Strategic Marketing Basics

Historically, this is certainly one of the first types of segmentation used by producers. Its origin is industrial rather than commercial.

 

The idea is to split the market as a function of the nature of the product itself.  We frequently find companies or entire sectors using this approach.

 

For example, the heavy trucks market is often presented according to the weight and the size of the trucks. Similarly, segmentations in the ice cream market is frequently based on flavors or according to pack sizes.

 

In recent years, this type of reasoning has been seriously questioned. It was recognized that motivations to buy were far from reflecting the characteristics of the products but rather an answer to the customers’ needs and expectations. Product characteristics are generally not the main reason for buying and using.

 

So, if a market is traditionally organized according to the product characteristics, it may be good to resegment according to other, more customer oriented, dimensions,