Customer segmentation
Study the market, its structure, identify attitudes and behaviours of consumers, this is the first step of marketing. Among the range of behaviours and characteristics of potential buyers, it is necessary to identify homogeneous groups or segments of customers, assess their importance and possible development.
It should also define a relevant market: local, regional, national, international ... A small business has no incentive to grow because it will lose the knowledge of its customers and run the risk of not being in line with demand. However, a large size can operate in several market segments, have better control of the field, to have opportunities to better negotiate with suppliers, and therefore to better meet customers sensitive to low price.
The establishment of customer segmentation is critical to enable:
- Establish treatment of different type of clients and thus meet distinct customer expectations
- To rationalise the means and thus to adapt the devices to the value of contacts and potential customers and optimising the profitability of the company.
Segmentation consists in dividing a population into homogeneous groups of people; these groups must be as different as possible. A business segments to better meet customer’s expectations, to exploit new market opportunities and to concentrate its forces and place of battle. Segmenting customers is to cut it into homogeneous groups, based on specific criteria, each group being distinct from each other and can be chosen as the target of a marketing action. There are many possible criteria for segmentation, which can be grouped into broad categories:
1)