TABLE OF CONTENTS About this chapter
The segmentation process is a crucial aspect of strategic marketing. This chapter explores both consumer and organizational segmentation. Initially both consumer and organizational behaviour is summarized to illustrate the areas from which segmentation criteria have developed. A full analysis of segmentation is then undertaken to provide the foundation of the targeting and positioning activities that will be addressed in Chapter 11.
At a fundamental level an organization's marketing objectives become a decision about which products or services they are going to deliver into which markets. It follows that decisions about the markets to be serviced are a critical step in strategy formulation. The segmentation process is therefore central to strategy and it can be broken into three distinct elements: segmentation, targeting and positioning. This chapter will examine the segmentation aspect of both consumer and organizational markets.
Successful segmentation relies on a clear understanding of the market. Knowledge of consumer behaviour is the crucial foundation on which that market understanding is built. The chapter will briefly summarize both consumer and organizational buyer behaviour as an introduction to market segmentation criteria.
