Marketing and Sales
Market segmentation is the classification of consumers in to different groups based on various characteristics such as age, also known as the demographic segmentation, location or geographic, income and preferences among other characteristics. The purpose of segmenting is for companies to focus resources on the group or the sub set that purchases their products the most. If market segmentation is done properly, companies are able to effectively and efficiently allocate resources and make the best out of sales (Marc, et al. 571). As the director of the product development department in a phone design company, I will need to consider all the aspects of segmentation before deciding on which design of mobile phone to develop. This paper is an analysis of the phone market segmentation and the traits of the customers to consider, when designing a new phone model. It will also include a determination of which market segment to consider as main and the features of the phone to produce for this market.
When designing a mobile phone for the market, there are different market segments that I would have to consider, so as to make sure that the product is highly purchased or becomes a success. These segmentations include;
The young adult segment – While a young person might need a phone that is sophisticated and that allows them to perform different functions, the older generation might only need a phone to communicate. There are many young people, who are technologically informed and they normally look for certain features in a phone. These features include, internet, blue tooth, capability to connect to other peripheral devices, style, screen resolution and color among others. When designing for this age group, it will be important to consider the incorporation of these features to the product to make it move (Marc, et al. 575).
The elderly – This is a segment of technologically averse people who will not care much about the features of the phone, but they will only need the phone for communication with their families and friends. In that case, they will tend to only go for averagely affordable phones.
Working class or the professional segment – This is a group of employed people, who can afford to purchase expensive phones. For this group, we can design business phones that have the capability of alerting them when they have emails. This group is also looking for featured that will enable them to synchronize their phone and their computers, be able to read, edit and send documents in different formats such as, word, excel and pdf.
The youth market can be treated as the main market and the professional market as a niche. This is mainly because the youth market is highly populated and has people open to new trends in technology. This will enable the company to keep inventing and developing the products in a series, based on technology advancement. It will enable the company to sell new products to even the people who had prior versions of the phones (Ying 230). The company will dedicate more resources to this group of customers and focus on winning their loyalty. If this happens successfully, then the company will be assured of a strong market even in later years as these customers advance in life in to other stages.
The niche market of the professionals will be served with a highly classic model of the phone, whose capabilities are enhanced. The phone can be designed with the capability to view documents and edit them and offer emails and other alerts. This is mainly a business phone that can allow them to perform the functions they normally do in the office, using their phones.
Segment Traits/ Characteristics
Youth or young adult Aged 25 years and below
Have technology knowledge
Needs entertainment in their phone
In college and other higher institutions of learning
Need to connect their phone with other peripheral devices
Professional class Technologically advanced
Need features such as reading and editing documents
Employed
Need visually appealing phones
Can afford to pay high cost for the phone
Elderly Need phone only for communication
Technology averse
Do not care much about phone features
Need an affordable phone
The young adult market consists of people, who are technologically informed and they normally look for certain technological features in a phone. To make a phone that is appealing to this class, there is need for the phone to have features such as, access to the internet, blue tooth, capability to connect to other peripheral devices such as computer and external speakers, be stylish, have a high screen resolution and clear color among others. The young people are also highly interested in entertainment and their phones should have the capability to handle memory chips and download music and movies among other features.
In conclusion, market segmentation is important as it allows firms to deeply understand their customers and the needs they have. There are different segments that I should consider as the manager so as to determine in which segment the company can invest more resources. If this is done right, the products will sell and the company will remain famous among the customers. In this case, the youth market presents a good focus for the company as it allows for future innovations in the products as they are a group of technologically knowledgeable people and are always open to new Ideas. However the other markets cannot be left unattended and needs to be satisfied too. In this case, the niche market will be the professional market that will receive customized phones for business at a higher cost. Taking care of all the customers will be enhances by the segmentation.
Works Cited
Liu, Ying. “Multicriterion Market Segmentation: A Unified Model, Implementation and Evaluation.” The University of Arizona, 2007. United States — Arizona: ABI/INFORM Complete; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT); ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I. Web. 5 Apr. 2012.
ORegan, Marc, et al. “Optimizing Market Segmentation for a Global Mobile Phone Provider for both Targeting and Insight.” Journal of Advertising Research 51.4 (2011): 571. ABI/INFORM Complete; ProQuest Entrepreneurship; ProQuest Psychology Journals; ProQuest Research Library. Web. 5 Apr. 2012.
