research paper in market segmentation

• Corpus ID: 55906805

The basis of market segmentation: a critical review of literature

• Sulekha Goyat
• Published 15 November 2011
• European Journal of Business and Management

151 Citations

The prospects and challenges of market segmentation practice, an assessment of market performance as a dependent on market segmentation strategy in nigerian banks, post-hoc segmentation using marketing research, the challenge of international market segmentation in emerging markets, post-hoc segmentation using marketing research cristinel, demographic strategy of market segmentation engineering keywords market segmentation , demographic segmentation, effect of market segmentation on customer satisfaction in nigerian banking sector.

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The Prospects and Challenges of Market Segmentation Practice in the Equipment Leasing Industry of Nigeria 2000-2013

The role of the global marketer in market segmentation,product design decisions and global brands success, 16 references, market segmentation in practice: review of empirical studies, methodological assessment, and agenda for future research, benefit segmentation: a decision-oriented research tool, a factor analytic study of international segmentation performance measures, a strategic framework for defining and segmenting markets, introduction to the special issue on market segmentation, market segmentation from a behavioral perspective, product differentiation and market segmentation as alternative marketing strategies, trends in consumer segmentation, market segmentation: conceptual and methodological foundations, defining your market: winning strategies for high-tech, industrial, and service firms, related papers.

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Sustainability Marketing

ISBN : 978-1-80071-245-4 , eISBN : 978-1-80071-244-7

Publication date: 5 May 2021

Sharma, R.R. , Kaur, T. and Syan, A.S. (2021), "Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning", Sustainability Marketing , Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 119-132. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80071-244-720211009

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market Segmentation Research: a comprehensive guide

Kat Figatner

Senior Vice President, In-Person Qualitative Research

Chief Executive Officer

Robbin Jaklin

Former President

Your prospects and customers are not all the same—segmentation research helps guide your targeting and messaging strategies.

Market segmentation in consumer research is essential for effective marketing, as it recognizes that products and services cannot appeal to everyone universally. By identifying specific groups with varying attitudes, needs, and motivations, segmentation research enables companies to develop a targeted portfolio of brands and tailor marketing communications to distinct consumer segments.

Segmentation should be purpose-built and customized for each product category, involving an investigative and often multi-modal phased design and analysis process.

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Defining segmentation.

Customer segmentation refers to the process of dividing a customer base into groups of individuals that are similar in specific ways relevant to marketing, such as age, gender, interests, spending habits, and so on. It enables businesses to target these groups effectively and allocate marketing resources to the best possible effect.

Segmentations vary in complexity and analytical depth:

• Simple segmentations use straightforward criteria like generation or ethnicity, relying on cross-tabulated data.
• Intermediate segmentations apply basic advanced analytics, such as cluster analysis on Attitude & Usage study data.
• Complex segmentations are in-depth, often the main focus of the study, requiring iterative and/or multi-modal processes with extensive use of advanced analytics.

When do you need a segmentation study?

Typically segmentations are done to:

• Uncover new growth opportunities through tailored, industry-specific segmentation research.
• Understand the array of consumer experiences and needs.
• Develop engaging personas and creative presentations for segmentation results.
• Help refine and expand a brand’s target market share more effectively.
• Deliver actionable, “living” segmentations for effective organizational implementation.

Exploring types of segmentation

There are an endless number of ways you can segment. These are a few of the common methods C+R employs:

• Shopper Segmentation: Shopper  – groups people based on their needs, attitudes, and behaviors when shopping for a product or service. Our proprietary  Shopper Segmentation  can easily be incorporated into your research initiatives.
• Attitudinal Segmentation: (also known as Psychographic Segmentation) Groups people with similar attitudes, then profiles them using demographics, behaviors, brand perceptions, media habits, etc., for targeted strategies.
• Occasion-Based Segmentation: Focuses on product/service use in different situations, identifying diverse consumer needs and opportunities for growth.
• Behavioral Segmentation: includes key aspects of purchase behavior, usage rates, and benefits sought from a product or service. It is particularly useful in tailoring marketing messages and promotions to fit specific consumer habits, enhancing customer engagement and retention.
• Marrying Behavior with Attitudes: Combines transactional and attitudinal data to form unique segments.
• Geographic Segmentation: This type of segmentation divides the market based on geographic boundaries or characteristics. This can refer to regional or location-based, climate or cultural preferences impacted by geography.
• Needs-based: Categorizes consumers based on their specific needs and desires regarding products or services. It focuses on identifying what drives customer purchases, ranging from functional requirements to emotional or psychological desires.

Read a segmentation case study

Learn how we partnered with an alcoholic beverage client to develop a comprehensive occasion-based segmentation, including how we worked to bring segments to life.

Getting started: what’s the right segmentation to use?

As with other custom research, one size does not fit all, and the segmentation should be designed based on what you are looking to accomplish. For example, each of our client situations is unique, so our recommended solution is really based on getting to know their business intimately and understanding how they intend to use the segmentation.

This process entails the following four phases, addressed in further detail in our segmentation eBook .

The methodology of segmentation in marketing

Phase 1: sharing, planning and aligning.

Stakeholder Engagement and Kickoff Meeting

This initial phase is critical for the success of segmentation studies, involving considerable client investment and diverse stakeholder input. It starts with in-depth, individual interviews with key internal stakeholders to gather insights about the current market, future directions, and each stakeholder’s vision of success. These insights are crucial for shaping the research and garnering stakeholder buy-in. The findings from these interviews lay the groundwork for the kickoff meeting, a structured group discussion to further share knowledge, align objectives, and address any additional information relevant to the study, such as market trends, specific demographic insights, or the impact of external factors.

Phase 2: Building Empathetic Insights Through Qualitative Research

Understanding Consumers and Their Point of View on the Category

• Explore target consumers’ values, lifestyles, and how they perceive the category, including the fit of different products/brands.

Identify Motivations, Jobs, and Perceptions

• Analyze needs and behaviors in various contexts.
• Identify roles fulfilled by specific products/brands in the category.
• Investigate the decision-making process and brand perceptions to reveal factors influencing client’s brand and competitors.

Develop Hypotheses and Update Language

• Use qualitative insights to create language reflecting consumer perceptions and motivations.
• Involve Cohort Experts for multicultural consumer insights.
• Form an initial framework for validation in the quantitative phase.

Process and Techniques

• Overview of methodologies utilized in market segmentation.

Phase 3: Evaluating Need States and Survey Execution

This is the most involved stage. It includes everything from designing the sample, developing the questionnaire, and creating segmentation models. After gathering qualitative insights and formulating hypotheses , the questionnaire is developed , typically over 20 minutes, with the sample size adapted to the diversity of the target audience.

Pilot studies are employed to refine the survey, focusing on differentiating attributes through factor analysis. Once the data is collected, the segmentation process involves data preparation , such as removing poor quality responses and doing advanced analytics controlling for scale-use bias, and selecting appropriate segmentation analytics like ensemble clustering, latent class, or K-means based on data types. The final steps include segmentation validation techniques , ensuring stable and accurate segment classification.

Phase 4: Evaluating Need States and Survey Execution

The final stage of the segmentation study is to make the information digestible for your stakeholders.

An iterative approach with work sessions helps integrate the learning into the organization. It’s important to present data in a visually appealing and engaging way to maintain interest. Techniques to bring segments to life are also employed for clearer understanding.

The process culminates in a final presentation involving a cross-functional client team, where strategies and tactics for key segments are developed and activated.

custom segmentation research case studies and examples

• Applied Case Study: Reference to the Kid Retail Strategy Case Study for practical application.
• Effective Segmentation of Moms Case Study .
• Targeting Donors Case Study
• For a more off the shelf solution, explore C+R’s SmartMarket Segmentation blog .

Tools and analytics for segmentation

Data Preparation involves removing poor quality data: respondents who answer with low-variability or inconsistent answers. We also control for scale-use bias: Because respondents use scales differently, it’s essential to take steps to control for that bias so that data is standardized across cases. Solutions involve either normalizing scale data or using scale measurements that avoid scale bias, such as Max-Diff utilities.

Segmentation analytics are chosen based on the type(s) of data used in the segmentation: categorical, binary, scaled, ranked, choice-based utilities, metric (such as counts or spend), or a mix of measures. Some examples include:

• Ensemble clustering : which uses several different algorithms to run hundreds of solutions, then aggregate the results into the most reproducible segments.
• Latent class : appropriate for clustering with variables of many different data types.
• K-means : a basic clustering method used on variables with equal variance.
• Hierarchical : applied to market structure studies to build taxonomies of products.
• Segmentation Validation is a step to ensure that the analytic solutions provide stable and accurate classification into segments.
• Information criteria : Akaike and Bayesian Information Criterion allows for direct model comparison to maximize likelihood while minimizing the overlapping that might occur with many segments.
• Split-half validation : Predict half of the cases out of sample using solution on the other half.
• Reproducibility : Test the ability of the solution to classify future cases into the existing model.

The segmentation solution is final: time to tell the story and develop personas

Once the segmentation solution is finalized, each segment will be profiled, sized, and prioritized for meeting the brand’s objectives for growth. Personas are created so that segments are presented in a quick and easily digestible way for the stakeholders to understand everything about the segments. Following are some examples:

Bringing the segments to life

We always encourage our clients to add one of the following methods for bringing the segments to life. Many times, we will involve C+R’s Storyologists to connect our clients to the segments to build understanding and empathy.

Video Clips that represent people from different segments—can be collected via online discussions, webcam interviews, or video platforms such as VoxPopMe.

Video Sizzle Reels — can be created using video clips to capture key insights in a compelling way—either more artistically stylized or more ethnographic documentary style.

Look Books — a tangible “book” to give to your stakeholders to use as a segment reference “bible.”

Animated Videos — these highlight the journeys/ consumer stories in a memorable way for staying power in your organization.

Social Media Profiles — segments are presented similar to a social media profile.

Introducing Real Consumers to Represent Segments — there are several ways to connect your stakeholders with “real consumers” for a deeper understanding of the segments:

Panel discussion — consumers sit on a panel and stakeholders ask questions.

Speed Dating — this is where stakeholders and people from key segments meet one on one and do a quick question and answer session; stakeholders rotate from person to person, each representing a different segment.

Walk in Segment’s Shoes — this is where we take clients into the life of each segment such as in-homes where people prepare meals and the clients join the family for dinner or go on dine-alongs, etc.

Remember, segmentation methods continue to evolve, along with innovative and powerful ways of conducting and analyzing segmentation data. Segmentation research offers a wealth of insights, and addresses many strategies to grow your business, including:

• To drive sales by decreasing acquisition and retention costs, along with improving conversion
• To support opportunity identification and prioritization
• To provide marketing and sales with a clear and concise playbook by segment
• To identify the segments’ needs and preferences, which can be communicated in advertising and positioning messaging
• To support and build consideration of and loyalty to your brand
• To reduce or eliminate barriers to the brand
• To create opportunities against high-value customers and likely-to-convert segments

Hopefully, this primer educated and inspired you on the “how to’s” and benefits of segmentation research.

Next time you are thinking about conducting segmentation research, reach out and let’s chat about the best way to design the research to ensure you get the most actionable results out of your segmentation investment.

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Market Segmentation: One Method, Four Examples

Introduction

Companies segment their markets to improve their competitiveness and profitability in fundamental ways:

• By focusing product development, marketing and service resources on segments with the most potential, companies literally can multiply their marketing and service efficiency.
• By developing products, services, and marketing messages that address those segments’ specific needs, they can greatly improve their share of the most desirable business. At the same time, by focusing on the needs of the most desirable customers, companies can improve retention of those customers.

Very often, companies shape their market segmentation using the results of market research and analysis. Market segmentation research is not designed to shape the market. Rather, it reveals underlying divisions in the market and characteristics of the market segments that can be used for effective and profitable marketing.

At the very least, segmentation research places the steps companies take on a firm factual foundation. Often, it also uncovers characteristics of the market that are not obvious and identifies ways of dividing and approaching the market that will be particularly effective. If these ways are not evident to competitors, the marketing impact of segmentation research can be even more beneficial.

At a more tactical level, market segmentation can make the choices a company faces in developing products, services, and marketing messages easier. Often, market segmentation shows that many conceivable combinations of interest in product features, combinations of service needs, or combinations of attitudes are actually very rare in the marketplace. As a result, there is no need for the company to be prepared to deal with these combinations.

Effective Segmentation

What makes a segmentation analysis valuable? Market segmentation research includes more “art” (although no less “science”) than other types of market research. This is the case because analysis often turns up two or more different sets of segments, that is, two or more different ways of dividing the market. For example, one analysis might subdivide a segment; another might not recognize that division.

In these circumstances, what counts is a segmentation scheme that the firm can implement to create real marketing advantages. Which scheme is best depends not just on which provides the best description of the market, but also on the company’s strengths and marketing goals:

• For example, a company that is relatively large in its market might view a segment constituting 10% of the market as too small to serve as the foundation for a marketing strategy, no matter how desirable that segment is. A smaller firm in the same market, however, might see pursuit of the same segment as an exceptionally fruitful strategy.

Thus, the best segmentation analysis is the one that is most useful.

Deciding what Data Inputs to Use

Prior to carrying out a segmentation study, a firm should carefully consider what data inputs to use to ensure that the different segments identified can be targeted for actual marketing. If segments cannot be targeted, the most descriptive segmentation scheme may not be very useful.

Self-Organizing Map

In our segmentation projects, we have used a neural network based method that allows a computer to “learn” the structure of the market. The specific type of network used is called a “Self-Organizing Map” or SOM. SOMs have important advantages over other more traditional segmentation techniques:

• SOMs show how many segments naturally exist in the market and how they are related to one another, rather than requiring the analyst to make assumptions about how many segments there are.
• In our experience, the segments SOMs identify often are more distinct than those identified by cluster analysis, the most common type of segmentation analysis. We have seen this difference in studies where we used both techniques to analyze the same data.

The following brief case studies illustrate some uses our clients have made of market segmentation research using SOMs. Of course, these segmentation research examples are disguised where necessary to protect the proprietary interests of our clients.

Case 1: Personal Auto Insurance Buyers

Background : Our client, a national property/casualty insurer, distributes its personal and small commercial products through independent agents. This study was part of a reevaluation of its strategies, designed to determine:

• Whether its market share might be increased by direct marketing to some households
• Whether doing so would conflict with agent activities
• Marketing themes and product features that could be used to differentiate it in different market segments
• The potential profitability of different segments.

Attitudinal, behavioral, and demographic data were gathered using a mail panel survey of 2000 U.S. households that own auto insurance. Geodemographic and credit information supplemented the survey responses.

Segments Identified : The study identified five insurance market segments, each making up 17% to 22% of the market.

• “Non-Traditionals” were most interested in using the Internet and/or buying insurance at work.
• “Direct Buyers” were more interested than others were in buying via direct mail or telephone.
• “Budget Conscious” consumers were differentiated, primarily, by their interest in minimal coverage and their determination to find the best deal.
• “Agent Loyals” expressed strong loyalty to their agents and interest in high levels of personal service.
• “Hassle-Free” consumers were similar to “Agent Loyals,” except that they were much less interested in high levels of face-to-face service.

Thus, attitudes toward distribution and service needs were key factors differentiating the segments. The segments also differed in other attitudes and in their potential profitability, as measured by total auto insurance premiums, other insurance products owned, and loyalty to their insurers.

Marketing Outcomes : The study showed which segments the client should target for distribution without agents. It also showed how to define the segments in actual target marketing. As it turned out, the analysis showed strong relationships between segment membership and information available in the databases insurers use in underwriting and direct marketing targeting.

The study also provided guidance on which marketing messages to use with each segment.

Thus, this research provided a major input into our client’s decision about how to proceed with this potential new venture.

Case 2: Large Corporations as a Market for Risk Management

Background : Like other commercial insurers, our client for this study faced global consolidation of insurance carriers, a buyer’s market that was keeping prices and profitability down, inefficient distribution that hindered innovation, and wide variations in profitability from customer to customer.

In this context, our client wanted to accomplish three goals:

• Identify segments interested in buying more value-added services from our client
• Identify segments that were interested in modified distribution in which the carrier would play a more active role rather than just waiting for brokers to bring business to them
• Identify segments that had the greatest profit potential, because they were likely to be loyal and interested in a broad range of services

For this study, risk managers at about 400 of the 1500 largest U.S. corporations were interviewed. Their answers were supplemented by Dun & Bradstreet data and data on our clients’ relationships with them. (About 40% of the companies were our clients’ customers, to one extent or another.)

Segments Identified : The Self-Organizing Map technique identified four segments.

• “Innovators,” (37% of the market), were most interested in broader services, displayed high loyalty to their carriers, and had higher than average insurance expenditures.
• “Rejecters” (26% of the firms) were characterized, mainly, by disliking current distribution arrangements. They displayed higher than average expenditures and medium loyalty to carriers.
• “Limited Service” (20% of the market) firms had almost no interest in one of the core sets of insurance services, displayed low loyalty, and spent little on insurance and other risk management, relative to their size.
• “Traditionalists” (17% of the market) liked traditional roles for carriers and the distribution system. They were very risk averse and displayed medium loyalty to their carriers.

Comparing these segment characteristics to our client’s experiences with respondents’ firms that fell into the different segments, we found that “Innovators” were most likely to buy a broad range of service and did show strong customer retention. Firms in other segments also tended to act as the segmentation suggested they would. Thus, our client’s actual experience confirmed the segmentation findings.

Marketing Outcomes : These results contributed to new product/service packages our client developed.

Targeting these companies was relatively easy, because like other commercial insurers, our client was in touch with risk managers at virtually all of these large corporations. Given this situation, our client asked us to develop a series of questions that could be asked to assign firms to the segments.

Case 3: A Bank’s Transaction Account Holders

Background : A regional bank offered a multi-featured deposit product that had attracted many of its customers. However, most customers who had the account were using only a few of its features, and maintaining all of the features for all of the customers was costly.

Therefore, our client wanted to tailor a series of accounts to specific customer segments, to match products to customer needs and tastes, optimize usage of product features, and cement customer loyalty.

This segmentation analysis did not include a survey. Rather, it relied entirely on customer account data the bank provided. As a practical matter, any segmentation of the account holders for marketing purposes would have to rely on customer account data in any case. Therefore, including survey or other outside data in the segmentation analysis itself would not have been helpful.

Segments Identified : The SOM method was used to analyze the records of all 50,000 holders of the account. The segmentation yielded three segments.

• The “Committed” (47% of the account holders) had the highest balances, were most likely to use multiple services, and in virtually all cases, had checking accounts in addition to the deposit product.
• The “Active” (36% of the account holders) carried out the most frequent transactions, maintained low balances, and were least likely to use multiple services.
• The “Parkers” (17% of the account holders) had high CD balances, nearly universal incidence of CD accounts, and limited transactions.

Marketing Outcomes : Once the segments were identified, we carried out a telephone survey to explore the financial needs and attitudes of each segment. Then, three account versions were created each with its own features and marketing plan, reflecting marketplace needs and priorities.

Case 4: The Household Market for Credit Information

Background : A major credit bureau was our client for this study. Like other firms in its business, it had been exploring selling credit information not just to companies that grant credit, but to consumers as well.

In this study, as in the auto insurance segmentation study mentioned previously, a consumer panel was used to collect the survey data. Geodemographic data were added to the survey records, particularly to explore ways of targeting direct mail, should that sort of marketing prove appropriate. Because of regulatory constraints, the segmentation analysis could not include credit information.

Segments Identified : The SOM segmentation analysis identified four clearly defined segments, based on differences in a series of consumer behaviors and attitudes. The segments are described very briefly to avoid compromising confidential information.

• One of the four segments, constituting just 13% of the respondents, was far more interested in buying comprehensive credit information than the other segments. Their distinctive needs and attitudes suggested that our client offer a multi-featured product, substantially more expensive than the products our client had offered in the past. As it turned out, this segment was very readily targetable. Its relatively small size is actually an advantage, because together with the ease of targeting, it should result in very efficient marketing.
• Two of the four segments, totaling 58% of households, showed considerable interest in buying credit information, but less interest in an elaborate product than the first segment. Most of our client’s current buyers come from these segments.
• The fourth segment (29%) had very little interest in either credit or credit information.

Marketing Outcomes : Once the four segments were identified, the study’s marketing implications were obvious. We recommended vigorous product development and marketing efforts to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the first segment. For the second and third segments, we recommended somewhat enhanced marketing along the same lines as earlier marketing of our client’s consumer credit information product. We recommended that our client not spend resources marketing to the fourth segment.

What the Studies Accomplished

Each of these studies achieved four goals for the company that commissioned it:

• First, each study identified the underlying structure of the market involved. While some of the dimensions along which each market was divided were what one would expect, in each study at least one segment or dimension along which segments were divided was a surprise, and one that clarified the structure of the market and provided unforeseen marketing opportunities.
• The segments identified in each study were differentiated in terms of their interest in products and services and the benefits they sought from products in the category. The three studies that included survey research also identified differences in attitudes that could be tapped in marketing.
• Each segmentation study showed differences among the segments in potential profitability, to the extent that indicators of probable profitability could be included in the study.
• Each study suggested how the segments could be targeted in actual marketing.

We believe that segmentation research using SOMs can be beneficial to many other firms as well. We hope to have an opportunity to discuss it with you.

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Corporate social responsibility, market segmentation, and innovation performance

• Published: 08 August 2024

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• Jun Nie 1 &
• Qiqi Wang 2  

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Existing research on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and innovation performance is quite controversial. To alleviate this controversy, this paper examines the impact of market segmentation on CSR innovation from a market environment perspective. Based on a sample of Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2020, we found that CSR has a positive effect on innovation performance, but this relationship is moderated by regional market segmentation. Specifically, (1) market segmentation weakens the positive correlation between CSR and innovation, and excessive market segmentation even leads to a negative correlation; (2) the negative impact of market segmentation is mainly reflected in labor and capital market segmentation but is not obvious in product market segmentation; (3) compared to internal CSR, the negative impact of market segmentation is more obvious in external CSR. This paper provides a new perspective on the relationship between CSR and innovation and augments the research on the economic consequences of market segmentation.

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Scientific and Technological Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (Grant No. KJZD-K20240090). Sichuan International Studies University Planning Project (Grant No. sisu202134)

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Nie, J., Wang, Q. Corporate social responsibility, market segmentation, and innovation performance. Environ Dev Sustain (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-05200-5

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Received : 01 June 2023

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Published : 08 August 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-05200-5

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