According to a number of research and studies, individual issues such as personality, way of life, and financial conditions have greatly affected the customer behavior and their purchasing patterns. Consumer behavior and market segmentation are important subjects in marketing. Goods are not produced and marketed anymore without considering needs of the consumers and their heterogeneity towards these needs. Although there are many ways of recognizing the market, the placement of goods is based on the demographic aspects of the clients. This is why demographic segmentation is admired due to the connection linking demographic features and other dedicated actions such as purchasing and selling of goods. According to Kotler and Armstrong, market segmentation is a marketing plan used by marketers to split a wide target market into several subsets such as clients, businesses, and target market, among others (Kotler and Armstrong 138). These subsets are perceived to have common interests, common needs, and priorities. The main purpose of market segmentation is to identify and define the target clients while providing relevant information used for marketing plan elements. There are several types of market segmentations used in marketing. The most common type is demographic segmentation that is concerned with the fundamental demographic issues such as gender, age, income, among other factors. This type of segmentation divides the target customers according to the above variables. Geographic segmentation, another type of segmentation, divides the target clients according to their geographic areas such as regions, cities, nations, among others. Another common type of segmentation is the psychological segmentation which divides the target clients according to their values and lifestyles (Kotler and Armstrong 142). The behavioral segmentation is the final type of segmentation and it divides clients into segments based on their attitudes towards the product.
In marketing, after identifying the type of segmentation, the next important process is market targeting. Any particular company ought to decide the segment to target and how to do it. In addition, a company has to decide the market strategy to use, such as undifferentiated marketing, differentiated marketing, among others. Undifferentiated marketing is where a company does not consider the different types of segments that exist. Differentiated marketing is where a company targets many markets segments. The final process of market segmentation is the positioning. When an organization identifies and evaluates the clients, it then goes ahead to choose the position it wishes to engage within the selected sections. For an organization to position itself wisely, it should first understand what the target customer expects and believe (Kotler and Armstrong 148). The company should also develop a product that caters for the clients’ needs and expectations.
For companies to come up with important marketing strategies, it is important that they first understand the consumer behavior. In line with the consumer behavior, several aspects such as age, personality, standard of living, financial condition, and occupation have been connected to the purchasing behavior of the clients. These factors are the basis for the understanding of consumer behavior. In addition, consumer behavior has been acknowledged as a crucial marketing segmentation pointer for organizations that aspires to meet its clients’ requirements and desires. Marketers, hence, must always endeavor to appreciate the differences and similarities in administrative styles. For a company to market its products and services well, it should first seek to understand the target clients’ shopping behavior (Kotler and Armstrong 153). There is also a correlation between consumer behavior and market segmentation in that segmentation and the satisfaction of clients starts with the understanding of consumer behavior.
Works Cited
Kotler, Philip, and Gary Armstrong. Principles of Marketing. pearson education, 2010. Print
