Identify the way in which marketing techniques have been successfully Essay

Identify the way in which marketing techniques have been successfully used to create positive perceptions of a star product - Essay Example Kotler (1991) goes further when he said segmentation is the subdividing of market into homogeneous sub-set of customers, where any subset may conceivably be selected as market target to be reached with distinct market mix. A Nigerian Politician in a campaign speech said, â€Å"Vote for the present IT literate generation, not the old generation who still thinks that Blackberry is a kind of fruit† (El-Rufai, 2010). The truism of this statement underlies the success (Appendix I – III) of Blackberry. Made by Research in Motion since 1999, it is one of the smartphones that incorporates different features such as email, PDA, WiFi, etc. The success of Blackberry phones is seen in the Appendix I which shows the increasing revenues throughout the fiscal year 2009. Today, most phone manufacturers have copied the features of Blackberry phones in other to tap into the lucrative market being enjoyed by Blackberry. Nokia, Samsung, LG, among others have all departed from their traditi onal call phones to smartphone technology being pioneered by Blackberry. 2. Definitions of Market Segmentation To fully understand market segmentation, several definitions by scholars and experts will be analyzed. Market segmentation consists of taking the total heterogeneous markets for a product and dividing it into several sub-markets or segments, each of which tends to be homogenous in full significant aspects (Stanton, 1981). According to American Marketing Association, â€Å"Market segmentation refers to dividing the heterogeneous markets into smaller customer groups having certain homogenous characteristics that can be satisfied by the firm† (Jain, 2010). The foregoing definitions are going to point out that segmentation is a valuable strategy to be adopted by firms that want to increase their market shares and revenues. According to Bose (2010) good market segmentation must have the following qualities: accessible to the firm, for instance, if the law prohibits the fi rm from exporting, you cannot have a market segmentation based on an overseas market. It should be sustainable, the returns from the market should be enough to justify the profit target of the firm and the investment made in the market. If the segment does not justify its profit target, it makes no economic sense. Also, it must be measurable. The size and purchasing power of the members of the segments should be known. Finally, the segment should be responsiveness, that is, the market should respond positively to the firms marketing strategies. According to Dibb and Simkin (1997) a range of benefits arise from the market segmentation. First, the process puts customers first, maximizes resources and emphasizes strengths over competitors. Also, it leads to a more focused company culture and the building of inter and intra organizational relationships. According to Beik and Buzby (1973), the concept of market segmentation may be used for strategic alignment of the firm’s product ive capacities with its existing and potential markets. 3. Types of Market Segmentation Market segmentation can generally be classified into 4 broad categories, viz: Geographic, Demographic, Psychological and Behavioural.