Exactly what is the relationship between market segmentation target marketing and positioning What damage will be done to a companys target marketing and positioning efforts if markets are incorrectly?

Answer 1

Segmentation, target marketing, and positioning all work together and as Walker (2011) describes, need to be reviewed and analyzed by a firm to make sure they are all addressed to best compete in the marketplace. They are similar in that they are required to be in place for a company to successfully compete in the marketplace. They are different as they perform different function.

Segmentation groups customers with similar characteristics. The grouping of the customers needs to be meaningful and the groupings are called segments. The segmentation definition process can be performed by reviewing: product, price, promotion, and/or place; specifying segmentation criteria; and determining the segment size and potential. The other segments attributes include Demographics, geographic, and a hybrid or geodemographic segmentation.

Targeting evaluates the segments attractiveness to the operating business to help make a determination of if and how a segment will be marketed by the business.

Brand positioning deals with making the business products attractive to the segment determined by the business.

The business needs to brand position the products specifically enticing to the segment selected through the targeting efforts of the business.