteria will also produce successful discrimination on value criteria when used for price purposes.
The additional information needed is provided by in-depth interviews that examine how and why customers choose among competing vendors. To confirm the value perception trends identified by the interviews, further information from industry experts, distributors, and salespeople can be provided. The outputs of this step consist of several essential components for value-based market segmentation, such as a list of value drivers ranked according to their capacity to distinguish between customers, a justification for why each driver adds value, and whether customers in each segment are aware of that value.
Step 3: Determine Operational Constraints and Advantages
You look for areas where you have operational benefits in this step. Which value drivers can you provide cheaper and more effectively than others? What drivers are also restricted by your resources and business operations? This step can be influenced by factors like experience, financial projections, human resource capacity, and overall business strategy.
You can cross-reference and compare lists of customer wants met and unmet, the seller’s advantages and resource constraints, and the capabilities of competitors using this data. Where do you have enduring competitive advantages, and where do your competitors fare better? Which clients are consequently more amenable to your services than those of your rivals, and which are more likely to be out of your reach?
Step 4: Create Primary and Secondary Segments
The information you’ve acquired so far regarding the variations in client values, as well as your costs and limitations while serving various customers, is combined in this stage. The majority of businesses will find it convenient to segment your market at various phases. The number of stages depends on how many crucial value drivers there are that significantly alter how value is delivered to various customer segments. The key characteristic that distinguishes your clients the most should serve as the foundation for your primary segmentation. According to your second-most essential criterion, your secondary segmentation separates primary segments into various subgroups, and so on.
Yet, in reality, the number of segments you find grows increasingly unmanageable the deeper your subsequent segmentations. Pricing strategies won’t be significantly impacted by small variations across subsegments. For most businesses, concentrating on the major and secondary divisions should be sufficient.
Step 5: Create Detailed Segment Descriptions
Value-based market segmentation characteristics may appear significant to the price strategist, but segments should be explained in straightforward business terms so that salespeople and marketing communications planners understand the kind of clients each segment represents.
Step 6: Develop Segment Metrics and Fences
This is the logical progression from pricing strategy to pricing management. In this last step, it’s crucial to understand that segmentation is useless unless you create barriers that persuade customers to agree to price policies for their segments and construct measures for delivering value to market segments. The foundation for monitoring the value customers receive and how they pay for it is metrics. Fences are the standards that customers must meet in order to be eligible for concessions on prices or other benefits.
When allowing feature repackaging and unbundling to appeal to low-value and low-cost-to-serve groups, businesses should adopt metrics and fences that help enforce premium rates for high value sectors. The end result should be a menu of costs, goods, services, and packages that represent various levels of value for various costs.
Value-Based Segmentation: A Case Study
Challenge
A multinational cruise line communicates with all of its clients on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, these clients were at various points in the buying lifecycle, and their lifetime values ranged widely (LTV). The business understood that its marketing needs to be optimized based on a guest’s expected value and purchase lifecycle.
Approach
To address this problem, the concerned cruise line created a comprehensive set of lifecycle models that divided customer behavior into five key phases: inspiration, planning, booking, participation, and sharing. This resulted from studying a customer’s buying cycle and their individual brand involvement across channels.
Based on the customer’s interests, current lifecycle stage, product preferences (product model), and overall expected value—the revenue or profit each visitor will bring to their business over a predetermined length of time—the organization developed contact tactics with customized messaging. They were able to maximize the value of the guest portfolio by allocating marketing investments wisely thanks to insight into this parameter. Last but not least, despite the messaging varying from segment to segment, the goal of each was to move the buyer along the buying funnel.
Results
● For all segments, the average buying cycle was reduced by 12%.
● Purchase cycles for some segments are cut by 24%.
● 5% of past visitors are brought back.
● Consumers moving to the “Past Booking” stage decreased by 22% annually.
Keys to success
● In-depth data and analytics analysis to understand customer engagement at each stage of lifecycle
● Relevant customer segmentation
● Tailored messaging based on a customer’s stage in lifecycle
Exercise 3.4: Five Values
• Happiness
• Loyalty
• Equanimity
• Health
• Respectful practices
Course Manual 5: Channel-Based Segmentation
Distribution channels are the routes that goods and services follow from the producer or provider of the service to the final customer.
For instance, a producer of light bulbs may produce the bulbs, but retailers and wholesalers are likely to be involved in the distribution chain that moves them from the production to the consumer. The channel of distribution for light bulbs is comprised of these nodes in the supply chain.
Based on a number of variables and potential phases in the distribution process or intermediaries, businesses design different channel strategies or distribution plans for their goods and services.
Explaining Different Distribution Channel Types
Distribution channels can be divided into two groups: direct and indirect.
A direct channel of distribution
This is where a business sells to the final customer directly. Using a direct channel of distribution, an athletic gear company that develops sports shoes and sells them through an online store or in-person is one example. Without the use of middlemen or other intervening parties, products are delivered straight to the customer.
An indirect channel of distribution
This is where companies work with one or more distribution partners or intermediaries to bring products and services to customers.
There are numerous types of intermediaries:
Companies are still managing them broadly in the modern marketplace, where the number of channels used for service delivery or conducting sales has multiplied. Typically, we see retail management (i.e. “own stores,” “partner stores,” “franchises,” etc.) and alternative channels management (i.e. web, app, etc.) concepts in use. This, however, falls short of fully recognizing the distinctions between and within channels, allowing for the application of dynamic and special management techniques. Companies need to delve headfirst into channel segmentation because they are under constant pressure to manage sales costs, improve customer service, and fiercely compete with rivals for a shrinking pool of potential customers.
Why?
The bottom line of a company can benefit greatly from channel segmentation. An excellent illustration of this occurred a few years ago when a global software provider used channel segmentation as the foundation for strengthening its partner program. The goal was to maximize the performance of its more than 250,000 partners; what was the outcome? The business increased its return on marketing expenditures by more than 300%. (compared to pre-program performance).
Even companies with more traditional shop formats have started embracing segmentation recently to better tailor their channels to local demands. One instance is Target, which has began studying smaller urban-format stores (City Targets); another is Marks & Spencer, which has been testing store segmentation based on the kind of customers they will draw (such as “family first” stores with a focus on children’s clothing). The strategy is not just used by retailers; businesses that rely on physical and mortar, like banks—of whom 64%, according to a recent Asian Banker poll, have plans for branch segmentation—also invest in channel segmentation.
The same ideas that underpin customer segmentation also apply to channel segmentation; after all, your channel partners and branches are not all the same, so why treat them the same? A telecoms provider with a sub-urban location and a more conventional client base interested in recharge cards and money transfers cannot be supported in the same way as a provider with a commercial district location and a sophisticated customer population interested in data goods and gadgets. The second dealer’s requirements would be completely different from those of the first, who would need more sophisticated training materials, marketing materials that focused on more sophisticated items, and bigger rewards for achieving data sales targets. Recognizing these distinctions and tailoring strategies and actions would be difficult or, at best, insufficient and inconsistent without adequate channel segmentation.
Channel segmentation can facilitate advancement in and around:
• Lead management: Leads should be better matched with channels that can best meet their needs so that acquisition costs are kept to a minimum and conversion rates are maximized.
• Product Management: Increasing local revenues while reducing costs of stock and transportation through channel optimization of assortment based on locale potential and channel capabilities.
• Price Management: Enabling regional price variations depending on channel and market specifics
• Promotion Management: Improved localization of marketing messages and materials, as well as promotions, based on channel capabilities and client portfolio
• Operational Efficiency: Avoiding wasting time and resources on channels with poor performance and little promise, while individually addressing each channel’s specific needs (in terms of training, support, etc.).
• Performance Management: More accurate and fair evaluation, improved capacity to distinguish between local market situations, and comparison of more comparable channels.
How?
The four steps listed below should be used to carry out this effort:
1. Gathering the Data: As with any analytics tasks, channel segmentation largely depends on the availability and accuracy of the relevant data (about channel partners and their clients as well as the socio-demographics of the regions they cover). Hence, businesses must first establish a partner data strategy, identifying and prioritizing the data pieces that need to be gathered from and about each channel partner, and then design and implement a variety of strategies for doing so. This is already being done by a number of businesses with autonomous sales channels (like Sky), using tools like partner portals.
2. Profiling & Segmenting Partners: Once the data is available for segmentation, partners can be clustered into micro and macro segments using a variety of data mining algorithms. The use of numerous dimensions to describe distinct aspects of channels independently, with each dimension serving a particular strategic or tactical function, is the key to the segmentation’s success. For instance, the business requires a micro segmentation that largely focuses on the product stocks and sales of its channels in order to align its product range with client wants…
…Whereas the same company would need a micro segmentation based on the staff profile of its channels to enhance training efforts. A 360-degree perspective of each channel is the result of this methodology, allowing for customized control across all necessary dimensions.
3. Matching Partner & Customer Segments: For businesses that already have customer segmentation output, channel segmentation offers a quick way to spot and address gaps between customer segment needs and available channel offerings. If the locations of certain consumer groups can be tracked, possibilities for transferring them can also be found. For example, “Tech Savvy” customers purchasing items from “Minimalist” partner stores (a strong mismatch).
4. Strategizing & Optimizing Channel Mix: Following the segmentation process, the next stage is to create micro and macro segment-specific strategies. The goal is to specifically tailor how each segment is being treated, supported, enhanced, etc. This requires specific initiatives and actions to be taken across the channel lifetime, as well as segment-specific product, promotion, and price mix modifications.
Bank Audi is using a video-conferencing solution in some of its branches, allowing tellers to connect to customers remotely. This allows the bank to virtually manage inconsistent demand levels in some branches (such would be a concept that can be tapped into for a retail bank branch that is in the “Irregular Peaks” operations segment).
After That?
Before implementing the different designed efforts across all channels and locations, it would be logical to pilot them first. To make sure the modifications will have a beneficial effect on the bottom line, an evaluation of the benefits that have been realized should be done here. Moreover, adjustments should be made gradually; a complete channel redesign is not advised.
Under Armour’s Channel Segmentation
Under Armour’s latest actions will make for an intriguing case study. In a little over 20 years, Under Armour went from nothing to a major player in the sports apparel industry. They introduced cutting-edge designs, struck important agreements for film placements and professional league placements, and recruited young up-and-coming superstars to endorsement deals in a variety of sports. In pro shops and top-tier sports goods stores, their products have been sold at premium pricing after fast gaining popularity. Their growth started to slow down in recent years, therefore UA added additional sales channels as a solution. That choice is probably going to lead to issues.
Customers at UA right now are not particularly price-sensitive. According to studies, approximately 70% of Under Armour’s consumers make at least $75,000 annually, making them relatively wealthy. The majority of customers have discovered that UA products are more expensive than rival products from Adidas, Nike, Reebok, and other brands in those places where they are purchasing, despite the fact that these businesses often have relatively high starting costs. The major channel for UA is Dick’s Sporting Goods, which mostly sells clothing at full price and manages their discounting.
UA just launched its products in Kohl’s, a mid-market retailer, to re-energize their growth. Large attention-grabbing discounts and more frequent deals are part of Kohl’s pricing strategy. Despite serving the mid-market, they are aiming to attract more price-conscious customers by offering discounts. Customers at Dick’s and pro shops may not be in the same customer segment as Kohl’s shoppers. The Under Armour strategy will be effective if the reductions on UA products can be kept in check and don’t spread to their other outlets. Nevertheless, there is a good chance that current UA customers won’t be prepared to pay full price when they see others buying at steep discounts, which will cause the value of their brand to decline. In actuality, Dick’s is currently providing a price-matching service for UA clothing that is being sold at a discount at other stores.
The difficulty that Under Armour is experiencing is the reason why the majority of luxury companies restrict their outlets to high-end shops with affluent patrons who are not price-sensitive. The luxury brands create new products or brands without the same cachet or premium pricing if they wish to appeal to more price-sensitive consumers. They safeguard the standing and costs of current goods by doing this.
Although we are talking about a retail setting, the identical issue also occurs in B2B. Some clients are unwilling to pay expensive prices because they are more price-sensitive than others. Selling the same product at various prices to different clients is exceedingly difficult if there is perfect pricing transparency (customers can see what other customers are paying). Hence, B2B sellers provide alternative goods with a de-scoped feature set or a lower level of service for which a cheaper price is offered in order to reach more clients without affecting their existing pricing. There is no miracle cure.
Maybe Kohl’s will limit its discounts on Under Armour merchandise in this scenario. Alternatively, it’s possible that Dick’s customers won’t want to visit Kohl’s in order to save money. It’s also feasible that the average discount on UA products may rise, but the increase in volume will more than make up for it. It is anticipated that UA would struggle to regulate the discounting, which will result in lower profit margins. Also, their premium pricing will be impacted over time. In either case, it will be a useful experiment for us to observe and learn from.
Exercise 3.5: Relay Minefield Race
Course Manual 6: Supply Chain Segmentation
What is supply chain segmentation?
Due to growth, globalization, outsourcing, rising prices, and individualized client experiences, supply chains are getting increasingly complex. The one-size-fits-all method is no longer effective since it raises inventory costs and falls short of customer expectations.
As a result, businesses are constantly under pressure to create plans that satisfy the needs of customers in various marketplaces.
Segmenting the supply chain is one such tactic. Its goal is to create and implement the best supply chain solutions for various goods, clients, and suppliers according to their importance to the company. Value can be expressed as improved customer service, more profitability, a more effective acquisition strategy, or any combination of these.
Supply chain segmentation, according to Gartner, entails “creating and operating clearly different end-to-end value chains (from customers to suppliers) optimized by a combination of unique customer value, product attribute, manufacturing, supply, and business value considerations.”
We’ll go over the various supply chain segment types in this course manual and go over how to segment your supply chains to boost delivery reliability while enhancing sales and service.
Different Types of Supply Chain Segments
We’ll go over the various approaches to supply chain segmentation in the sections below.
Product segmentation
When segmenting the supply chain based on products, you make small changes to a single product to market to several clients based on their needs for individualized service. This is also possible under several brand names. Supply chain managers may gain market share, lower product marketing expenses, and boost profitability across their whole product range with the use of this segmentation technique.
Product segmentation can be categorized based on factors and metrics like:
● Product complexity (Number of products and product variants)
● Volume complexity (combination of production volume and product mix)
● Quality requirements
● Product pricing
● Product life cycle
● Product Innovations
Customer segmentation
Customers are divided into “profitable” and “non-profitable” segments via customer segmentation. Supply chain managers can effectively market to the two different consumer categories thanks to this.
To promote to customers differently, for instance, digital segmentation is based on client interaction and purchase history. With this data, several buyer journeys are then developed based on customer categories to direct consumers through the buying process.
Additionally, these client groups provide information on how you can efficiently accomplish your business goals, including lowering operating expenses, streamlining automation for customer care, and controlling demand volatility. You’ll satisfy customer needs as a result, increase sales, and boost your bottom line.
Production and service strategies
In order to better meet the needs of various clients, effective supply chain segmentation optimizes various supply chain activities.
Think about two product categories, one for in-store customers and the other for internet buyers. Customers who shop in-store expect the retailer to always have the full selection of products available. Online shoppers are not aware of the product inventory in the warehouses. Placing an order for the goods they want to purchase is their sole worry.
The sort of products to be created will determine the manufacturing strategy, including:
● Make to Stock
● Make to Order
● Engineer to Order
Professionals in the supply chain gather data on the product’s maturation and sales figures. Afterwards, using this information, service tactics are improved, new product versions are created, and they are occasionally released onto the market.
Similar to this, while developing a service strategy, the organization’s overarching objectives—such as lowering service levels and reducing obsolescence costs—become the determining considerations.
Warehouse managers may more accurately arrange safety stock, boost forecast accuracy, and reduce transportation costs with the use of production-based segmentation.
Market driven
Customer segmentation just addresses a portion of the market, but market-driven supply chain segmentation addresses the entire market.
If you sell real estate to businesses, for instance, your target market will be B2B. Compare clients who are likely to construct warehouses or office buildings. These two clients may be from separate customer categories and have different wants.
Market-driven segmentation, on the other hand, involves the entire market (i.e. when you compare people who are in the market for vacant land vs. residential properties). They cover a wide range.
Market-driven decisions typically rest on:
● Geographical location
● Demand patterns (e.g. latent demand, seasonal demand, constant demand)
● Tax and incentive
Managers can effectively segregate items based on customer requirements, product and demand characteristics, and market and product-driven approaches to the supply chain.
Lead time requirements multi-source vs. single-source channels
Manufacturers, distributors, merchants, or online vendors can all be used for sourcing. Sourcing segmentation is the procedure for selecting the sourcing channels.
Before making a purchase, logistics managers assess the warehouse and distribution facilities’ optimal space use. Sourcing channels can either be several suppliers or a single source, depending on the lead time needs.
Case Study: Neeme Inc.
A supply chain segmentation approach has been ingrained in the culture of one small business in Las Vegas. The modest clothing company Neeme Inc. was established in 2016, and Busi Buthelezi is the COO.
When Busi’s partner, professional poker player Andrew Neeme, was frequently asked if he had any goods available on his YouTube channel, she recognized an opportunity to create and market men’s shirts. Currently, the business creates and sells a little over a thousand articles of clothes and accessories each month.
The company has been concentrating on growing abroad, but its domestic consumers still require the same level of service.
According to Busi, “[at] the local level,] we categorize the finished goods according to weight and packaging type. We can select the goods carrier with the most affordable rates for the nearby areas thanks to this information. We can manage costs and keep providing free domestic shipping by collaborating with a number of freight companies.
Benefits of Supply Chain Segmentation
From the demand planning stage through production and finally up to the shipping stage, supply chain segmentation offers various advantages. Let’s examine a few of them:
Reduce complexity
Customer analysis is developed using information on product purchases and service information. As it provides insights into the complexity and nuances of the products and services and offers improvements in product design, distribution methods, etc., it is a crucial step in understanding the unique requirements of your clients.
Discover synergies
Finding the similarities between various clients is just as crucial as identifying the differences between them. Customer orders can be combined to leverage volume and lower supply chain shipping costs in different segments by employing economies of scale.
For instance, a manufacturing facility may combine the acquisition of components for various products to save on both procurement and transportation expenses. The manufacturing facility can similarly concentrate on a model or a platform and achieve cheap cost through mass production.
Increase standardization
Depending on the sort of customer, a product can be adjusted and customized to varying degrees.
For instance, a residential user might choose personalized configurations, but a corporate client might prefer a standard common configuration.
By standardizing the common parts in product design, supply chain managers can expedite the deployment of customizations in product segments to realize economies of volume.
Design for supply chain
To evaluate the effects of design on the product, the product and supply chain management (SCM) teams should work closely together to develop methods and tools.
They should cooperate in order to comprehend the effects of the modification on the design and overall cost of any new or existing items that are in development.
Expand integration
With integrated sales and operations planning (s&op), demand, manufacturing capacity, inventory capacity, and supply may be coordinated across the whole supply chain. Shared manufacturing and logistical resources aid in the effective planning of companies.
More customer value
To meet customer needs, operational strategy and customer value proposition should be coordinated.
Supply chain segmentation aids in developing a targeted plan that depends on advanced analytics’ parameter optimization and meticulous inventory. With this data, managers may assist in reducing inventory costs and improving customer responsiveness.
This aids in locating trade-offs from the standpoint of the company that also benefit the client. For instance, long-tail items in product configurations that don’t contribute to profit are eliminated through strategic process optimization to lower cost and raise net profit.
3 tips for implementing a Supply Chain segmentation strategy
You should start by capturing the present supply chain process on paper. Put it in writing. Sketch a diagram. Make a graphic representation of your product’s whole manufacturing process. This makes sure you go over each step again and helps you spot any gaps or uncertain regions.
1. Take partners to document your supply chain process
Missing portions may result when performing the workout alone. Other divisions, including sales and logistics, might be aware of spots in the supply chain that you weren’t aware of. Also possible are conflicting needs. Your supply chain segmentation plan may present a chance to meet their needs.
Start by presenting a visual of your current supply chain’s end-to-end process. You can see where and how your product is moving in both a detailed and high-level manner thanks to the diagram or flowchart. Talk about the areas in the process where modifications could be made to address their current pain points.
Let’s use the bakery as an example, which was described in the executive summary. On a whiteboard, the logistics coordinator and sales manager diagram their supply chain process. It becomes obvious that there are some problems when they take a step back and do a review. The logistics coordinator doesn’t work on Mondays, therefore the sales manager places the orders for Monday delivery. A full day has passed since the product was last loaded. A key component of a supply chain segmentation plan that strengthens collaboration between the areas is scheduling coordination.
An example of a supply chain business process flow chart (https://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/supply-chain-flowchart/)
Make sure to provide updated process documentation as a follow-up. Building trust through regular check-ins is essential for enhancing the core effectiveness of the supply chain.
2. Test new changes
A new strategy must be implemented over time. Process modifications should be made gradually, the effects assessed, and changes made in response. Start with little adjustments, such as the previously mentioned rearrangement of the merchandise in your warehouse. Review the fulfillment time after that to determine if it has been shortened. Another choice might be to move merchandise closer to clients’ locations.
Or perhaps you provide both customized and “off-the-shelf” product options. The former may be located as close to the customer as practicable, and centralizing the manufacturing of the customized products could result in a reduction in staff because one team rather than numerous local teams would be responsible for the product customizations.
For Neeme Inc., being flexible and testing changes are priorities (mentioned in the case study above). It’s crucial to test tiny process modifications and to be flexible as you go. According to Busi, you should “[decide] on the experience you want to deliver for your customers and seek solutions that would enable you to do so while continuing to be profitable. Be prepared to modify your supply chain strategy if better possibilities emerge.
Decide on two or three goals initially. When you make adjustments to achieve these goals, use your flowchart to monitor and assess the effects of these changes. Write the current figures on your flowchart if you decide to speed up fulfillment, lower labor costs, and lower the rate of product returns.
Then slowly evaluate these figures, possibly every two weeks, and record the updated figures below. This will enable you to determine which modifications have had a favorable or unfavorable effect on your goals.
3. Start now!
Don’t wait till the following year. Immediately alter your current procedures in tiny ways (referencing and updating the process flow chart). It’s frequently a good idea to address fulfillment’s bottlenecks and redundant processes first. Rearranging the setup to meet both needs can be done now, without having to wait until the following year, if your product is taking too long to leave the warehouse for online orders because it was created for deliveries to a store.
Preparing for modifications that will take more time, such keeping track of each order’s status individually at each stage, can also begin now. This approach may include putting a supply chain management (SCM) software product into use.
How to Segment Your Supply Chain to Optimize Operations
Network strategies, inventory optimization techniques, and production strategies are all part of the end-to-end mix of tactics that make up supply chain segmentation. Making strategic modifications as the scenario requires is made easier by doing testing with smaller segmentation and continually adjusting the plan to span the complete lifecycle of the good or service.
Let’s examine the steps involved in supply chain segmentation.
Landed cost analysis
Daily fluctuations can be found in labor expenses, gasoline prices, raw material costs, and currency exchange rates. Because of this, supply chain managers find it challenging to maintain a profit-making environment.
Thus, landed cost analysis is periodically performed to assess the profitability of the supply chain and the items it produces.
The factors influencing landed cost analysis are:
● Per unit cost
● Transportation cost inclusive of fuel surcharge
● Duties and taxes
● Product rework cost
● Product damage cost
● Handling cost
Demand and cost-to-serve analysis
Studying the dynamics of customer and product demand as well as profitability analysis is the first step in supply chain segmentation. In order to boost earnings and reduce risks brought on by customers, supply chain regulations and service agreements are developed using data-driven research.
It is necessary to conduct profitability analyses on a frequent basis in order to reduce supply chain dynamics uncertainty.
The factors to conduct a profitability analysis are:
● Transportation
● Inventory
● Procurement costs
The goal of the profitability study is to identify the goods and clients that are more profitable and those that are not. The next stage is to take action to convert the less profitable or unprofitable supply chain parts into profitable ones.
Demand priorities for every supply chain management function
During peak seasons, there may be a spike in demand as a result of new orders, various forecasting techniques, or from distributors.
Similar to supply, demand is generated by a variety of clients, including those who are extremely profitable, unprofitable, and less profitable.
By carefully examining demand signals from primary supply management operations including master planning, transportation, distribution, and production, managers may increase the efficiency of supply chain segments. With this data, supply chain segments can be prioritized according to their profitability and sustainability.
Inventory optimization
Optimizing inventory is a good approach to balance out demand fluctuations and prevent peak season surcharges. This can be accomplished by classifying products according to their state as finished goods, semi-finished goods, or component parts.
Optimized inventory size is decided by evaluating:
● Central Distribution Centers
● Regional Distribution Centers
● Manufacturing Unit
You can decrease the costs of products with higher service requirements and boost efficiency, eliminate process confusion, and save expenses by optimizing your inventory.
Replenishment strategy
Restocking inventory levels based on client demand at the proper periods is part of the replenishment strategy. Resupply may come from in-house or external manufacturing facilities.
The following elements are taken into consideration when choosing the refill strategy:
● Lead time
● Storage capacity of the storage unit
● Costs to be incurred
● Urgency of the requirement
● Customer demand
Restocking depends on the required volume, profitability, and the type of product (build-to-stock or configure-to-order) in demand. This is true for suppliers as well as warehouses.
Conclusion
Due to growing customer demands for individualized experiences, increased products and services, and shorter lead times, supply chains are getting more complicated. By providing your consumers with the ideal combination of product, service, and performance, supply chain segmentation enables you to more effectively traverse supply chain problems. It assists companies in increasing customer satisfaction and encouraging acquisitive expansion while lowering expenses associated with shipping, obsolescence, and inventory.
Dell’s Transformative Journey Through Supply Chain Segmentation
Dell set out on a three-year journey to segment its supply chain reaction capabilities in response to ever-changing customer expectations, product commoditization, particular global requirements, and new, low-cost competitors. The business aligned internally across all areas to carry out this strategy while designing its supply chains based on a combination of cost optimization, delivery speed, and product options that customers appreciate.
Key Findings
● Due to changes in its market and business strategy, Dell had to switch from a single supply chain to one that was segmented by customers.
● For segmentation, it is crucial to have a cohesive, cross-functional corporate strategy with cooperative decision-making procedures in sales, marketing, product creation, finance, and supply chain.
● Cost-to-serve (CTS) technique enables segmentation to dynamically allocate costs to business decisions, emphasize net profitability, and drive the appropriate supply chain activities.
● Supply chain segmentation is a multiyear process made possible by the growth and adaptation of organizational capabilities to the demands of the various stages of the process.
Recommendations
● To comprehend the various demand rhythms and cycles, start by segmenting the clients and distribution channels of your business. Reduce the amount of time needed to detect or shape changes in end-customer demand.
● Start by identifying and quantifying the costs associated with an end-to-end supply chain that maximizes operational effectiveness. For supply chains that call for various supply chain reactions, repeat this analysis (for example, agility rather than efficiency).
● To help each supply chain’s business decisions, use a clear set of goals to match cross-functional measurements and incentives with your portfolio.
Exercise 3.6: Blind Drawing
Course Manual 7: Behavioral Segmentation
Traditionally, most experts site around six primary types of behavioral segmentation.
Source: https://www.slideshare.net/monikaba5/marketing-theory-behavioural-segmentation
These six “classic” behavioral segmentation kinds are all still very much in use today, but they have expanded to include additional purposes, uses, and applications.
We will examine both the “classic” and “modern” interpretations of each type in this course manual, as well as add a few new types to the list to reflect some intriguing contemporary uses of behavioral segmentation by some businesses.
Before we begin, there are a few crucial points to bear in mind:
• This list is NOT mutually exclusive.
• Depending on your business, there may be significant differences in how you define segments and use various behavioral segmentation types.
• One or more of these segmentation techniques may be used concurrently or in combination with different kinds of segments.
1. Purchasing Behavior
How do consumers behave differently along the purchasing process?
The goal of segmentation based on purchase behavior is to spot patterns in the behavior of various customers when they consider making a purchase.
Buying patterns can provide insight into:
• How various clients approach making a purchase
• The lengthy and challenging nature of the acquisition procedure
• How the buyer participates in the transaction
• Significant obstacles in the acquisition process
• Which consumer behaviors are most and least indicative of a purchase decision?
Predictive Behavioral Segments
Companies are increasingly creating predictive segments based on the possibility of certain customers making a given purchase by utilizing machine learning skills to evaluate customer behavior throughout the customer journey and detect patterns over time.
There are two typical methods for predicting future results from past behavior:
1. Predicting future purchases based on prior purchases
2. Predicting the possibility of making a purchase by looking at behavior on the path-to-purchase
Implicit Segments Based on Digital Behavior
Another cutting-edge strategy makes use of patterns in digital activity to comprehend the various ways in which different customers approach the purchasing process and to pinpoint the most important roadblocks that need to be removed by marketers.
Depending on your industry and type of business, there are numerous ways to go about this. In a recent essay, Lacie Larschan provided several examples of this technique in eCommerce. By drawing inferences from their online engagements, she divides consumers into six behavioral categories with matching buyer personas:
• A “price-conscious” consumer is one who shops around to find the best deal.
• Before making a decision, the “Smart” buyer conducts rigorous study and wants to fully comprehend every minute detail.
• The “Risk-averse” customer is a cautious, cost-conscious shopper who finds it difficult to make a purchase without the necessary insurance, like a decent, simple return policy.
• A customer who “needs proof” that a product is well-liked and supported by the assertions of her peers is known as a needs-proof buyer.
• A consumer who says, “I’ll get it later,” lacks urgency.
• The “Persuadable” customer is a cross-sell offer-vulnerable impulse shopper.
Imagine how much more you could learn if you used customer behavior data that covered interactions across all channels over a longer period of time. If you can learn that much about how different customers approach a purchasing decision through behavioral data from just a single channel within a single web session.
2. Benefits sought
What primary benefits are different customers seeking during a purchase decision?
Customers’ actions while researching a product or service might provide crucial information about the features, benefits, values, applications, and challenges that are most important to them in making a purchasing decision.
When a customer values one or more benefits much more than the others, those are the main motivational reasons that influence their choice to make a buy.
As an easy illustration, consider why people purchase toothpaste:
a. Whitening purposes
b. Sensitive teeth
c. Flavor
d. Price
This B2C toothpaste example can be used for practically any company in any sector. Benefits desired for B2B software may include particular features or capabilities, usability, benefits for speed or accuracy, or important tool integrations.
When it comes to the perks and characteristics that are most and least essential to each potential client, they may have the same demographic, firmographic, or customer persona traits. Yet, their values may be extremely different.
When you communicate the same advantage to four consumers, each of whom is looking for a different primary benefit, you are missing the mark with 75% of your communications and wasting 75% of your time and money.
You can divide customers into categories depending on the benefits they are looking for and tailor your marketing to each category by understanding each customer’s behavior as they interact with your business over time.
Which Perks Are Best for Bringing in and Keeping High-Value Customers?
In some circumstances, the desired benefit may also be a good predictor of a customer’s propensity to buy, potential lifetime value, or even propensity to leave a business. Many examples of how advantages can be examined in this context are provided below:
• What advantages did potential customers ultimately seek? That didn’t pay for it?
• Which benefits matter most to your most devoted clients and those with the highest lifetime value?
• Which benefits matter most and least to consumers with poor lifetime value or churn?
• How do these advantages align with your key differentiators and value propositions?
With this information, you can improve conversion rates by creating more individualized user experiences. You will also be able to identify the clients you should target for acquisition and the messaging that would most appeal to them.
3. Customer Journey Stage
Which stage of the journey is a new or existing customer currently in?
Creating behavioral segments based on the stages of the customer journey enables you to customize experiences and coordinate messaging to boost conversion at each level. Additionally, it assists in identifying the stages at which clients are not moving forward, allowing you to pinpoint the largest challenges and areas for improvement.
Yet dividing out your clientele according to stage of the journey is not simple.
It’s a prevalent fallacy that it only takes one interaction or behavior from a consumer to precisely identify which stage of the customer journey they are now in.
“This prospect viewed this content or clicked this ad, so that means they are in the ____________ stage”
Most of the time, just one or two behavioral data points are insufficient to accurately determine a customer’s current stage of the customer journey.
Consumers in all stages interact and engage with content and experiences created for all stages across all platforms, at all times, and without regard to chronological sequence.
By using all of a customer’s behavioral data across channels and touchpoints, you can create weighted algorithms based on patterns of behavior over time, which is the most accurate way to predict a customer’s current journey stage.
This graph displays one particular potential customer’s behavior throughout the course of the preceding 14 days. This prospect is in the consideration stage of the customer journey, but his behaviors don’t follow a linear pattern from stage to stage and occurs in an entirely random order. This portrays a much more accurate picture of potential consumer behavior when interacting with a brand over a specific period of time.
One or two of the actions could lead you to draw the incorrect conclusion about what stage of the buyer’s journey this prospect was in. For instance, if you based your assessment on either of the first two behaviors, the prospect appears to be in the awareness or education stage. But by weighting the behaviors using algorithms created from prior trends, you can see how it becomes much evident that contemplation is the most likely current journey step for this prospect.
Also, avoid the error of presuming that as time passes, clients will inevitably move on to the following phase of their journey.
When it’s time for renewal, you can be in for a harsh revelation if you run a yearly subscription business and assume that a customer has progressed from the adoption to retention stage over the course of the year. The only way to know the truth, or as close to the truth as feasible, is through behavioral data once again.
4. Usage
How frequently and in what quantities do customers use your product or service? What do they do with it?
Another popular method of behavior-based customer segmentation is based on the frequency with which a client interacts or makes purchases from a given product or service.
How frequently do guests use Airbnb? How frequently do customers purchase goods from Amazon?
How often do clients actually log in and use your software for a B2B SaaS company? How long do they spend there? What do they do with it? What characteristics do they employ? How many users are there from the same account or business?
Use patterns can serve as a powerful predictor of lifetime value and, consequently, loyalty or churn.
In a recent post titled “How to Use Customer Behavior Data to Drive Revenue,” I provided a case study of Netflix using customer usage data to create behavioral segments based on users’ monthly content consumption. This allowed Netflix to lower their churn rate and raise customer lifetime value to the point where executives estimate the company saves $1 billion annually.
This Netflix use case is a nice illustration of usage segmentation based on quantity.
Segments Based on Quantity or Frequency of Usage
• Customers that use your solution for the longest periods of time or who make the most purchases are known as heavy users (or “Super Users”). These are frequently your most loyal and enthusiastic customers, who can also depend on your goods or services the most.
• Customers that use or purchase semi-regularly but not extremely frequently are known as average or medium users. They are frequently event- or time-based.
• Light Users are consumers who use or spend significantly less than other consumers. This might even refer to one-time consumers depending on your industry, but once again, it depends on how frequently they utilize your services compared to the rest of your clientele.
Understanding the factors that lead some types of customers to become heavy or light users is made possible by these usage-based behavioral segments. By segmenting in this way, you may try various strategies and actions to increase usage from current customers and draw in more new customers who are more likely to share your super users’ usage patterns.
It’s crucial to keep an eye out for modifications in user behavior over time. By doing so, you can spot issues and opportunities at both the aggregate level (to evaluate overall business performance) and the level of a specific consumer (to identify, for example, if a customer might be at high risk of churning).
Segments Based on Quality of Usage
Although usage volume and frequency can be useful behavioral indicators, high usage does not always equate to the greatest value being offered, both to the consumer and ultimately to your organization.
For instance, a SaaS user might exhibit a lot of product consumption behavior, but things may not actually be as ideal as they seem to be. Maybe they are:
a. The product isn’t being used as effectively as it may be,
b. Using only a small portion of the solution’s most crucial features or capabilities,
c. Currently only utilizing the product out of necessity, they are dissatisfied and considering switching to a rival product in the future.
The amount of use in all three cases does not correspond to the value they really receive.
Although this customer may meet the requirements for the “heavy user” sector, they aren’t receiving enough value and are at a significant risk of leaving in the future (if not already.)
5. Occasion or Timing-Based
When are consumers most likely to engage with a brand or make a purchase?
Historically, occasion- and timing-based behavioral segments have been used to describe both public and private occasions.
• The majority of your clients or target audience fall under universal occasions. Holidays and seasonal events serve as a good illustration of this phenomenon, with consumers more inclined to make specific purchases during the holiday season or at particular times of the year.
• Recurring-personal occasions are spending patterns for a single customer that repeatedly occur over time. These patterns can range from annual events like birthdays, anniversaries, or vacations to monthly purchases like business travel or even daily rituals like stopping for a cup of coffee on the way to work every morning.
• Rare-personal occasions, like attending a friend’s wedding, are also connected to specific consumers but are more erratic and unplanned, making them harder to foresee.
Although they can be extremely difficult to forecast, these are nevertheless possible (you might recall the headlines from a few years ago where Target famously used point-of-sale data to figure out when to market diapers and other baby products to women based upon when they had previously purchased pregnancy tests.)
Targeting Segments by Time of Day, Day of Week, etc.
An other, more contemporary use of timing-based behavioral segmentation involves the times of day when a client is more likely to interact with a business or be more receptive to offers.
Marketers can use behavioral patterns to discover the optimal days and times to target certain clients with offers. Examples include preferences for reading email, surfing social networks, conducting product research, and consuming content.
More companies than any other day of the week send me emails on Fridays, including Netflix, Domino’s, Open Table, and Hotel Tonight. Why? I’m more inclined to consume or buy content, order pizza, and make last-minute reservations for restaurants and hotels on the weekends.
Segments by Time Elapsed Since Prior Purchase or Action
Another time-based strategy is to forecast when customers will buy based on how long it has been since they last made a purchase or took some other action.
In contrast, a customer may be much less likely to make an up-sell or cross-sell purchase until a certain amount of time has passed since an initial purchase or renewal. As an illustration, a customer may be much more likely to make another purchase in the weeks or months immediately following an initial purchase. Another illustration of this would be the situation of the Target pregnancy test.
Occasion-based segmentation example: Guinness
One unusual instance of occasion-based purchase segmentation came from a campaign launched by renowned Irish stout producer, Guinness, last year.
Each year, Guinness donates its brand name to sponsor the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Cup, and they frequently see increases in sales as a result of people buying their beverages to enjoy while watching the games.
Guinness wanted to find a way to diversify their marketing strategy to appeal to those who don’t drink, while also aiming to retain current customers and those most likely to buy from them again throughout the time of the tournament. Industry statistics show that 6.1 million people now actively choose not to consume alcohol.
In order to promote their new product, Guinness Clear, they ran a 30-second commercial right before the Rugby Competition was set to start.
Make it a night you’ll remember and Sometimes less is more were two of the campaign’s catchphrases that alluded to the recently introduced H20 ingredient. Customers were perplexed as to whether the product was a new product or whether it was just water—which, in the end, it turned out to be—after the campaign reached 21 million people and garnered immediate global media attention.
The segmentation method was effective for many audiences. Existing, devoted customers immediately flooded manufacturers with inquiries about where they could buy the product, and Guinness also targeted customers who were more likely to buy—but only in connection with the event—by timely reminding them of their brand in an effort to entice them to buy again.
It also had the potential to attract any new or sporadic drinkers that a clever marketing strategy might be able to convert.
6. Customer Satisfaction
How satisfied are your customers, REALLY?
While NPS® surveys and other comparable customer feedback mechanisms are unquestionably useful tools for assessing client happiness, you shouldn’t rely only on them.
Here are three explanations:
1. Usually, just a small portion of customers take part.
2. Whether you do surveys once a year, twice a year, quarterly, even monthly or weekly, there will be a sizable gap in your data gathering, leaving you in the dark for protracted periods of time during which a customer’s level of satisfaction may significantly alter.
3. Relying entirely on NPS as a customer experience metric is an inadequate method since it does not adequately reflect consumers’ changing wants and experiences at various points of the customer journey, as Swati Sahai pointed out in her recent piece on how to measure customer experience.
When using data that can be collected and updated in real-time at every stage of the customer journey, a customer’s actions can be a far more accurate and dependable source for gauging satisfaction.
Customers’ behavior can be tapped into a variety of data sources to determine their genuine level of happiness at any one time. Proof of poor customer service can be located in a variety of locations and detected throughout your organization using a variety of channels, systems, and techniques. Of course, positive client experiences are the same.
The places where this data might reside include call centers, support portals, assistance forums, billing and CRM systems, and social media, to name just a few.
As with all segmentation, segmenting your consumers by satisfaction first allows you to choose the right course of action for each group, which you can then measure and rank according to how those actions might affect your business.
You may find the answers to queries like these by categorizing your consumers based on their satisfaction:
Which of your clients are now most and least satisfied?
What elements affect customer pleasure the most?
7. Customer Loyalty
Who are your most devoted clients? How can you make the most of their value and attract new clients just like them?
With the possible exception of its employees, your most devoted customers are your company’s most valuable assets. They are less expensive to retain, typically have the highest lifetime value, and, most importantly, have the potential to become your biggest brand advocates—the ultimate goal of every customer relationship.
Customers can be divided into groups based on how loyal they are using behavioral data, which can help you discover your most devoted consumers and better understand their wants so you can ensure you are meeting those needs.
In order to foster and enhance the customer relationship and encourage future business, loyal clients can make ideal candidates for programs that offer special treatment and privileges, such as unique rewards programs.
Frequent flyer programs for airlines, “platinum” credit card holders, and preferred visitors at hotels and casinos are a few traditional B2C examples of such schemes.
The lifetime value of a relationship can be increased by a variety of factors, such as referrals, references, endorsements and testimonials, participation in case studies, offering product feedback, and, most importantly, positive word-of-mouth among peers. Loyal customers can also increase revenue by a variety of other means.
Use customer loyalty behavioral segmentation to produce insightful responses to crucial queries like:
What are the essential traits and actions that encourage loyalty throughout the consumer journey?
Who among your consumers might benefit most from loyalty or advocacy programs?
How can you enhance the value you receive from your most devoted clients while keeping them satisfied?
8. Interest
What piques the interest of certain customers?
For personalisation, customer engagement, and value delivery, it’s essential to comprehend your customers’ interests both personally and professionally.
Delivering individualized experiences that keep customers interested and coming back for more can be made possible with the help of interest-based behavioral segmentation. This is valid whether your objective is to boost product usage, target consumers with cross-sell or upsell offers, or provide the appropriate information and communications to nurture customers and aid in moving them toward purchase or advocacy.
Recommendation engines are used by Netflix, Amazon, and Spotify to make suggestions for products and entertainment based only on consumer behavior.
The ability to implicitly link particular interests with other possibly related interests is one of the key benefits of interest behavior.
In doing so, you multiply the amount of extra alternative interests/topics that might be useful for engaging that client in addition to weighing a customer’s level of interest in a given topic with each customer interest activity you track.
Scaling the process will help with machine learning. There will be additional interest-based behaviors to uncover, infer, and weigh over time as more customers interact and engage.
9. Engagement Level
How engaged are your customers? Who are your most and least engaged customers?
I discussed usage-based behavioral segmentation earlier in this course manual, which is especially related to user interactions with your product or service. While categorizing clients based on their level of engagement can include usage, it also covers a wider range of customer contacts with your business that can be just as useful for determining the quality of the customer relationship.
Your organization and job will determine how you define “engagement,” but I think we can all agree that engagement is generally a positive thing.
Positive results are typically on the horizon if a customer has favorable experiences with your brand and is eager to interact more frequently and spend more time engaging with it as a result.
The longer a customer interacts with your brand and has satisfying interactions, the more likely it is that:
• Trust is increasing.
• A positive perception of the brand is developing.
• Their brand relationship is strengthening.
• They are considering making a purchase.
In both the pre- and post-purchase phases of the customer journey, engagement is a crucial indicator.
For instance, you might utilize engagement-based segmentation to see how active existing customers are in your user community or how involved various prospects are in your pre-purchase funnel.
Engagement can be evaluated at three different levels: the specific consumer or contact, the broader business or account, or both. In either case, segmenting your client base according to their level of involvement is incredibly helpful for determining which customers are now most and least involved with your brand, why, and, most importantly, what you can do about it.
10. User Status
Another technique to behaviorally categorize various clients according to their affiliation to your organization is through user status.
Here are a handful of the most typical user status examples:
• Non-users
• Prospects
• First-time buyers
• Regular users
• Defectors (ex-customers who have switched to a competitor)
But, depending on your company, you could have a wide range of user statuses.
For instance, a business that uses a “freemium users” or “free trial” model may have a status for these customers.
Leverage the Right Technology
And last, it is extremely difficult (almost impossible) to be truly successful with behavioral segmentation today without the correct technologies in place.
You can (and should) use tools like Google Analytics, advertising platforms like Google Adwords and Facebook, and marketing automation systems to analyze, segment, and target clients based on their habits.
Unfortunately, the value and capabilities mentioned in this paper can only be partially delivered by these technologies. They do not give you the cross-channel journey information you require to create detailed behavioral segmentation or the journey-driven insights you need to plan actions based on each customer’s overall experience.
By using customer journey orchestration software, you can enhance personalization choices made across all of your touchpoints and give each consumer a smooth experience. You can activate new or updated audiences based on consumer attributes and behavior using sophisticated technologies. Your business will be able to provide clients with the greatest experience possible based on their particular goals and wants by utilizing a platform that values journeys over encounters within compartmentalized channels.
Exercise 3.7: Communication Origami
Course Manual 8: Geographic Segmentation
What is geographic segmentation?
Geography segmentation entails dividing up your audience according to the area in which they reside or are employed. Customers can be categorized in a variety of ways, including by their nation of residence, or by more specific geographic divisions, such as city, region, or even postal code.
Although if geographic segmentation is the easiest type of market segmentation to understand, there are still many applications for it that businesses never consider.
Depending on your needs as a firm, the area you target should have a different size. Generally speaking, the locations you’ll be targeting will be larger the larger the firm. After all, it won’t be economical to target each postcode individually with a larger potential audience.
There are a total of six elements that are related to geographic segmentation and can be applied to the creation of consumer segments:
1. Location (country, state, city, ZIP code)
2. Timezone
3. Climate and season
4. Cultural preferences
5. Language
6. Population type and density (urban, suburban, exurban or rural)
What distinguishes demographic segmentation from geographic segmentation?
The primary distinction between demographic and geographic segmentation is that the former groups customers according to attributes like age, education, income level, and ethnicity, while the latter groups them according to their location.
Benefits of geographic segmentation
Easy to implement
Because it requires fewer data points, geographic segmentation differs from other methods of market segmentation (particularly psychographic and behavioral segmentation).
Because of this, it provides an easy and efficient path to targeted marketing and can provide practical ways to approach potential clients using just their location as a starting point.
Higher product relevancy
This not only helps to increase sales but also strengthens the bond between the customer and the company. Customers’ user experience is enhanced when relevant products are presented to them, which decreases the amount of effort they must expend to find what they want.
Improved advertising effectiveness
You may ensure that more of your marketing budget is spent targeting relevant customers and less is lost on those who don’t need or want your product by displaying more focused adverts.
This does not imply, however, that geographic segmentation is always the most effective tactic to use. It has particular applications for particular enterprises and industries. Targeting their marketing to only these places will be extremely beneficial for small firms operating in localized areas. Large companies with goods that will appeal to consumers in particular areas will also profit.
A global producer of large four-wheel drive cars will have more sales success if they focus on clients in rural areas as opposed to those who travel on crowded metropolitan streets.
Companies that sell goods, however, that are not reliant on regional trends won’t gain as much from geographic segmentation. In every region, Corn Flakes eaters are probably equally prevalent.
Geographical parameters by which to segment
There are several geographical parameters you can use, these include:
Location
Putting the blatantly obvious first. You have a wide range of possibilities when segmenting by place. It might be a village, a city, many nations, or even a whole continent. This can also be used to locate a new area where your company might want to grow.
Climate
Consider whether they are purchasing winter tires in Dubai. You can find regions where the climate is suitable for your product or service by segmenting by climate.
Culture
You must take cultural differences and sensitivities into account when communicating with your target market. White, for instance, represents purity, elegance, calm, and cleanliness in Western civilizations. White, however, is associated with death, bereavement, and bad karma in China.
Population
This may emphasize population type or density. A firm might decide to concentrate on a heavily populated urban area; for instance, a fitness chain wouldn’t open a gym in a remote location. For target audiences, you can also overlay demographic data here.
Urban, suburban and rural
Given that each of these three contexts has a unique set of client needs, it requires a unique set of marketing methods. Products may be more expensive because people in cities and suburbs typically have higher purchasing power than people in rural areas.
Language
Not all nations can or want to be marketed to in English. It will be crucial to conduct your marketing effort in the local tongue. If all of your marketing messages need to be altered, you’ll need to be sure you’re prepared to enter a market.
The best way to create a geographic customer profile
You can put out a geographic segmentation strategy using a variety of tools:
Survey research
Doing survey research is one of the initial strategies used by firms to comprehend the geographic preferences of their clientele. Here are four survey research strategies you might want to take into account:
1. Ask a random selection of your consumer base about their preferred products. To separate results based on geographic preferences, use the region filter.
2. Use trade-off questions to rank order product features, and then filter the results by state or region to identify any regional disparities.
3. To learn where different messages are well or poorly received, test your messaging and advertising concepts with prospects in various locations.
4. To see how employee involvement may impact the level of customer service provided in each region, survey your staff there.
Sales data
Examine your operational sales data to determine if regions are experiencing an uptick or decline in product sales. Study seasonality trends to comprehend how they impact your regional sales. To identify regional trends, combine your sales operational data with your customer experience and survey data.
Website data
To determine where your traffic is originating from, use regional web traffic tracking trends. Analyze the different product categories that are shipped to different locations to identify any variances in consumer preferences.
Mobile usage data
Mobile devices offer exceptional chances to learn more about clients by their incredibly precise position, sometimes down to the foot. You may deliver the appropriate message at the appropriate time with extreme precision by using the app-based location services that are included with the majority of smartphones.
Social media profiles
Social media data can offer a wealth of information about your customers’ and prospects’ preferred locations. Even some social media platforms let you target messages based on a region or zip code.
Secondary data sources
There are several third-party tools and companies that specialize in assisting you in developing and putting into practice a regional segmentation strategy. You may frequently target the appropriate prospects in the appropriate places with the use of Claritas PRIZM, Carto, and ad platforms like Google and Twitter.
Geographic Segmentation Examples
A company that sells ice cream might divide the country into different heat zones and target the ones that are hottest and so most likely to purchase ice cream as an example of geographic segmentation.
But that’s just a very simple illustration.
Yet, there are a variety of distinct factors that you might take into account while creating your own geographic segmentation. Once you’ve chosen the area you want to concentrate on, there are a variety of ways you can select to target consumers. Let’s examine the potential applications for each.
Example: Segmenting based on location
Although all geographic segmentation involves classifying clients according to the region in which they reside or work, in this case, we’re only discussing selling based on a product’s accessibility to a certain location. Businesses who can only serve consumers within a particular radius with the necessary infrastructure or facilities will find this tool to be helpful.
the subscription service for food boxes Up until recently, Oddbox’s infrastructure was limited to delivery within the limits of London. But, they now also deliver to Brighton, another nearby city.
By the use of geographic segmentation, they were able to provide pertinent marketing via social media ads to potential customers residing in the city. You can see their ads aimed at people of Brighton and London side by side above. As a result, users who were unaware of Oddbox before can be made aware of the service they are now able to access.
In summary
The ability to reach out to your customers in ways that they find relevant and helpful is made possible by market segmentation. Perhaps the simplest way to enter the game is by geographic segmentation.
Consider how your business can benefit from it most specifically: Are you a large corporation that can target different markets with diverse messaging, or a small business that can target their neighborhood and spend much less money on marketing? Perhaps city people will be more interested in your product, or perhaps specific seasons will see the most demand.
Despite the situation, you have the chance to take advantage of geographic segmentation.
Exercise 3.8: Walk In My Shoes
• Have participants discuss the importance of taking consumer geographical segmentation into account when developing products and services – how could their location influence which product they buy?
Course Manual 9: Demographic Segmentation
Not everyone will likely find an advertising campaign appealing. A 45-year-old married attorney with kids will be completely drawn to other things than an 18-year-old unmarried college student.
You can divide the market into distinct categories and develop tailored selling points by being aware of these similarities and distinctions. Because you can concentrate only on servicing more specialized, smaller segments—a practice called as demographic segmentation—your campaigns become more focused and exact.
What is demographic segmentation?
A precise method of identifying an audience is known as demographic segmentation. It is based on information such as age, gender, marital status, family size, income, education, race, occupation, nationality, and/or religion. It is one of the four primary categories of marketing segmentation, and is possibly the most used approach. This strategy allows a brand to talk directly to a narrow segment of the market rather than the entire market or a large client base.
Companies can spend their time and resources more effectively by segmenting the market into smaller segments, each with a common variable. They can identify what messages the audience is most likely to respond to by better understanding the shared characteristics of the audience members. Advertising personalization can be used by businesses to guarantee that the needs of the targeted demographic are met:
The ease with which census data, analytics software, consumer insights, and other sources make it possible to obtain this customer segmentation strategy makes it one of the most often employed. Several companies believe it to be the most economical strategy for segmenting a target market.
Why is demographic segmentation in marketing so important?
Targeting certain audiences using demographic segmentation. When you don’t know anything about your audience, you can’t communicate with them successfully. And to effectively manage your advertising spending, you need a tailored, focused strategy.
Targeting vs. segmentation
Giving particular, customized material to a target audience that satisfies a predetermined set of data criteria is known as targeting. With targeting, you can put action behind the segments you’ve created (in this case, utilizing demographics). For instance, you can identify the different demographic groups in your consumer base, such as girls between the ages of 13 and 18.
Campaigns to disengaged consumers are less likely to be run, which boosts ROI right away. By segmenting their email marketing, email marketers have really seen a 760% boost in income. In contrast, due to inadequate segmentation, 85% of new product launches in the US fail to generate the anticipated income.
By defining and focusing on certain audiences via demographic segmentation, you can:
Build long-lasting customer relationships
Deeper client loyalty is produced when you use targeted, personalized marketing to connect with your customers on a more personal level. They are more inclined to conduct business with you for a longer amount of time if they can relate to your brand and feel like you are an advocate for their needs.
Improve your products and services
Maintaining devoted customer relationships inspires you to reconsider your goods and services. You can better serve your target audience by putting yourself in their shoes when you have a deeper understanding of who they are. You’re more likely to make that happen if you create fitness programs and are aware that most of your clients want the same kind of program to be made available.
Optimize your marketing strategies
You can target your marketing strategy more precisely with demographic segmentation. It aids in vision clarification, gives future advertising plans more focus, and helps you make the most of your time, money, and resources. You should focus on this market group if 85% of your clientele are between the ages of 20 and 35. All cultural allusions in your advertisement should be appropriate for the target audience. Making ensuring that your campaigns are likewise understandable to seniors would be a waste of time and resources.
Demographic segmentation variables and examples
1. Age
Age is the most fundamental factor, but it’s also the most crucial because consumer tastes fluctuate with age. Almost all marketing initiatives target clients based on their age.
The following age groups or life cycle stages can be used to view this variable: infants, kids, teens, adults, middle-agers, and seniors. For instance, a lot of well-known fashion designers have various collections for various age groups. They target various age groups with particular clothing lines, for as a stylish fashion line for younger prospects and a more formal and sophisticated line for elderly people.
Baby boomers, Generation X, millennials, etc. are examples of generations used in age segmentation. Members of each of these distinct groups frequently have comparable traits and ways of thinking because they were all born around the same period and went through similar upbringings. Because they think and act differently, targeting baby boomers and gen X with the same offer and marketing technique is likely to have unfavorable effects.
Age groups and generations have different buying behaviors, but they also have different responses to advertising. They frequently spend their time on different platforms and have distinctive speaking styles. For instance, while elderly enjoy their email inboxes, millennials can spend the majority of their time on Facebook and Instagram.
Here’s an Instagram ad that is both age- and generation-targeted, since many millennials in their 20s and 30s use the “Wife, mom, boss” phrase:
In addition to age segmentation, Brooklyn & Barnes presumably uses gender, occupation, and family segmentation (more on these below).
2. Gender
In general, the likes, dislikes, wants, and mental processes of men and women differ. For example, very few males use makeup, and the majority of women don’t wear boxers. Also, women are more likely than men to donate to charitable causes and often handle the majority of the grocery shopping for the family. These are all crucial aspects to take into account while developing a campaign.
Shein has the right idea with their Facebook ad:
They particularly designed this advertisement for ladies (thus the female swimwear and the phrase “for women” in the description). On Facebook, they deliberately targeted them to gain the most likes and clicks.
Avoid making assumptions about gender, such as assuming that pink is a feminine hue and blue is a masculine one. The usage of such gender stereotypes in advertising runs the risk of making your company appear sexist, alienating your target market, or both.
3. income and occupation
Targeting folks who cannot afford your good or service is pointless. After all, if someone couldn’t afford a used car with more than 100,000 miles on it, you wouldn’t recommend a Mercedes or a Ferrari to them.
You may gauge your audience’s purchasing power by using income targeting. You can typically obtain statistics to support how people spend money on both the higher and lower end of the spectrum when you know the income range of consumers. Many businesses utilize this information to offer different income-level-based levels of the same product. For instance, there are three different classes on airlines: economy, business, and first-class.
Since specific resources are targeted at specific industries and job titles, occupation targeting is also crucial. Consider the following Pardot ebook display advertisement:
Prospects who click the advertisement are taken to a special landing page where they can download the ebook:
Particularly with an account-based advertising strategy, job titles are required. Account-based marketing is frequently referred to as a flipped funnel strategy because it inverts the process from traditional demand gen. It targets the account level rather than specific leads. Knowing your vocation is essential if you want to approach highly relevant accounts with the most potential for revenue.
4. Religion and ethnicity
An increase in segmentation based on ethnicity, race, country, and religion is a result of the enormous growth in worldwide trade and global advertising. These groupings are made up of numerous distinct cultures, each with its own set of divergent preferences, attitudes, and beliefs. This might affect how they react to marketing and how they make purchases.
Consider Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Both businesses market internationally while also tailoring their strategies to the needs of each nation. Based on regional cultures, faiths, nationality, etc., the messages are completely different.
McDonald’s is another excellent illustration. Local preferences influence the fast-food chain’s menu changes, but it also affects its advertisements, as seen in the Indian example below. Hinduism, which is the most common religion in India, adheres to a vegetarian diet because of their respect for cows in their religion. Given that they are a network of burger restaurants, McDonald’s naturally adjusted by promoting their vegetarian and non-red-meat options.
Compare this to a recent meal deal advertisement that was shown in the United States, where eating beef is prevalent and religious preferences vary.
5. family structure
Because a family’s requirements and preferences frequently alter as a result of changes in its dynamic, family composition might be useful in segmentation. This significantly influences both your sales process and their purchasing patterns.
While newlywed couples are probably prioritizing each other and their homes, single people typically prioritize themselves. Couples who have multiple kids have distinct demands than those who have just had a baby. Compared to a couple with the same income but no children, large families may be more interested in affordable household goods.
This Facebook advertisement likely targets those with families with young children:
Note: It also targets by geographical location, as seen in the description. Combining various types of marketing segmentation creates even more powerful, ROI-producing campaigns.
Get personal with your campaigns
Although you can’t please every customer, you may split the bigger market into several demographic groups and then provide for their specific demands.
How H&M uses demographic segmentation
Type of segmentation: Demographic (Age)
Date of birth is among the simplest and most popular techniques to divide up your consumer base. It provides you with a wonderful opportunity—and an excuse—to send them a customized email without coming across as aggressive.
One of the companies using this segmentation criterion is H&M. Over a set period of time, they provide birthday discounts. It would be a shame to squander the 25% discount since it is so substantial.
How Argos uses demographic segmentation
Type of segmentation: Demographic (income)
Any firm must know how much of a customer’s money they are willing to spend. In the event if you provide both inexpensive and pricey solutions, this information is especially helpful. You can present the appropriate offers to the appropriate group if you accurately estimate your clients’ income.
The retail giant Argos is a fantastic illustration of this. In addition to furniture and appliances, they also sell clothing and jewelry. They can determine a customer’s budget and age by looking at previous purchases.
Here is an illustration of a coupon that Argos sent to its middle-class customers around payday.
See how the message commends its consumers for their efforts while also urging them to “treat themselves.” This could entail purchasing a new pair of jeans, a new toy for the kids, or a new piece of furniture for the house.
Exercise 3. 9: What’s My Name?
Course Manual 10: Generational Segmentation
The correct individual is attracted to and engaged by effective marketing methods when they receive the right message at the right moment. This is particularly relevant when selling to individuals from several generations, or generational marketing.
The target audience is frequently a specific segment of the total addressable market in any sort of marketing. Subsets of these buyer personas are included in those groups.
The target market for a company that provides a platform to link school districts with qualified substitute teachers, for instance, would be school administrators across the nation. But there are numerous identities with various histories and experiences within that market. While some administrators may already have established long careers, others may enter these positions right out of college with a degree in educational administration. Each of these personas uses a different set of tools for both their personal and professional lives, so how firms sell to them matters.
Marketing teams are growing more adept at creating campaigns for these various audiences as they take into account that the target market may span several generations.
Generational marketing: What is it?
When a target audience is segmented and targeted according to generation—which is determined by the year they were born—it is known as generational marketing.
Although having characteristics in common, each generation also has its own set of ideas, tastes, and shared experiences that shape the way individuals think and behave, particularly when it comes to choosing products to buy or interacting with companies. How various generations approach interactions is influenced by a variety of factors, including financial security, educational exposure, and technological advancements across time.
The five main generations are the following:
1. Silent Generation
2. Baby boomers
3. Generation X
4. Millennials
5. Generation Z
Each generation has its own unique views, and it is these attitudes that establish each generation’s identity as consumers and as individuals. Some groups react favorably to innovation and technology. Others would rather stay in their familiar surroundings with the goods and services they want to keep getting, with little change in the options or industries.
A corporation shouldn’t only segment an audience using a generational marketing plan. Persona-based targeting still relies heavily on traditional client segmentation characteristics like geography, income, interests, and behaviors.
Brands That Do Well with Generational Marketing: Volkswagen – Gen X
Generation Xers desire an automobile that is both roomy and secure while they raise their children and go through major life changes. With 44% of Volkswagen consumers from the Gen X generation, Volkswagen is one of the most popular automakers among this demographic.
Brands That Do Well with Generational Marketing: Quaker Oats – Baby Boomers
Boomers choose Quaker Oats over all other types of oatmeal, but millennials are still enjoying the avocado toast trend. It might have something to do with the fact that baby boomers prefer a straightforward, heart-healthy breakfast. Quaker knows how influential they are among seniors and adjusts their marketing appropriately.
Generational breakdown
As marketers understood that each age group responded differently to messages on different platforms, generational marketing methods were established. Each age utilizes social media in a unique way, and some are more devoted to a certain brand than others.
Marketing that tries to reach out to all generations at once may not be successful. The personalized experience that most consumers expect from a company may not be there since the messaging may be too general and may not resonate. Diverse messaging that engages users through their preferred channels is more likely to produce positive effects.
Although this strategy is more effective, it is important to know how to effectively target each generation.
Silent Generation
Years born: Before 1945
Characteristics: The oldest generation targeted by marketing is the Silent Generation. This target market seeks out goods and services that simplify life. People cherish stability because they are loyal to the companies they do business with. They also expect their business partners to appreciate them and value their ties.
Marketing strategies: TV, print, radio and direct mail, such as postcards, newsletters and fliers.
Most responsive to: Content and graphics that are simple, direct, and appropriate for the age group. This generation values respect, family, and the community.
Baby boomers
Years born: 1946-1964
Characteristics: The post-World War II era of the baby boomers was one of economic expansion. These are the ones with the greatest purchasing power and discretionary income given their age and length of employment. With the usage of social media, mobile devices, and online shopping, baby boomers have embraced contemporary technology after spending the most of their lives without it. They are driven by great prices and are sometimes devoted to the brands from which they purchase.
Marketing strategies: Conventional forms of advertising like print, radio, and television; loyalty programs that encourage in-person interactions and in-store sales; and social media as a starting point for brand or product research and convenient online shopping.
Most responsive to: Customer service and simplistic and easy-to-understand content.
Generation X
Years born: 1965-1976
Characteristics: The smallest generation, Gen X, was born during a recession. People are more circumspect with their money and less trusting of brands. This generation is wary of innovation and change and would rather continue with the status quo. Gen Xers respond favorably to sentimentality, word-of-mouth, and user feedback. They have also been using contemporary technology for a significant portion of their life.
Marketing strategies: Conventional advertising, loyalty programs, word-of-mouth, email, social media marketing, and incentives like sales, gifts, and coupons.
Most responsive to: Honest and direct communication, obvious paths to purchase, email marketing campaigns, customer support, deals, and social media.
Millennials
Years born: 1977-1995
Characteristics: The first generation to grow up with contemporary technology was the millennial generation, also referred to as Generation Y. Brands must sell to a wider audience in order to attract a sizable client base because this generation is the largest in history. Millennials value genuine brand messaging and look for companies that promote environmental and social problems. The significance of word-of-mouth advertising and user-generated content are crucial to this generation. Instead of price reductions brought on by offers and bargains, they favor brands that provide cheaper costs.
Marketing strategies: Multichannel, user-generated content, influencer marketing, social media marketing and content marketing.
Most responsive to: Brands that support causes, social media marketing, reviews, honest brands, price-to-value ratio and digital marketing.
Generation Z
Years born: 1996-present
Characteristics: The most varied and technologically savvy generation is Gen Z. Despite the fact that many members of this generation are still in their youth, they are very wealthy. Gen Z places a high emphasis on financial security as a result of the anxiety they feel around personal debt. More than other generations, they place a greater emphasis on social media reviews and suggestions, and they interact with companies who employ social marketing strategies. Despite their desire to save money, Gen Zers are less inclined to join loyalty programs.
Marketing strategies: Influencer marketing, reviews, videos, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, mobile interactions, and social selling and advertising.
Most responsive to: Testimonial and influencer marketing, short videos, social and economic causes, and apps on smartphones.
A bonus microgeneration: Xennials
Sometimes a group of people is trapped in the center of these generations because of the wide age gap between them. Because there is no clear cut boundary for where someone should fit, a microgeneration is produced.
The microgeneration of xennials is made up of people who were born in the early or late generations of the millennium. Despite having grown up with technology, this generation did not use social media while they were young children or teenagers. Also, they were older and better informed about what had happened since 9/11 than the majority of millennials, who were hardly out of their teens.
Additionally, there are distinctive strategies for marketing to millennials because they are financially independent, entrepreneurial, and place a high value on travel.
Years born: 1977-1985
Characteristics: Time is a luxury that Xennials appreciate. Customer experiences that are mobile and simple to use are essential because many people work long hours. They have not grown up with technology, but they have acclimated to it and welcome its use in making judgments about what to buy. Transparency is valued because people can be dubious about the goals or principles of well-established industries.
Marketing strategies: Digital and traditional marketing; social advertising; subscription plans; revive or reintroduce old products or relate to old products; keep content relevant and up to date.
Most responsive to: Transparency, nostalgia, easy paths to purchase, subscription models, home delivery of big-ticket items, health and self-care.
Commonalities between generations
Brands can benefit from the similarities among each generation despite the variations between them. Companies might not use the same platforms or messaging, but their plans might go a similar route.
For instance, consumers of all generations strive for businesses that exhibit honesty and integrity. An honest approach to marketing and offers builds a greater rapport with the market.
Each generation also favors individualized interactions and communications from businesses they are familiar with. Advertisers have a great demand for one-to-one acknowledgment. Email has been the preferred method of communication for all groups, despite the fact that not all channels are appealing to all generations.
Brands That Do Well with Generational Marketing: Apple – Millennials
It comes as no surprise that Apple is one of the most popular brands among millennials. In fact, they stand head and shoulders above the competition, with the technology brand forging the most emotional connection with this age. Their cutting-edge products inspire cutting-edge marketing strategies, which encourage millennials to buy their goods repeatedly. Although people of all generations are drawn to the brand by the simple aesthetic, millennials favor it the most.
Exercise 3.10: Pest Project
Course Manual 11: Challenges : Pitfalls
The 3 Pitfalls of Segmentation to Avoid
1. Correlation vs. Causation
Although the distinction between correlation and causation is probably well known to you, it may not be immediately apparent when considering segmentation techniques. We are discussing comprehending and contextualizing the outliers in consumer data in this instance.
Let’s start with an illustration: Suppose you’re someone who enjoys purchasing men’s clothing. You are a devoted consumer of your favorite brand and have been purchasing men’s clothing for years, regardless of your gender expression. You are receiving promotions for menswear, as you might anticipate. Nothing unusual about this.
Yet this past year, you ventured into this brand’s womenswear for the first time and bought a dress for a particular someone in your life who adores a stylish sheath. The brand is now sending you a steady stream of advertisements for dresses and other women’s apparel items in light of the most recent piece of data.
Because “bought a dress” and “buys dresses” are correlated, it is obvious that you have entered a new section.
Instead, segmenting based on causality aims to comprehend the circumstances and justifications of a buy. The data can be efficiently used to differentiate messaging and products in the right context for each person in this way.
Something like a post-buy pop-up or polling email that queries the customer about the reason for the purchase could serve as an immediate fix for this segmentation problem (either for yourself or as a gift).
The marketer can place the customer in the appropriate segment by understanding the reason for the purchase, such as “mainly purchases men’s apparel, but receives recommendations for women’s gift goods.”
2. Historical vs. Current Events
The historical information that marketers have about users—what they like and do—in their profile is a crucial component of segmentation. But occasionally, this can exclude a crucial piece of context—what is happening in the user’s immediate surroundings!
This year has been a brilliant example of balancing historical information against present events, more so than most. The priorities of consumers have changed. Public attitudes have evolved and will change quickly in the future. Marketers must stay current, and part of staying current is taking segmentation into consideration while keeping up with current events.
The example below demonstrates how Taco Bell changed their business practices to account for the closure of in-store eating in some areas and the discomfort some customers experienced in areas where restaurants had reopened. They provided consumers with a variety of options to suit their preferences and contextualized these choices based on previous information about the user’s preferred things.
Once customers choose their dining choices (delivery vs. in-store), this segmentation method continues, and subsequent messaging takes this into consideration.
3. Similarities vs. Differences
As was previously said, the development of a section frequently depends on shared interests. Hat lovers, sushi connoisseurs, Austin, Texas locals, you name it.
To prevent this typical segmentation blunder, it’s crucial to consider the flip side of the coin as well. As our peculiarities are what make us distinct, personalization is made that much more effective by taking into account the uniqueness of each individual.
This trap focuses on segments that are cut too thinly, capturing a greater range of preferences without taking motivations into account. Dichotomous activities are frequently used to create and narrow down segments (customer vs. non-customer; free vs. paid), but in doing so, intrinsic behaviors are disregarded.
Customer decisions are influenced by a variety of elements, such as how items make consumers feel or whether they meet their needs. The best segments manage to mention these motives in some way.
Consider the practice of meditation. To lessen anxiety, some people meditate. Some people meditate to improve their mental health. These are fundamentally separate motives that call for different methods from a brand like Calm, as you can see in the messaging below, despite the fact that they may appear similar at first glance and for some individuals, there may even be some overlap.
Understanding consumer motivation and minute variations like this helps messaging resonate more strongly with users, increasing engagement and retention.
With the use of this strategy, Calm was able to evaluate and improve the onboarding process for new members, leading to a 4x increase in income.
Avoiding These Pitfalls of Segmentation
There is no guilt in acknowledging that you fall into these traps and that you are aware of them. They are subtle and simple to miss, but with a few precautions, they can be avoided.
Always keep in mind the following while deciding where to begin:
1. Instead than focusing on brand, pricing, or promotion, put the client at the heart of your plan.
2. Focus on context and individual values as the foundation of one-on-one interactions.
3. Pay attention to the environment. You will gain a better understanding of client priorities and needs.
Regarding your data, it’s crucial to:
1. Evaluate your needs frequently to determine what is required to provide tailored experiences.
2. Regularly update and confirm client data to ensure its accuracy and applicability.
3. Use progressive profiling to continuously understand your users better.
Finally, it’s simply excellent marketing practice to report on the development of your segmentation tactics (even weekly, if you’re serious), so you may make adjustments as needed and improve your outcomes.
There you have it, then! The most typical segmentation pitfalls, as well as a few easy precautions you can take.
Limitations of Market Segmentation
Most common limitations of market segmentation include followings:
1. Limited Production:
There are only a certain number of clients in each niche. Hence, it is impossible to make goods in large quantities for every market niche. As a result, businesses cannot benefit from mass production; economies of scale are not feasible. Products may be expensive and have a negative impact on sales.
2. Expensive Production:
Market segmentation costs money in both marketing and production. Producers are forced to create items with a variety of models, colors, sizes, and other characteristics, which raises production costs. Similar to this, companies must keep a sizable inventory of a variety of product types, colors, and sizes.
3. Expensive Marketing:
Moreover, market segmentation leads to pricey marketing. The marketer must take into account all segments’ demands, interests, habits, preferences, and attitudes because there are several customer groups. Several marketing strategies must be developed and put into action for various market segments.
4. Difficulty in Distribution:
The business must create unique arrangements for each of the products that are required by various customer classes. Recruitment, choice, training, compensation, and incentives for salespeople are more complicated and expensive. For the purpose of satiating various consumer groups, the company must retain diverse channels and offerings.
5. Heavy Investment:
Heavy investment results from market segmentation. A corporation must produce a variety of product lines and product products to meet the varying demands and wants of distinct groups. For this, the business must spend more on technology and other components that could be expensive.
6. Promotion Problems:
Moreover, market segmentation exacerbates and magnifies promotional challenges. It goes without saying that distinct segments are created based on unique customer characteristics. The media, appeal, and message used in advertising vary depending on the group. The business must create a unique advertising campaign or strategy in order to impact different customer segments. The same is true for sales promotion and personal selling actions. Spending more is necessary for the company to gain from specialization.
7. Stock and Storage Problems:
The business must continuously keep an adequate supply of a variety of products in order to satisfy the demands and wants of diverse consumer groups. As a result, there are issues with supplies, storage, and working capital. Most restrictions are a result of the scenario and the manager’s incapacity to segment the market in a meaningful and purposeful way. Limitations, however, cannot limit segmentation theory and application. By thoroughly and unbiasedly segmenting the market, these restrictions can be removed.
Customer Segmentation Failure story: HP Touchpad
The HP Touchpad was billed as the only product to challenge Apple when it was introduced in 2011, but after a significant failure and $1.5 billion down the drain, the gadget was withdrawn from the market. It caused repercussions throughout HP and weakened its position in the global PC industry. Although if HP’s WebOS touchpad had several shortcomings, its sales of 50,000 units compared to 15,000,000 for the iPad were not due to any actual product defects. In markets that are much more competitive, the worst products have sold more. What then caused the failure?
One of the main causes was HP’s choice to build anticipation much earlier and then unveil it after months. The other was an erroneous segmentation of the consumer base. While the product should have been targeted to a certain segmentation, HP continued to compete head-on with Apple. Another great example of a marketing campaign that led to inflated expectations and perceptions of the product is this one. HP hadn’t properly done its research into client segmentation.
Tragedy of the HSBC Tagline: Another tale concerns HSBC’s efforts to spread the 2009 American tagline “Assume nothing” over the world. There was nothing wrong with that except than the fact that it read “Do Nothing” in several nations. This was a mistake that could have been avoided, and fixing it would have cost millions of dollars. This failure was caused by a lack of dialect, language, and geographic understanding.
Exercise 3.11: All Aboard
• First, divide the participants into small groups.
• Next, get some blankets/several pieces of paper and set them on the floor, which will be considered a ship.
• Now, ask each group to stay on their ship for some time.
• Then, reduce the size of the ship (fold blanket or remove a square of paper) and ask them to stay on it again.
• This activity continues by reducing the size of the ship and every member should try to stay on their ship.
• As a team, how did you plan this activity?
• What challenges did you face during this exercise and how did you overcome them?
• Did you learn something that you can apply to overcoming segmentation challenges? Please explain.
Course Manual 12: Emerging Segments
“Companies that will not change according to their environment will disappear. Follow trends and transform your business.”
One of the best things your business can do in today dynamic world is to stay current with market trends. As trends within your sector emerge, it’s crucial to follow them much like we all do on social media. While it may be tempting to continue with the tried-and-true practices your business has employed over the years, incorporating emerging trends will help you stand out and keep you up to date with your sector. Here are some benefits of staying current with trends, as well as some tips on how to achieve so.
1. Forecasting
It will be much simpler to predict what will happen in the future for your sector if you stay up to date by incorporating the most recent trends into how your organization functions. Making predictions based on information from your own study, observations, and conversations will help you better prepare for the future and plan for it from all possible perspectives.
2. Be Recognized as a Leader/Build Credibility
Other companies will see you as an authority if you take the initiative and are the first to incorporate emerging business trends into your operations. They’ll regard your company as “in the know” and open to trying new ideas. They’ll want to follow you across all platforms as a result, and some of their business decisions will be influenced by you.
3. Better Business and Branding Ideas
You’ll continually gain new skills by following trends, including how to use new technologies, engage in new activities, and increase your efficiency. This will give you more options to choose from, which will allow you to try more things out and use them to come up with fresh ideas. This guarantees that whatever you come up with will be current and cutting-edge.
4. You Won’t Be Caught Off-Guard
Your industry’s new trends will frequently come up in conversation. You should be able to participate in those discussions and share your knowledge with popular technologies and topics if you want to be perceived as a leader. You can avoid awkward situations where you’re the only one who doesn’t understand what the other people are talking about by staying up to date.
5. New Opportunities
You’ll meet new people, learn new skills, attend new events, etc. by participating in trends as they emerge. You will unavoidably encounter fresh prospects more frequently as a result of this. You’ll be able to offer clients more and charge more for your services if you have these connections and talents.
6. Growth
It is vital to adapt to changes in the world as they occur. Although wanting change can be challenging, especially when things are going well as they are, evolution is a positive thing, thus change is a good thing. If you don’t attempt new things, you’ll never truly know how productive or efficient you can be. By refusing to adopt new trends, you can be denying yourself the chance to achieve even greater success.
How IBM failed to keep up with market trends
The IBM System/360, a family of computers intended to handle a wide range of tasks, was the corporation’s breakthrough in the 1960s. International Business Machines (IBM), also known as “Big Blue,” is an American multinational technology business.
How they fell short of innovation:
IBM’s decline started in the early 1990s when it was unable to adapt to the personal computer revolution. The business shifted its emphasis back to hardware rather than software solutions. After going through a few changes, IBM is now one of the most powerful names in business software.
How Yellow Pages Kept up with emerging trends
Who didn’t keep a Yellow Pages directory by their phone? The venerable magazine used to be a crucial lifeline for families all throughout the Country. For more than 50 years, the telephone directory gave its users access to the names, numbers, and locations of businesses. Given the explosive rise of digital and social media, the company’s CEO, Richard Hanscott, declared in 2017 that it would halt printing in 2019 and completely automate all aspect of its operations.
By offering clients the same service since the Yellow Pages’ first publication in 1966, Hanscott has changed the business model while maintaining the integrity of the Yellow Pages. Although not having a physical copy may feel a little different, Yell.com offers the same service more quickly and effectively.
14 Growing Industry Trends That Are Raising The Stakes
It’s not always simple to decide which of the newest business solutions to consider seriously for investment and which ones to leave on the shelf when you’re responsible for developing new business chances that will draw future clients and keep the current ones interested.
Nevertheless, as businesses hire qualified individuals to carry out the overall mission and promote M&A success for the company, finding the right combination of the most recent goods and services will contribute to the abundance of career advancement options across a wide range of industries and regional locations.
These are 14 current industry trends that young (and seasoned) business professionals should take into consideration, along with explanations on why.
1. Fractional C-Suite Services
The demand for fractional C-suite services is now on the rise! For example, a tech startup looking for its first seed round of funding and in need of assistance with financial models, valuations, financial planning, and analysis would greatly benefit from hiring a fractional CFO at a much lower cost than from keeping one on for a larger sum of money while still in its early stages.
2. AI, Augmented and Virtual Reality And Biotechnology
While choosing a field to start their firm in, persons who are new to business development should consider artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, and biotechnology. These technologies are in demand right now and provide decades’ worth of job prospects across various sectors and regions.
3. Retail Media Networks
Retail media networks (RMNs) will take off in the realm of adtech and digital marketing. In the next three years, it is expected to be a lucrative industry, therefore RMNs will receive an influx of media budgets. They are being constructed by the largest retailers, ad agencies are investing money in them, and brands are attempting to take advantage of them. The link to useful, high-quality data is extremely alluring.
4. Fintech Platforms
Large swaths of the populace were reluctant to do online banking transactions before the outbreak. People were compelled to conduct business online during the epidemic, yet the experience increased their comfort and confidence in online financial management. Large marketplaces that had previously been locked off were now open, allowing for more innovation and disruption in a friendly setting.
5. Software As A Service
Due to the impending global economic slump, every business will be considering ways to increase efficiency and make better use of its resources. As a result, the SaaS (software as a service) market will be enormous. By utilizing intelligent software capabilities that can handle more tactical jobs, the AI and machine learning component of SaaS can support staff.
6. Cybersecurity
Currently, one of the hottest sectors is anything involving cybersecurity. This is a crucial problem since the number of remote workers raises the possible attack surface. Companies today also have to deal with growing ransomware threats and a steady stream of data breaches. The market is saturated, there is a huge need, and many businesses in this industry are receiving funding.
7. Digital Audio
The “digitalization” of a large, established business like radio along with the growth of new industries like podcasts, connected cars and homes, voice commerce, and more are two advantages of digital audio. Similar situations occurred with digital video when traditional TV had to adapt to new platforms like YouTube and social media. The potential for new enterprises that digital audio offers is huge.
8. Preserving The Human Experience
As new breakthroughs are constantly being developed, the human experience is on the decline. When going digital, companies and customers pay for personalized services, local support, and human interactions. Business developers ought to take these into account while creating their ideas.
9. Education Technology
Edtech is crucial. To continue to be innovative and competitive, businesses require talented and skilled personnel. The digital skills gap is growing, nevertheless, as a result of accelerated technology development and shorter innovation cycles. Technology in education can assist people in developing the abilities necessary to prosper in a global market that is always evolving, opening up rewarding employment prospects for business development specialists for the rest of their lives.
10. Healthcare Services
One sector that is emerging and upending the market after COVID-19 is healthcare. Customers are more concerned about their health, and businesses recognize the growing importance of maintaining good health. Companies are leveraging the trend toward individualized healthcare by providing services that will improve patient experience, access, safety, and quality of care.
11. Clean, Blue And Green Technologies
Clean, blue, and green technologies are the industries and enterprises that are fast developing in these fields, along with robots and cybersecurity. This indicates that they are well-funded and searching for go-to-market plans as well as ways for the sales teams to break through. It’s also a place where business development executives have lots of chances to advertise products and services that will benefit the globe rather than harm it.
12. Advertising Technology
It is essential to customize a brand’s message to its target audience and make it stand out in the flurry of messages that reach viewers every day. The adtech sector develops automated systems that enable firms to reach their target audiences and maximize their advertising efforts and costs. Because of this, brands must be cutting-edge in order to stand out in the corporate world.
13. Food Supply Chain Solutions
Solutions for an intelligent food supply chain are essential. Managing the world’s food supply systems will be difficult in the future as some economies deal with waste and others navigate mass poverty, despite war, inflation, and fuel price increases. The argument over GMOs and organic food will only intensify. Before this industry heats up, business development specialists should have an advantage.
14. Consulting Services
The high demand for consulting services might be attributed to a variety of factors. The worldwide pandemic, the geopolitical environment, and supply chain management difficulties are just a few examples of how business has changed over the previous two years. Companies are compelled to adapt to changing circumstances and require assistance with unfamiliar concepts. Leaders are required to prioritize outcome-driven methods of decision-making. Hence, rather than continuing with their current methods, stakeholders require advise on how to achieve these results.
How to bring your industry knowledge into the workplace
You can stay current on news and use it in your employment once you’ve determined which resources are best for you and your sector. How can you do that, though?
Share the news with your co-workers
By keeping up with the most recent information in your sector, you can share it with your team to improve productivity. You can send an email to your team notifying them of any alerts you’ve received or interesting articles you’ve read. Encourage everyone to advance professionally by sharing your fresh knowledge of the field.
Become a change leader
Setting aside time each day or over the week to hold team meetings might improve your workplace. In your weekly activities, take the initiative to lead change and promote information exchange. Inform your team of any obsolete procedures or practices you believe could be upgraded with modern hardware, software, or reporting to see how this could streamline your operations.
Attend industry events as a team
You will be more aware of upcoming trade or networking events if you are up to date on industry news. Encourage your team members to attend the events with you so that you may all learn as a group to maximize your industry expertise.
Mix with other teams in your workplace
Sharing knowledge is crucial to the proper operation of a firm. Employees can share useful knowledge that will improve both your and their performance and foster positive working relationships. Even while you might not always have the opportunity to speak with particular teams inside the organization, you can maximize the amount of industry knowledge that is shared and keep current by actively seeking out these opportunities.
Your biggest asset for career advancement may be your sector knowledge, experience, and networks. You can make your work more convenient for both you and others by staying up to date with changes and updates in your field.
How Kodak failed to keep up with current trends
Over the majority of the 20th century, the photographic film market was dominated by Kodak, a technological corporation.
How they failed:
The management missed the digital revolution even though they created the first digital camera in history because they were too preoccupied with the growth of photography film. They stopped coming up with new ideas and declared bankruptcy in 2012.
How Lego Kept up with emerging trends
In 1932, a Danish carpenter founded Lego, which at first produced just wooden toys and later, plain plastic building blocks. It swiftly developed into a name that, like Disney, has a lasting appeal for young people. How could the original concept ever go out of style when it was so great? Lego, however, nearly went bankrupt in 2003 as a result of over-innovating. The toy producer ran out of options in a market overrun with cutting-edge technology.
Lego needed to keep up with the rest of the market in order to reassess and keep its business model profitable. It streamlined its business strategy by altering how innovation was handled. Lego discovered that by working with properties like Harry Potter and Star Wars and launching a popular film series, it could revive and reignite its original products. Lego developed a methodical plan to address its issues by taking the time to understand what went wrong and why.
Exercise 3.12: One Year from Now
Project Studies
Project Study (Part 1) – Customer Service
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Acquisitive Growth process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Industrial Segmentation
02. Market-Size Based Segmentation
03. Product-Based Segmentation
04. Value-Based Segmentation
05. Channel-Based Segmentation
06. Supply Chain Segmentation
07. Behavioral Segmentation
08. Geographic Segmentation
09. Demographic Segmentation
10. Generational Segmentation
11. Challenges & Pitfalls
12. Emerging Segments
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 2) – E-Business
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Acquisitive Growth process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Industrial Segmentation
02. Market-Size Based Segmentation
03. Product-Based Segmentation
04. Value-Based Segmentation
05. Channel-Based Segmentation
06. Supply Chain Segmentation
07. Behavioral Segmentation
08. Geographic Segmentation
09. Demographic Segmentation
10. Generational Segmentation
11. Challenges & Pitfalls
12. Emerging Segments
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 3) – Finance
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Acquisitive Growth process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Industrial Segmentation
02. Market-Size Based Segmentation
03. Product-Based Segmentation
04. Value-Based Segmentation
05. Channel-Based Segmentation
06. Supply Chain Segmentation
07. Behavioral Segmentation
08. Geographic Segmentation
09. Demographic Segmentation
10. Generational Segmentation
11. Challenges & Pitfalls
12. Emerging Segments
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 4) – Globalization
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Acquisitive Growth process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Industrial Segmentation
02. Market-Size Based Segmentation
03. Product-Based Segmentation
04. Value-Based Segmentation
05. Channel-Based Segmentation
06. Supply Chain Segmentation
07. Behavioral Segmentation
08. Geographic Segmentation
09. Demographic Segmentation
10. Generational Segmentation
11. Challenges & Pitfalls
12. Emerging Segments
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 5) – Human Resources
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Acquisitive Growth process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Industrial Segmentation
02. Market-Size Based Segmentation
03. Product-Based Segmentation
04. Value-Based Segmentation
05. Channel-Based Segmentation
06. Supply Chain Segmentation
07. Behavioral Segmentation
08. Geographic Segmentation
09. Demographic Segmentation
10. Generational Segmentation
11. Challenges & Pitfalls
12. Emerging Segments
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 6) – Information Technology
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Acquisitive Growth process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Industrial Segmentation
02. Market-Size Based Segmentation
03. Product-Based Segmentation
04. Value-Based Segmentation
05. Channel-Based Segmentation
06. Supply Chain Segmentation
07. Behavioral Segmentation
08. Geographic Segmentation
09. Demographic Segmentation
10. Generational Segmentation
11. Challenges & Pitfalls
12. Emerging Segments
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 7) – Legal
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Acquisitive Growth process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Industrial Segmentation
02. Market-Size Based Segmentation
03. Product-Based Segmentation
04. Value-Based Segmentation
05. Channel-Based Segmentation
06. Supply Chain Segmentation
07. Behavioral Segmentation
08. Geographic Segmentation
09. Demographic Segmentation
10. Generational Segmentation
11. Challenges & Pitfalls
12. Emerging Segments
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 8) – Management
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Acquisitive Growth process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Industrial Segmentation
02. Market-Size Based Segmentation
03. Product-Based Segmentation
04. Value-Based Segmentation
05. Channel-Based Segmentation
06. Supply Chain Segmentation
07. Behavioral Segmentation
08. Geographic Segmentation
09. Demographic Segmentation
10. Generational Segmentation
11. Challenges & Pitfalls
12. Emerging Segments
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 9) – Marketing
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Acquisitive Growth process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Industrial Segmentation
02. Market-Size Based Segmentation
03. Product-Based Segmentation
04. Value-Based Segmentation
05. Channel-Based Segmentation
06. Supply Chain Segmentation
07. Behavioral Segmentation
08. Geographic Segmentation
09. Demographic Segmentation
10. Generational Segmentation
11. Challenges & Pitfalls
12. Emerging Segments
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 10) – Production
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Acquisitive Growth process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Industrial Segmentation
02. Market-Size Based Segmentation
03. Product-Based Segmentation
04. Value-Based Segmentation
05. Channel-Based Segmentation
06. Supply Chain Segmentation
07. Behavioral Segmentation
08. Geographic Segmentation
09. Demographic Segmentation
10. Generational Segmentation
11. Challenges & Pitfalls
12. Emerging Segments
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 11) – Logistics
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Acquisitive Growth process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Industrial Segmentation
02. Market-Size Based Segmentation
03. Product-Based Segmentation
04. Value-Based Segmentation
05. Channel-Based Segmentation
06. Supply Chain Segmentation
07. Behavioral Segmentation
08. Geographic Segmentation
09. Demographic Segmentation
10. Generational Segmentation
11. Challenges & Pitfalls
12. Emerging Segments
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Project Study (Part 12) – Education
The Head of this Department is to provide a detailed report relating to the Acquisitive Growth process that has been implemented within their department, together with all key stakeholders, as a result of conducting this workshop, incorporating process: planning; development; implementation; management; and review. Your process should feature the following 12 parts:
01. Industrial Segmentation
02. Market-Size Based Segmentation
03. Product-Based Segmentation
04. Value-Based Segmentation
05. Channel-Based Segmentation
06. Supply Chain Segmentation
07. Behavioral Segmentation
08. Geographic Segmentation
09. Demographic Segmentation
10. Generational Segmentation
11. Challenges & Pitfalls
12. Emerging Segments
Please include the results of the initial evaluation and assessment.
Program Benefits
Marketing
- Sales models
- Business growth
- Business strategy
- Customer loyalty
- Enhanced performance
- Improved responsiveness
- Opportunity analysis
- Supplier evaluation
- Corporate goals
- Market analysis
Management
- Engaged workforce
- Increased trust
- Heightened teamwork
- Productive meetings
- Idea generation
- Increased revenue
- Role clarity
- Role distinctions
- Tasking formula
- Effective communication
Finance
- Cost-effective
- Return on investment
- Budget friendly
- Financially sustainable
- Profitability enhancement
- Self-financing
- Performance improvement
- Cost savings
- Controlled growth
- Calculated risk
Client Telephone Conference (CTC)
If you have any questions or if you would like to arrange a Client Telephone Conference (CTC) to discuss this particular Unique Consulting Service Proposition (UCSP) in more detail, please CLICK HERE.