As a marketing professional you want to be sure that you address the right target group segments. They should support marketing strategies and operational actions. However, it often happens that the created target group segments are statistically distinct but not conceptually tangible. This makes them difficult to handle or address.
In target group segmentation, needs and consumption occasions often become mixed. Motives and attitudes blend together. Usage and shopper behavior are improperly grouped as attitudes. To avoid this, here are three actionable tips for successful target audience segmentation.
3 tipps for actionable target group segments
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Select relevant needs, consumption occasions, and contextually relevant attitudes as the basis for segmentation. Depending on the product category, needs and consumption occasions can vary significantly. Therefore, it is essential to consider these differences when segmenting.
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Distinguish between motives, needs, and attitudes. Motives are unspecific drivers of behavior rooted in personality. Needs are short-term and arise due to a lack that needs to be addressed. Attitudes are reaction tendencies based on experiences, where certain objects are evaluated with either favor or disfavor.
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Hierarchize the variables used for segmentation. Determine which variables form the basis for clustering. Then decide how you will enrich the segments with content. Behavioral data and sociodemographic variables could be helpful in this regard.
Target group segmentations are particularly effective in usage & attitude and brand positioning studies. These studies contain many relevant variables which can be used for segmentations. This builds a valuable information base for brand communication and innovation strategies.
✅ By following these tips when revising your target audience segmentation, you create a guiding thread for your brand management. It allows leverage your target groups on an operational and strategic level. This ensures that your segmentation is not only statistically valid but also practically applicable.
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