Tags |
|
|
Links |
|
|
Casual Articles - Secrets of Market Segmentation in a Nutshell
Why should you care about my viewpoints?Good question - you don't know me - but obviously - You're confused and maybe even a bit fed up by your new assignment and it's lack of clarity...Typical problem!My specialty: Getting what I call "sorry ass - stranded in the ditch - projects up'n running FAST!And by fast, I mean just that...Fast, or instant - in like 90 days or less... And in 6 to 7 months or less, depending on size and shape - So God-Damned Blod Trimmed - So tuned up - you wouldn't even recognize it...When my collegues couldn't make it - I usually was sent in to clean up the mess... To do the 'dirty work' - And I did. - PERIOD.When dealing with a project. My main goal isALWAYS RESULTS.I may be tough, and sometimes you'll have to be too...Because you see... Sometimes...Management claim they want this and that change... ..And sadly enough too... s
Analysis
The most complex and opaque part of segmentation research is the derivation of the segments—that literally means dividing the sample into a small number of exclusive clusters. This is almost always done by applying some form of statistical cluster analysis. The analyst will typically try several different cluster "solutions." While there are objective statistical measures of the quality of a cluster solution, they are no more important than informed managerial judgment. Researchers oftenl offer two or three possibilities to discuss.
The "right" number of segments is subjective, but in practice companies tend to settle on four to eight segments. In a diverse, complex, and lucrative category more might be called for.
Agreeing on the number of segments, as well as the labels that will be attached to them, always requires careful study of their full profiles. While the segments may be defined with one class of basis variables (e.g. attitudes about fashion and shopping), you always need to describe the
The oil reservoir (conservator tank) found on industrial and commercial hydraulic, lubricating and electrical transformer systems all suffer the common ailment of water. It is well known that water can accumulate in these conservator tanks to contaminate the oil and whether this happens in a short period or gradually over time the end result is the same, the equipment suffers from rust, corrosion and reduced lubrication. Transformers have even been known to explode from the loss of dielectric strength in their insulating oil. To a great degree this problem is caused by the water being condensed from the humidity in the atmosphere around the conservator tank that then accumulates in the oil.In an attempt to solve this problem and maintain "dry" oil in lubricating and hydraulic oil systems, water-removing oil filters were developed that can remove water from the oil via a flow stream through the filter. However, filtering does not solv
Market segments consist of groups of people or organizations that are similar in terms of how they respond to a particular marketing mix or in other ways that are meaningful for marketing planning purposes.
The entire field of market segmentation is based on this idea, that consumers have differing needs. They will find value in different products. They will respond differently to marketing communications. They will gravitate toward different price points.
Because of this, businesses operate more efficiently if they can act on those differences. A business that tries to offer a single undifferentiated product with generic marketing support will always lose out to more nimble competitors who have specific targets and know how to serve them.
We often work for health plans. In the Medicare Part D world for instance, health plans are struggling to make sense out of new regulations while meeting very tight deadlines. But today’s difficulties are going to give way to a market where segmentation will be of great benefit because mass marketing will not work.
Which Segment?
It is obvious that all competitors cannot target the same segment and succeed. A common mistake is to assume that you must focus on the "heavy buyers" who, in reality, are often not the most profitable group. For example, a consulting firm may decide to forego targeting Fortune 500™ firms that are fiercely contested by the Big Four accounting/consulting firms and instead pursue middle market firms. "Sub prime" lenders and credit card companies know exactly who their prospects are, and do not bother advertising in Money magazine or funding public television shows. Part D players may find market niches among seniors with, for example, private Medigap policies and specific interests or needs that the plan can address.
For health plans, market segmentation is not common. Part of this is due to health plan cultures developed to serve large employer-based health plans and retirees. But Medicare Part D is an unprecedented public-private effort to create a consumer market. And Medicare's Part D program is just one element of a far reaching effort to use private health plans to control Medicare expenses. We believe the market understanding developed through segmentation will serve in a variety of ways.
Identifying and targeting one or a few segments instead of the entire market allows the firm to use its resources more effectively. Market segmentation means products and messages more aligned with the needs of selected consumers.
Researching Segments
Some type of systematic research is required as a foundation for market segmentation. Most often, this research entails a sample survey which should be done by research experts.
Segmentation research addresses a set of fundamental questions: 1. How many segments are there? 2. How large is each segment? 3. How do you define the segments? 4. How do you describe the segments?
Segments are typically defined by dimensions such as:
• Behavior—such as the frequency of purchasing, total spending, or the mixture of stores shopped (switching, investigating, comparing, delegating decisions), or
• Characteristics—such as geodemographics for consumers or SIC codes for businesses (health conditions, subsidy status, current coverage status), or
• Attitudes—such as financial sophistication, fashion orientation, or disposition to adopt new technologies (interest, optimism).
The variables that are used to define the segments are called the "basis." The basis is chosen in light of how the segmentation will be applied. Direct marketers, for instance, carefully dissect their databases in terms of purchase behavior. Other segments are based on consumers’ motivations and concerns. Marketer choose this because motivations and concerns are what cause consumers to act on an offer.
We don’t think that there is only one "correct" way of doing segmentation research, nor that there is a single set of segments waiting to be "discovered." While the analysis needs to employ objective statistical methods, any number of judgments, preferences and practical considerations go into the design of the process and the final determination of the segment structure. The same dataset can yield different segments.
Market segmentation spotlights opportunities for health plans to improve marketing and sales, staff training, customer service, new enrollee intake, business planning, and public relations. It will be used by health plans that want to assure they emerge from this period of dramatic Medicare market change as a coverage provider of relevance and viability. Part of this means achieving sales and marketing goals. Part of this means establishing a market position where consumers think of you as you’d like them to think of you.
Compared to other forms of marketing research, the sample sizes for segmentation studies tend to be large. The simple reason is that you need to be able to profile multiple sub-samples (the segments) with a high degree of precision, rather than just the total sample. It is unusual to use fewer than 500 and not unusual to use 2,000-3,000.
Analysis
The most complex and opaque part of segmentation research is the derivation of the segments—that literally means dividing the sample into a small number of exclusive clusters. This is almost always done by applying some form of statistical cluster analysis. The analyst will typically try several different cluster "solutions." While there are objective statistical measures of the quality of a cluster solution, they are no more important than informed managerial judgment. Researchers oftenl offer two or three possibilities to discuss.
The "right" number of segments is subjective, but in practice companies tend to settle on four to eight segments. In a diverse, complex, and lucrative category more might be called for.
Agreeing on the number of segments, as well as the labels that will be attached to them, always requires careful study of their full profiles. While the segments may be defined with one class of basis variables (e.g. attitudes about fashion and shopping), you always need to describe the
The purpose of audit planning is to fully understand the business of the company being audited and the operating environment. Audit planning will also establish and notate the major audit risks within the company—essentially to give a heads up to the auditor so they can properly assess the company.Another job responsibility for Audit Planners is internal controls testing which is done before and after the year end audit. This looks at the processes, controls and protocols within the company’s infrastructure—by checking the security of the computer systems and accounting reconciliation. The auditor may not perform internal control testing while doing their audit as they do not expect the internal controls to be reliable systematic approaches. The audit in this case follows a ‘substantive approach’, when no internal control testing is done before or during the audit.For audit risks, the planner will outline the major risks for t
For health plans, market segmentation is not common. Part of this is due to health plan cultures developed to serve large employer-based health plans and retirees. But Medicare Part D is an unprecedented public-private effort to create a consumer market. And Medicare's Part D program is just one element of a far reaching effort to use private health plans to control Medicare expenses. We believe the market understanding developed through segmentation will serve in a variety of ways.
Identifying and targeting one or a few segments instead of the entire market allows the firm to use its resources more effectively. Market segmentation means products and messages more aligned with the needs of selected consumers.
Researching Segments
Some type of systematic research is required as a foundation for market segmentation. Most often, this research entails a sample survey which should be done by research experts.
Segmentation research addresses a set of fundamental questions: 1. How many segments are there? 2. How large is each segment? 3. How do you define the segments? 4. How do you describe the segments?
Segments are typically defined by dimensions such as:
• Behavior—such as the frequency of purchasing, total spending, or the mixture of stores shopped (switching, investigating, comparing, delegating decisions), or
• Characteristics—such as geodemographics for consumers or SIC codes for businesses (health conditions, subsidy status, current coverage status), or
• Attitudes—such as financial sophistication, fashion orientation, or disposition to adopt new technologies (interest, optimism).
The variables that are used to define the segments are called the "basis." The basis is chosen in light of how the segmentation will be applied. Direct marketers, for instance, carefully dissect their databases in terms of purchase behavior. Other segments are based on consumers’ motivations and concerns. Marketer choose this because motivations and concerns are what cause consumers to act on an offer.
We don’t think that there is only one "correct" way of doing segmentation research, nor that there is a single set of segments waiting to be "discovered." While the analysis needs to employ objective statistical methods, any number of judgments, preferences and practical considerations go into the design of the process and the final determination of the segment structure. The same dataset can yield different segments.
Market segmentation spotlights opportunities for health plans to improve marketing and sales, staff training, customer service, new enrollee intake, business planning, and public relations. It will be used by health plans that want to assure they emerge from this period of dramatic Medicare market change as a coverage provider of relevance and viability. Part of this means achieving sales and marketing goals. Part of this means establishing a market position where consumers think of you as you’d like them to think of you.
Compared to other forms of marketing research, the sample sizes for segmentation studies tend to be large. The simple reason is that you need to be able to profile multiple sub-samples (the segments) with a high degree of precision, rather than just the total sample. It is unusual to use fewer than 500 and not unusual to use 2,000-3,000.
Analysis
The most complex and opaque part of segmentation research is the derivation of the segments—that literally means dividing the sample into a small number of exclusive clusters. This is almost always done by applying some form of statistical cluster analysis. The analyst will typically try several different cluster "solutions." While there are objective statistical measures of the quality of a cluster solution, they are no more important than informed managerial judgment. Researchers oftenl offer two or three possibilities to discuss.
The "right" number of segments is subjective, but in practice companies tend to settle on four to eight segments. In a diverse, complex, and lucrative category more might be called for.
Agreeing on the number of segments, as well as the labels that will be attached to them, always requires careful study of their full profiles. While the segments may be defined with one class of basis variables (e.g. attitudes about fashion and shopping), you always need to describe the
Let's start with our reminder of... "What is an improvement cycle?"Make Continuous Improvement One Of Your Goals - As Soon As You Possibly Can (ID: 74077)What Is An Improvement Cycle?"Everything we do is a process, every process has a customer"The Improvement Cycle is a highly disciplined and rigorous approach to problem solving using the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) methodology developed by Dr. W. Edwards Deming.The Improvement Cycle consists of seven steps, 3 in the Plan phase, 1 in the Do phase, 1 in the Check phase, and 2 in the Act phase.The PDCA cycle needs to be used in a continuous manner, select your theme or project, assess the current situation, plan and implement your solutions, check the effects of your changes, standardise on your new improved process, and plan for future improvements – the cycle continues.---SIDEBAR---Although a certain amount of value and
Researching Segments
Some type of systematic research is required as a foundation for market segmentation. Most often, this research entails a sample survey which should be done by research experts.
Segmentation research addresses a set of fundamental questions: 1. How many segments are there? 2. How large is each segment? 3. How do you define the segments? 4. How do you describe the segments?
Segments are typically defined by dimensions such as:
• Behavior—such as the frequency of purchasing, total spending, or the mixture of stores shopped (switching, investigating, comparing, delegating decisions), or
• Characteristics—such as geodemographics for consumers or SIC codes for businesses (health conditions, subsidy status, current coverage status), or
• Attitudes—such as financial sophistication, fashion orientation, or disposition to adopt new technologies (interest, optimism).
The variables that are used to define the segments are called the "basis." The basis is chosen in light of how the segmentation will be applied. Direct marketers, for instance, carefully dissect their databases in terms of purchase behavior. Other segments are based on consumers’ motivations and concerns. Marketer choose this because motivations and concerns are what cause consumers to act on an offer.
We don’t think that there is only one "correct" way of doing segmentation research, nor that there is a single set of segments waiting to be "discovered." While the analysis needs to employ objective statistical methods, any number of judgments, preferences and practical considerations go into the design of the process and the final determination of the segment structure. The same dataset can yield different segments.
Market segmentation spotlights opportunities for health plans to improve marketing and sales, staff training, customer service, new enrollee intake, business planning, and public relations. It will be used by health plans that want to assure they emerge from this period of dramatic Medicare market change as a coverage provider of relevance and viability. Part of this means achieving sales and marketing goals. Part of this means establishing a market position where consumers think of you as you’d like them to think of you.
Compared to other forms of marketing research, the sample sizes for segmentation studies tend to be large. The simple reason is that you need to be able to profile multiple sub-samples (the segments) with a high degree of precision, rather than just the total sample. It is unusual to use fewer than 500 and not unusual to use 2,000-3,000.
Analysis
The most complex and opaque part of segmentation research is the derivation of the segments—that literally means dividing the sample into a small number of exclusive clusters. This is almost always done by applying some form of statistical cluster analysis. The analyst will typically try several different cluster "solutions." While there are objective statistical measures of the quality of a cluster solution, they are no more important than informed managerial judgment. Researchers oftenl offer two or three possibilities to discuss.
The "right" number of segments is subjective, but in practice companies tend to settle on four to eight segments. In a diverse, complex, and lucrative category more might be called for.
Agreeing on the number of segments, as well as the labels that will be attached to them, always requires careful study of their full profiles. While the segments may be defined with one class of basis variables (e.g. attitudes about fashion and shopping), you always need to describe the
For years conventional wisdom suggested that people do not leave companies, but rather they leave because of bad business management also known as bad managers. Poor business management practices are more related to the problem of poor business ethics or values than to the common symptoms such as poor delegation or poor communication.Every organization, no matter size, should have a written business values statement of non-negotiable behaviors that will be demonstrated by everyone. Each employee from top down needs to consistently demonstrate the same values and ethics. Inconsistent values from managers can dramatically affect employee motivation and ultimately employee performance.A recently released survey from Florida State University of 700 employees within numerous industries and employment levels provides an insight into the lack of ethics by many mangers. Failure to keep their (managers) word – 39%behavior. Other segments are based on consumers’ motivations and concerns. Marketer choose this because motivations and concerns are what cause consumers to act on an offer.
We don’t think that there is only one "correct" way of doing segmentation research, nor that there is a single set of segments waiting to be "discovered." While the analysis needs to employ objective statistical methods, any number of judgments, preferences and practical considerations go into the design of the process and the final determination of the segment structure. The same dataset can yield different segments.
Market segmentation spotlights opportunities for health plans to improve marketing and sales, staff training, customer service, new enrollee intake, business planning, and public relations. It will be used by health plans that want to assure they emerge from this period of dramatic Medicare market change as a coverage provider of relevance and viability. Part of this means achieving sales and marketing goals. Part of this means establishing a market position where consumers think of you as you’d like them to think of you.
Compared to other forms of marketing research, the sample sizes for segmentation studies tend to be large. The simple reason is that you need to be able to profile multiple sub-samples (the segments) with a high degree of precision, rather than just the total sample. It is unusual to use fewer than 500 and not unusual to use 2,000-3,000.
Analysis
The most complex and opaque part of segmentation research is the derivation of the segments—that literally means dividing the sample into a small number of exclusive clusters. This is almost always done by applying some form of statistical cluster analysis. The analyst will typically try several different cluster "solutions." While there are objective statistical measures of the quality of a cluster solution, they are no more important than informed managerial judgment. Researchers oftenl offer two or three possibilities to discuss.
The "right" number of segments is subjective, but in practice companies tend to settle on four to eight segments. In a diverse, complex, and lucrative category more might be called for.
Agreeing on the number of segments, as well as the labels that will be attached to them, always requires careful study of their full profiles. While the segments may be defined with one class of basis variables (e.g. attitudes about fashion and shopping), you always need to describe the
Unless you have customers, your superb product is not going to be sold or generate any money. To have customers, you need to communicate with your target audience, your prospects and attract them to your shop/ website/ point of purchase. Then you need to communicate the benefits of your product to them, indicate that it is for sale, indicate the price. Only then can you expect a sale. Only if you have sales will you get any revenue. Only then are you truly “in business”.The process of communicating to your prospects in its entirety, is “Marketing.”As is obvious from our example here, Marketing is essential for any business to survive. With the right marketing, you can double your business in a very short time.A very simple definition of marketing would be “Anything you do to get and keep customers.”While it is essential to have customers buy from you the first time, you cannot rest at that point. You need custome
Analysis
The most complex and opaque part of segmentation research is the derivation of the segments—that literally means dividing the sample into a small number of exclusive clusters. This is almost always done by applying some form of statistical cluster analysis. The analyst will typically try several different cluster "solutions." While there are objective statistical measures of the quality of a cluster solution, they are no more important than informed managerial judgment. Researchers oftenl offer two or three possibilities to discuss.
The "right" number of segments is subjective, but in practice companies tend to settle on four to eight segments. In a diverse, complex, and lucrative category more might be called for.
Agreeing on the number of segments, as well as the labels that will be attached to them, always requires careful study of their full profiles. While the segments may be defined with one class of basis variables (e.g. attitudes about fashion and shopping), you always need to describe the segments in terms of other variables (e.g. demographics, spending, media preferences, preferred brands) that were not part of the definition of the segments.
Application
An important deliverable from most segmentation research is a tool for classifying other consumers into the segments. This could be a formula where by asking a small number of questions you can place a "new" consumer in one of the segments. It could be a set of logical rules ["if combined account balances >$10,000 + have at least three accounts + non-mortgage debt < $20,000: assign to segment G"].
Conclusion
Market segmentation is a far-reaching strategy that can benefit players.
The underlying rationale is to use your resources more efficiently by serving consumer needs better. The mechanism is to treat the market as consisting of multiple segments with different needs, rather than as a mass market where "average" really suits no one very well.
The research requires a sample survey. It defines and describes segments from which the health plan can choose one or more targets. We believe playser in the new Medicare market are especially ready to get more "bang for the buck" by more precisely meeting segments’ needs and by using marketing tools to which that segment will respond.
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.casualarticles.com/article/27659/casualarticles-Secrets-of-Market-Segmentation-in-a-Nutshell.html">Secrets of Market Segmentation in a Nutshell</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.casualarticles.com/article/27659/casualarticles-Secrets-of-Market-Segmentation-in-a-Nutshell.html]Secrets of Market Segmentation in a Nutshell[/url]
Related Articles:
Purchasing Steel Buildings On The Web?
Quick Tips For Creating An Effective Business Logo
Resume Writing Solutions for Your Challenging Career History
Bookmark it:
|