The competition in the field of marketing and digital marketing is getting fiercer every day. Because every day, more and more businesses decide to offer their products on the site and application, and as a result, use the facilities of the web space for advertising. In addition, new startups are entering the market. 

So digital marketing is becoming more and more difficult. In this very crowded environment, he has to convey the voice of the business to his own audience/customer. Many businesses do not advertise a product or service for the entire market. Because not all markets can be their customer for a variety of reasons. Some goods and services have features that make them attractive to a market segment. 

For example, if I am a startup that has created an app to help improve the quality of life and mental health of working mothers, it does not make sense for me to advertise this app for men or the elderly or teenagers. Users and potential customers of this application are a very specific group with specific features.  Or, for example, some very special and expensive perfumes have their own small and special market. The creators of these perfumes do not come to spend and advertise them for everyone and everywhere. 

Therefore, marketing and advertising should be more than targeted web traffic. That is, the marketer must first find the audience. Understand where they are and what they are doing, and then prepare an appropriate, linguistic advertisement for them and put it in front of their eyes. Only then will the marker be heard. 

This is exactly what many marketers do, and it has a definite name in marketing: Market Segmentation.

What is market segmentation? What are the benefits for businesses? What types are there and by what criteria can the market be divided? These are the questions I will answer later. I will give some examples to make this phrase clearer.

What we will have in this post

• What is Market Segmentation? 
  • The benefits of market segmentation for businesses and digital marketers 
  • Types of market segmentation 
  • Market segmentation criteria
  • Segmentation steps and an example of market segmentation 
  • summary and Conclusion
    • the writer

What is Market Segmentation? 

Market segmentation is a concept that is part of a business marketing or digital marketing strategy. Of course, market segmentation may be done in the form of STP marketing model and its first stage (Segmentation). However, market segmentation is used to make marketing more effective and targeted. 

Market segmentation is a marketing term that refers to aggregating prospective buyers into groups or segments with common needs and who respond similarly to a marketing action. Market segmentation seeks to identify targeted groups of consumers to tailor products and branding in a way that is attractive to the group.

Market segmentation is a term used in marketing to refer to the grouping of potential customers into groups and segments with similar needs and responses to marketing activities. Market segmentation seeks to identify target groups among customers in order to brand and attract the right products.

There are different types of market segmentation, and it is done according to criteria. It is clear that when classification and division are to be done, there must be a standard and basic. Before addressing the types and criteria, we need to answer the question of what benefits the market segmentation has for businesses, in addition to what we have said so far. 

The benefits of market segmentation for businesses and digital marketers 

The benefits of market segmentation can be divided into two categories: the benefits it has for businesses in general and the benefits it has for digital marketing and marketers. I first look at the benefits of segmentation for businesses. Research findings published in the Harvard Business Review show that 

• 81% of executives found that segmentation was crucial for growing profits. 
• 81% of company managers consider segmentation necessary to increase profits. 

In addition to the effect that segmentation has on better business profitability and sales:  

• Attract the right customers for the business, those who are willing to buy and are more likely to stay loyal. This is important in building and strengthening Brand Equity.
• It is much easier for a business and a brand to differentiate itself from its competitors. And it is much easier to find and build your own niche market in the market.
• Assists the business in designing and producing products based on the main needs and desires of customers. 

The benefits of market segmentation for marketing can be summarized as follows:

• Identifying the main audience of messages and advertisements from the very beginning.
• Specifying the appropriate advertising location and the tone and type of effective advertising.
• Reduce the cost of attracting audiences and unsuccessful advertising.
• Develop stronger and more targeted marketing strategies.

Types of market segmentation 

Market segmentation is done on two levels. Segmentation starts from a general division and goes to a more detailed and specific division or divisions. First of all, the business must determine how it wants to divide the market into two large groups. For example, do I want to segment the market based on the common needs of individuals? That is, my market becomes a group with a few common needs and the rest. For example, the elderly who have lost their spouse and are alone and the rest. 

Or should the market be divided into two categories based on a specific and distinctive feature? For example, women and the rest of the market or working mothers and the rest. Or a similar reaction to the product should be the criterion. For example, the group that every new iPhone that comes on the market has to buy and can afford, and so on.

Accordingly, in the first level, there are three types of macro divisions: 

• Segments that are separated from the market based on Homogeneity (common needs) and are grouped.
• Distinctive Segments that are separated from the market based on Distinction
• Segments with Similar Reaction that are separated from the market based on similar reaction to the product. 

Market segmentation criteria 

Now that the business has separated a large group or groups of customers from the market for itself, it must still find more specific customers within each group based on criteria. This is the second level division or more detailed division. For example, in the group of working mothers, a business may only be able to serve working mothers in a specific city or region. Using the criterion of place of residence, the group divides working mothers into two groups: working mothers who live in certain areas and the rest. 

Businesses usually divide groups into smaller sections by four criteria (demographic, geographical, psychological, and behavioral). These are very general criteria for market segmentation. A business or digital marketer may decide to use other criteria that are more specific. For example, a business may segment their customers based on the type of transactions and previous purchases (Transactional segmentation).

Each of these criteria actually asks a question and, based on the answer that the business seeks in the customer, places the customer in its own section. that’s mean:

• Demographic Segmentation: Classifies potential customers based on who they are in a particular department or group. This criterion asks about age, gender, income, level of education, religion, occupation, and clients.
• Psychographic Segmentation: Classifies potential customers into a specific segment or group based on their personality, interests, motivations, values, goals, lifestyle, and so on. 
• Geographic segmentation: asks where potential customers live. 
• Behavioral segmentation: Customers are placed in a specific group (for example, loyal customers) based on their buying and spending habits and patterns, their interactions with the website or business. 

Segmentation steps and an example of market segmentation 

Although various examples and examples were mentioned during the discussion, it is better to review all the stages of market segmentation from the beginning to clarify the issue with examples. Consider a sports shoe manufacturer (such as the Reebok brand). How should this business segment its market? 

• The first stage begins with studying the market and the type of business and products it wants to market. At this point, the business must answer the question, with what purpose does it want to segment the market? Does it want to launch a new product and wants to design and manufacture it exactly according to the needs of the market, so it wants to know the customers exactly? Has it produced new products and now needs segmentation to develop a marketing or retargeting strategy?
•  The second step is to define the market in its broadest sense. For the manufacturer of sneakers: All those who buy and wear sneakers. 
• The third step is to segment the macro market and select one or two types of segmentation. The sports shoe manufacturer may only consider common needs. So, the market is divided into professional athletes and those who need sports shoes for sports or daily walks. 
• The fourth stage of   research to identify each group and find the best criteria or criteria (of which 4 criteria or any other criteria obtained as a result of research) and segmentation of each group. Here, too, it is possible to divide that business into several groups. For example, a group of professional athletes based on the gender and type of sport (soccer players, volleyball players, runners, etc.) they perform. And the group of regular customers based on age, gender and physical characteristics (children’s, women’s, men’s shoes, shoes for people with low back pain or flat feet, etc.). 
• The last step is to test and evaluate the segmentation. Depending on the purpose of the segmentation, different methods may be used for evaluation at this stage. 

summary and Conclusion

1. Market segmentation can be done for different purposes (including identifying the target customer and producing the product based on his needs, retargeting, developing new product advertising campaigns, etc.). But in any case, with any goal, it leads to more targeted advertising, marketing and sales.
2. An appropriate criterion for market segmentation should be selected based on the type of business and its products and market studies. Perhaps a large business that produces different products will use different subdivisions for each product. https://watch.wave.video/1VCfjHLmzxGiJRzS
3. Market segmentation should be flexible and reviewed based on market changes or when the business needs to change. It’s not like businesses divide the market once in a lifetime, and that’s it! 
4. In Market Segmentation, movement is from whole to part. Of course, very small and specific and limiting the segments may have a negative impact on profitability. 
5. Market segmentation directly affects marketing and digital marketing and is involved in the formulation of marketing strategies. Digital Marketer must be deeply acquainted with the basics and principles of marketing in order to be able to analyze the market and the customer and benefit from segmentation. In marketing and digital marketing education, nothing replaces the basics and principles.