Compartmentalization of the Market

Market Segmentation is about splitting up a market into small identical units based on  certain common characteristics. The purpose of Market Segmentation is to simplify the marketing activities. The small split up homogeneous market units make it easy for the marketer to plan promotional activities and reach the target audience with single media strategy. On the other hand, the heterogeneous market with differing market characteristics among its audience makes it difficult for the marketer to target the whole market with a single message – as one single message will not appeal to a whole audience with distinctive receptive abilities, traits and lifestyles. The small market unit called a market segment with identical traits among its constituent members will respond to a marketing message, cue, stimulus or promotional activity because the entire segment is more or less identical in nature. If the marketer can segment the market into homogeneous groups, he can prepare separate marketing messages and content to appeal to different homogeneous groups, and successfully fulfill his goals. 

Value Based Segmentation

Value Based Segmentation is segmenting a market based on the value of business expected of the market segment. For example, a building materials supplier can split up the market into Very Large Builders, Large Builders, Medium-sized Builders, Small Builders and Very Small Builders with the expectation of business volume from them respectively as $10,000, $25000, $50000, $100,000 and $200,000. The builder here may not have even contacted the segmented builders in question before. It’s only based on his understanding, gut feeling, prior study, builders’ size of opeartion and his knowledge about their consumption patterns that he (construction material supplier) has decided to categorise these builders into Very Large, Large, Medium-sized, Small and Very Small Builders. 

This type of market segmentation helps this construction material supplier to choose different marketing messages and media to reach out to each of these different segments. Even if he is  deciding one particular platform like Facebook, he can target these different segments by choosing different demographic profiles like income level, ownership type, professional title, etc., to target each of these market segments separately.

Location Based Segmentation

These days much of the talk in digital marketing centres around hyperlocal targeting. Hyperlocal targeting is about reaching an audience only in a specific locality like a pincode or zipcode. Google also helps this hyperlocal targeting marketing initiative through its Google My Business local business listing feature. Facebook and Google AdWords help marketers to target specific location-based audiences living in certain pincodes or zipcodes in their respective advertisement setting consoles. 

In Location Based Segmentation, marketers try to homogeneously split the whole market into smaller units based on the customers’ locations and then launch separate promotional activities targeting each location based target audience set individually.

Conversion Likelihood Based Segmentation

Seasoned digital marketing professionals are more likely to segment markets based on the expected conversions from different market sets. These digital marketing experts use past data and forecasting tools to segment the market into conversion likelihood segments. Sales professionals use MAN factors while preparing their prospects list. In the MAN factors, M stands for Money, A stands for Authority and N stands for Need. Here, based on the MAN factors like whether their customer has the potential to buy their products or services, has the authority to decide to buy and has real need to buy their products or services, the sales professionals pick their names in their prospects list. 

A Digital Marketer can even use likelihood and relevancy ranking scores to determine his potential customers’ conversion scores, and accordingly segment his audience database.

Media Based Segmentation

You can segment your market for Digital Marketing campaigns based on the media that you will be targeting your potential audience. For example, Business-to-Business (B2B)  products and services can be promoted through Business Networking & Professionals  platforms like LinkedIn. Highly technical and technology solutions like software products can be promoted through content marketing via technical blogs. 

Some audience profiles like teenagers and youngsters can be reached through specific media types like Image Sharing Social Media/Chatting/Streaming Content platforms such as Instagram, Snapshot, Facebook, Twitter, etc. 

In most of the cases, the marketing stages like awareness, consideration and decision determine the choice of the media. You can choose social media and Google Display Network if you want to promote and create awareness about your brand. If we want the customers to consider your product while they are evaluating their purchases or in their information search stage, you may opt for Google PPC or extensive blog promotion. If your objective in your digital marketing campaign is to make more conversions and get sales, you may use Case Studies to prove your capability and get leads that may eventually get converted into sales.

Use Case Based Segmentation

This is an interesting segmentation type because it involves extensive understanding of how your markets and customers behave. Use Case Segmentation is knowing firstly in how many possible ways and applications that your product may be used by your potential customers. If you have a fair understanding of how many different ways that your products may be used by your customers or how many applications that your product has, you can extensively use keywords to target your potential customers. Those  keywords get the attention of your prospective customers through blogs, case studies, social media and search engines. This is Use Case Segmentation.

You cannot collectively or indiscriminately promote your keywords or run ads targeting your potential audience at random. You need to have a clear understanding of how your product is used in a particular case. Then only you will be able to use a plethora of related keywords and keyword clusters to make your content visible to a specific audience for a specific Use Case for your product.

Conclusion

You may be a Digital Marketer or Blurn SEO Packages Australia expert with working knowledge on these marketing tools and use of keywords. Simply knowing tools, platforms, keywords and methods will not suffice. You have to have a complete understanding of how the markets and the customers behave. That is when you will be able to use tools, platforms, keywords and methods to make them work for your Digital Marketing or SEO efforts and bring constructive results which will help you achieve your marketing objectives. So, segment your market based on your understanding of the market and based on what you need from your digital marketing campaign. Then, plan your Blurn Organic Marketing Services in Sydney Australia and SEO efforts keeping in view the important steps to follow. That will produce the desired results.