Target Market
By ADIL EL KOUHLANI
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PLAN OF THE TOPIC
• DEFINTION THE TARGET MARKET
• MARKET SEGMENTATION
• TARGET MARKET STRATEGIES
• THE PSYCOLOGY OF TARGET MARKET
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DEFINITION THE TARGET
MARKET
• Target Market is the specific group of
customers that a company aims to
capture. They have been identified as
people with needs or wants that can be
met with the products or services from
this company.
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MARKET SEGMENTATION
• Market segmentation is the process of
partitioning markets into groups of
potential customers with similar needs or
characteristics who are likely to exhibit
similar purchase behavior.
• Market segmentation requires a major
commitment by management to customer-
oriented planning, research,
implementation and control.
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• The target market can be defined by
demography (age, income, occupation),
psychologic factors (music lovers, urban
dwellers), geography or any other factor
that specifically identifies a sub-
population.
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• Let's have a look at how you can divide the market into
tiny segments for one's target market.
Demographic Segmentation: This segment involves
categorization of customers based on factors such as
age, income, family size, gender, education.
Geographical Segmentation: As we already read
above, segmentation based on the region is important
while dealing with specific products like desert coolers,
fur coats, blankets, snow boots, raincoats, etc. the
climatic conditions will determine one's target area.
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• Behavioral Segmentation: This form of segmentation
clubs factors like brand loyalty and value of quality. For
example, several IT companies market their products
specifically to customers loyal to their products. Then
again, certain companies target their high scale products
to people who cherish, value and are ready to shell out
extra cash for valuable pieces.
Psychographic Segmentation: This type of
categorization involves clubbing of people's interests, life
styles and personalities. Read more on psychographic
segmentation.
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INSTANCE
• Let's consider the simple example of marketing a pair of low waist
jeans. The product is catering to the fashion taste buds of the
young, teenage generation. Thus, the target market would be based
on the age ranging from 14-25 years of age. Then again if we
consider a product exclusively for men, such as shaving cream, the
target market will be divided based on gender. Other factors
affecting target market selection are income, occupation,
geographical location, etc. If your company is selling desert coolers,
it is but obvious that the target market will be for extremely hot
regions of the world and not the cold regions. Moreover, if you are
selling a luxurious product in an economically poor country, it's quite
obvious the product will not sell. Thus, based on the product
marketed, the target market can be identified and worked upon.
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There are four major benefits of market
segmentation analysis and strategy:
• Designing responsive products to meet the
needs of the marketplace.
• Developing effective and cost-efficient
promotional tactics & campaigns.
• Gauging your company’s market position
— how your company is perceived by its
customers and potential customers
relative to the competition.
• Fine-tuning current marketing strategies
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A three-step process is used to develop
a market segmentation strategy:
• 1. Segment Identification :determining a given
number of homogeneous market segments based on
selected segmentation variables and criteria. Segments
should be customer-focused, a justifiable size,
distinguishable, accessible, accountable & profitable.
2. Market Selection :selecting one or more groups to
target for marketing activity. You must make strategic
choices based on customer needs, competitive
opportunities, corporate objectives, and your firm’s
financial, technical and marketing resources.
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• 3. Positioning : carving out a market
niche for your firm. This may be
accomplished by searching out unique
marketing advantages, seeking new
market segments that competitors are
not cultivating, or developing new
approaches to old problems.
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Types of Target Marketing Strategies
• It's important to tap the most attractive segment
for maximum profit. To help you achieve this,
here are some target marketing strategies.
Single Segment Strategy: This strategy
involves the use of only one marketing mix for
one market segment. Usually small scale
companies with limited budget and resources
opt for this form of target marketing strategy.
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• Selective Specialization Strategy: In this
strategy, several marketing mixes are
implemented in different segments. The same
product is marketed differently in different
segments, which is why this target marketing
strategy is also known as differentiated strategy.
Product Specialization: The product
manufactured is customized and then marketed,
so as to cater to different market segments.
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• Market Specialization Strategy: In this form of
target marketing, the company first finalizes the market
segment they wish to cater to and then manufacture a
variety of products exclusively for this segment.
Full Market Coverage Strategy: The company uses
this strategy when they wish to serve the mass market.
This means a single marketing mix combination can be
used or even several marketing mixes are used to cater
to segments made in this entire market.
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THE PSYCOLOGY OF TARGET
MARKET
• A principal concept in target marketing is
that those who are targeted show a strong
affinity or brand loyalty to that particular
brand. Target Marketing allows the
marketer / sales team to customize their
message to the targeted group of
consumers in a more focused manner.
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• Research has shown that racial similarity, role
congruence, labeling intensity of ethnic
identification, shared knowledge and ethnic
salience all promote positive effects on the
target market. Research has generally shown
that target marketing strategies are constructed
from consumer inferences of similarities
between some aspects of the advertisement
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• (e.g., source pictured, language used,
lifestyle represented) and characteristics
of the consumer (e.g. reality or desire of
having the represented style. Consumers
are persuaded by the characteristics in the
advertisement and those of the consumer.
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