Firstly, it is necessary to define the concept of the word segment itself - this is a group of customers with certain similar needs or wishes. Dividing the market into segments allows companies and organizations to focus their efforts only on promising and profitable market segments, cutting off the rest.
Market segmentation can be performed both in the industrial and consumer markets.
Consider the segmentation of the consumer- type market . This market can be divided in the process of segmentation according to several criteria. So the criteria for market segmentation are as follows: geographical, psychographic, demographic, behavioral.
We consider each criterion separately.
Market segmentation by geographical criterion consists in dividing the market into different geographical zones (units). For example, the following units are used for the Russian market: population density, city size, region, region, district. By analyzing such market segmentation, a company can determine where its marketing efforts will be most effective. In Russia, by market regions, the market is divided into the following units: Siberia and the Urals, Moscow and Leningradskaya oblasts, Voskresensky and Kolomensky districts, less than 5 thousand people, 5–20 thousand, and so on.
According to the demographic criterion, market segmentation consists in dividing the market according to such criteria as age category, gender, family size , life cycles and occupation, nationality, education, religion, etc. Such segmentation is typically performed by companies during the marketing research phase. It is this segmentation that allows us to more accurately formulate the need for goods for certain segments of the population.
With regard to segmentation by the behavioral factor , this criterion takes into account groups of buyers united on the basis of their qualifications, knowledge as users, and their reaction to the provided (promoted) product. The variables of such segmentation are the intensity of consumption (high, medium, low), willingness to purchase a product (knows about a product or does not know about a product), status as a user of a given product (user of this category of goods and not a user of this product), usefulness of purchase (prestige , necessity), the degree of loyalty to the product (absent or there is an average absolute and strong).
Now, regarding the psychographic criterion of market segmentation . This type of segmentation is carried out with a scientific approach based on such a science as “psycho-graphics”. This science deals with issues such as the classification of the lifestyle of consumers. Thanks to this, on the basis of “psychographic” studies, consumers can be divided into certain groups in accordance with their lifestyle and character and personality traits.
There is also segmentation of the market on an operational basis. It is characterized by such variables - technology, user status, volumes of goods or services offered.
As well as segmentation according to the so-called purchasing attribute with variables - organization of supply (centralized, decentralized), power structure (which department is the prerogative of the goods - financial, production, etc.), relationship structure, policies and types of procurement (contract, leasing, etc.)
It should be noted that the principles of segmentation of consumer markets do not always allow us to determine the correct choice of goods for a certain circle of consumers. They only help the marketer determine the possible interested category of customers, otherwise the choice and determination of the category for each group of products is the art of the marketer. It is on his skill whether the right segmentation group he has chosen for his product or not.