Mass marketing has been with us for several decades if not centuries. This method is a fairly simple method of advertisement but has the major disadvantage of lacking specific targets. It focuses on the entire population hoping that the consumers will be reached. As a result, specific concerns about goods and services are not adequately addressed. In view of this fact, many advertisers are now turning to another option, market segmentation strategy.

There are many ways in which the market can be subdivided. These will be largely determined by the nature of market and the type of product that is being sold. Existing commercial laws also have some influence on the type of approach that can be adopted. Once this has been done, the product can be modified to meet the needs of various segments. This is also known as product differentiation.

As you create each segment, you will need to have a number of considerations at the back of your mind. Each of them must meet certain minimum requirements that include, among others, ease of size measurement. Each segment must be large enough to provide significantly large amounts of profit. For a segment to be effectively served there must be some element of homogeneity.

It is important to ensure that the segments created are stable. Stability ensures that there is enough time for changes in demand and consumer satisfaction to be seen. It allows for the producer or advertiser to start receiving returns. For this reason, the attributes that are chosen as the basis for segmentation must be carefully selected.

There are a number of consumer characteristics that used for creation of segments. Geographical location of the targeted consumers is one of the commonest attributes that can be used. It entails the breakdown of the large pool of customers based on their country, city or even state of origin. By creating consumer profiles based on this data, decisions regarding service provision and product production are made.

Behavioral segmentation is a popularly used type of marketing. The idea here is to divide the consumer pool into different groups based attitude and on the knowledge of various products and services. It encompasses what is referred to as occasional buying. Occasional buyers are customers who buy goods or services depending on the prevailing conditions. This may refer to, for example, the increase in the demand of gifts during Easter or Christmas by Christians. Other occasions that can be used to segment consumers include weddings, birthday parties and funerals.

Psychographic segmentation is another popular method among advertisers. In this approach, the market will be subdivided based on the demographic and psychological characteristics of the consumer pool. To achieve this, attributes such as social classes, personal values and beliefs and lifestyle have to be taken into account.

The most important thing to know is that market segmentation strategy may use virtually any form of attribute to create the groups and subgroups. Obvious differences like gender, income and age can be used almost anywhere. When a preexisting variable is used to create the segments, this is known as priori segmentation. When the variables are determined through research, it is known as post-hoc.