Marketing Introduction

Marketing into

To make a product appeal to the right person, a marketer would start by segmenting the market, and then target a single segment or a group of segments. Market segmentation is segmenting markets into homogenous groups of consumers, with every group reacting in a different ways to the marketing mix. Market segments should be created in that way that difference in buyer behaviour within each segment is as small as possible. This will hopefully ensure every segment can be targeted using the marketing mix.
Organisations do this as they know people have different buying behaviours. Mass marketing is used less now as companies look to target groups that they can meet the needs of best. Also known as the 'Four Ps', the marketing mix elements are price, product, place and promotion. Some people will increase the mix to 'Seven Ps', to include people, physical evidence and process. When deciding the right marketing mix they will need to look demographic issues, age, gender, marital status, income, occupation, education, religion, nationality and ethnic group. How will these issues affect the way they market their product. How will the product attract the target demographic group. I will also need to look at psychographic issues, social class, lifestyle and personal type, as well as behavioural issues such as intensity of product use, brand loyalty and user behaviour. Also how each segment rates in order of possible success, potential growth and profit.
Abraham Maslow introduced his hierarchy of needs that is about human motivations. The further you move up the hierarchy, less people will reach these levels of needs. The bottom level is the physiological needs such the basic necessities of survival, food, water etc. The second level is of safety, a place to live and protection. At the third level we meet our social needs and our sense of belonging, friends, getting married etc. The final levels are about esteem and self-actualisation and status. Not many