Unit 14 :
Our target segment

Advanced

Vocabulary

Repeat these sentences with your teacher first.

1. diversify (v.)
to start to include more different types or things

2. feasible (adj.)
able to be made, done, or achieved

3. segment (n.)
one of the smaller groups or amounts that a larger group or amount can be divided into

4. mitigate (v.)
to make something less harmful, unpleasant, or bad

5. monopolize (v.)
in business, to control something completely and to prevent other people having any effect on what happens

6. tanks (v.)
a container that holds liquid or gas

7. viable (adj.)
able to work as intended or able to succeed

8. positioning (n.)
the way that customers think about, or the way that a company wants customers to think about, a product in relation to similar products or to competitors’ products

Dialogue

Read the dialogue aloud with your teacher.

Charles

Amy

So, Jared, I’ve been thinking that we should diversify our product line to target the lower end of the market.

Hmm, I’m not sure that’s feasible. We’re barely just getting established in our current target segment.

Granted, we’d be stretched a little thin, but a multi-segment strategy will mitigate our risks.

But our profit margins have been so good so far. Why can’t we put it on the back burner for now?

Because by then our lower-end competitors might try to monopolize and move in on our segment.

That’s a good point, but when the rubber hits the road, what if it tanks?

We’ll do market research to make sure it doesn’t: demographic, behavioral, and so on.

Okay, sounds good. If all that shows that we can offer a viable solution, then we can get things rolling with that.

Right, and at that point we can look into positioning in the market.

Sounds like a plan.

Article

Read the article with your teacher.

The Four Types of Market Segmentation

The Four Types of Market Segmentation

1. Demographic Segmentation

Demographic segmentation is one of the most popular and commonly used types of market segmentation. It refers to statistical data about a group of people. Because demographic information is statistical and factual, it is usually relatively easy to uncover using various sites for market research.

2. Psychographic Segmentation

Psychographic segmentation categorizes audiences and customers by factors that relate to their personalities and characteristics. Psychographic segmentation factors are slightly more difficult to identify than demographics because they are subjective. They are not data-focused and require research to uncover and understand.

3. Behavioral Segmentation

While demographic and psychographic segmentation focus on who a customer is, behavioral segmentation focuses on how the customer acts. Behavioral segmentation requires you to know about your customer’s actions. These activities may relate to how a customer interacts with your brand or to other activities that happen away from your brand.

4. Geographic Segmentation

Geographic segmentation is the simplest type of market segmentation. It categorizes customers based on geographic borders. Geographic segmentation can refer to a defined geographic boundary (such as a city or ZIP code) or type of area (such as the size of city or type of climate).

Source: Blog.alexa, “4 types of market segmentation with examples”

Discussion:

Answer the following questions to your teacher.

1.Why market segmentation is important?
2.Why all campaigns need market segmentation?

Let’s practice

Choose the correct answer.

1. When the ____ hits the road, we’ll know if the plan is viable..

A. roller
B. burner
C. fender
D. rubber

2. I’m afraid that we’d be stretched too ____. Why can’t we ____ this plan on the back burner for now?

tiny / delay / heavy / thin / push / put

3. With the extra resources, the project now seems ____ .

A. economical
B. unviable
C. monopolized

D. feasible

4. With the extra resources, the project now seems____.

A.monopolized 
B.feasible
C.unviable
D.economical