Determining your marketing segment

Segmentation is dividing your customer base by their similarities and then target marketing to each segment.When you divide your customer base into marketing segments then you have to create a marketing plan for each segment.Segment markets will give you the most for your marketing budget.

Dividing your segments should be done by four different variables.These variables of division are geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral.Each variable gives you very specifics to divide up your segments.These variables will help your to get the most out of your segments.

Geographic variables can include country, region, population, and climate.If you have two people in the same region experiencing different climates then your marketing would be wasted on the person in the wrong climate.If you are working on a slightly smaller scale then you will find other geographic variables that are specific to your location.

There is also the demographic variable.This can include age, gender, occupation, family, sexual orientation, income, education, religion, language, nationality, and status.Each will affect the individuals buying habits.This variable will be the easiest for you to determine if you already have a customer base to work with.

Another variable is psychographic.Personality, values, life style, and attitude can all be part of this variable.This can be one of the harder variables to determine in your segments.This would be a good time to look at your product and see what in this variable will make a difference.

The last one is the behavioral variable.Included here can be brand loyalty, benefits sought after, product usage rates, how ready they are to buy, and how long the product will last.Finding habits that are already set can help you grow, or you can try creating new habits among your customers.

Variables can be combined for more in depth segmenting or just used on their own for a more general segment.Your marketing team should be able to fit out which way would be most profitable.

Now make sure that you have made the best segments for your business.There are some qualities that will show you that your segments are done right.Here are the most important qualities of each segment.

Each segment should be measurable.This means you should know how many people you are marketing to.If there are not many people then your segment may be too specific.If may not be worth your budget money to print of a special flyer for only a handful of people.

Next each segment needs to be identifiable.There should be very specific qualities in each market segment.Here are some of the features that can be used to separate: income, education, age, profession, residence and gender.These are just a few ideas to make your market segment identifiable.

Accessibility is how easily you can get to your market segment.If your segment isn't accessible enough then they won't be profitable, which is the last characteristic a market segment should have.

Once you have created your market segments you are ready to create a marketing plan for each of them.Make sure that you have the money in your marketing budget spread out among each marketing plan to give you the most results.

The money shouldn't necessarily be spread evenly between each plan, but it should be put where you will get the most profits.If you have segments with higher incomes and more readiness for purchase then you should be budgeting more money that way.If you have a segment that is very nearby then marketing should be fairly inexpensive for them.