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MARKET SEGMENTATION (BEHAVIORAL)

1.0 Introduction
Market segmentation is a marketing strategy that is used to enable a business better
target its customers. It divides a large homogenous market into groups of customers that have
similar wants or demand characteristics. Its about identifying the specific wants and needs of
customers who have common needs and priorities and then using those insights to design and
implement strategies to provide the services and products that the consumer needs. It is
important for businesses to segment their market because customers differ in their ability and
willingness to pay the price allocated to a particular product, time and place they want to buy,
quantities they want to purchase, among many other factors. Market segmentation has been
accepted as a strategic marketing tool to define markets and thereby allocate resources (Journal
of Organizational Behavior Management, 2008). Methods used in segmenting consumer markets
are: Geographic segmentation, Behavioral segmentation, Segmentation by occasion and
Segmentation by benefits.
2.0 Behavioral Segmentation
Behavioral segmentation is a more focused form of market segmentation that divides
consumers into groups based on their usage, attitude, knowledge and response to a product. It is
based on specific behavioral patterns displayed by consumers when making purchasing
decisions. It involves the producer understanding the consumer so that they can adapt their
marketing strategy to fit the consumer groups. This means when formulating a marketing
approach the marketing company needs to put themselves in the shoes of the consumer;
understand their audience so that their marketing strategy is effective.
2.0.1 Forms of behavioral segmentation

Market segmentation is very important while targeting the right market for selling
products, thus behavioral elements need to be clearly defined and understood while targeting
customers. These variables are defined so that producers and marketers can understand who they
are targeting (Gilligan and Hird, 2013). These variables are those forces that affect the consumer
and their purchasing behavior. The variables can group consumers in terms of loyalty, occasion,
benefits, usage and attitude. Occasions group individuals according to the season, weeks, days or
months when they purchase, use or think of buying a product. For Example, cereals have
traditionally been marketed as breakfast products.
Companies have always encouraged consumers to eat breakfast cereals on the occasion
of waking up. Chocolates and flowers are common during such occasions like Valentines Day
when there are very high sales made on the products. Thus segmentation by occasion can help
increase a products usage (Johnson and Beehr, 2011). Benefits group consumers according to
the benefits they seek from a product. Buyers tend to see the benefits they can get from a product
e.g. discounts in prices; locality where the product can be purchased. This requires marketers to
understand and find the main benefits customers look for in a product e.g. upon research it is
found that toothpaste has several benefits such as medicinal, economic and taste. Therefore a
marketer can divide a consumer market according to the benefits they seek within a product,
loyalty groups individuals based on their level of loyalty to a product. Loyal consumers are
those who buy a particular brand all or most of the time.
Hard-core loyal always buy a particular brand, soft-core loyal will sometimes buy another brand,
shifting loyal are those consumers who shift brands and switchers are not loyal to any brand i.e.
they purchase the brand available to them at the time of need. Thus almost all companies

segment their markets into those where loyal customers can be found and retained. According to
usage, markets can be segmented into light, medium and heavy user groups.
3.0 Conclusion
For Example, a customer has been using a particular brand of Hair Shampoo for the past
10 years and has not experienced any split ends or dandruffs during that period, a small increase
in price for the product will cause insignificant change in demand for that customer. Thus the
loyalty of the customer is used for behavioral segmentation. Using the same example, the
consumer also benefits from the Hair Shampoo product because it is anti-dandruff. Hence a
market can segment its population based on the benefits it seeks within a product. Behavioral
segmentation is based on certain consumer behavior characteristics such as; price of product,
benefits sought, the way the product can be used and also brand loyalty. There are several factors
that a consumer takes into consideration before making a decision. This is affected by his
behavior and that is exactly how behavioral segments are formed. Therefore Behavioral
segmentation divides a consumer market based on its behavior, response to the product, usage
and knowledge of it.

References
Gilligan C and Hird M 2013, international Marketing (RLE International Business) Strategy and
Management... Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.
Johnson C and Beehr T 2011, industrial and Organizational Psychology Encounters
Organizational Behavior Management: Would You Care to Dance? Journal of
Organizational Behavior Management, 31(4), 217-220.
2008, Journal of Organizational Behavior Management. Journal of Organizational Behavior
Management, 28(1), 1-6.

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