Marketing Strategies: Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

Apart from non-profitable organizations, the main objective of any business or organization is to earn a profit. Through marketing strategies like segmentation, targeting, and positioning, brands evaluate their stance in the market. It also helps them to come up with better marketing strategies and to understand the overall market.

Segmentation: It refers to the research methodology through which brands segment their market into smaller groups with similar characteristics. There are 4 main types of segmentation used by brands, among which are geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioural. This helps them to optimize product advertisements for a specific group.

Targeting: After the segmentation of the market brands focus upon a rather smaller group within the previously segmented and group and try to solely cater to their needs and serve them. Market targeting also consists of 4 main targeting strategies; undifferentiated (mass) marketing, differentiated (segmented) marketing, concentrated (niche) marketing, micromarketing.

Positioning: Positioning is nothing but creating a brand identity or a brand image. Brands use positioning to create a certain image in the consumer’s mind so that they perceive the brand in the way the brand wants to be perceived.

Today we are going to analyze the STPs of 3 different brands from 3 different product categories.

Automobile

BMW

Segmentation: The company does not have any budget vehicle, thus while segmenting the market the brand mainly focuses upon people from the urban area, within the age group of 20 to 40+. The segmentation fluctuates for different products or car, as well.

Targeting: The main target consumer of the brand is upper-middle-class and upper-class people, with high paying stable jobs.

Positioning: To stand out of the crowd, the brand came up with an extremely creative idea of creating a series of short films. The brand positions itself as high-end, classy and edgy.

Unique Selling Proposition: The product portfolio of the brand is luxurious and technologically advanced. Just as the tagline suggests, “Ultimate Driving Machine”.

BMW provides the users with cars that are highly advanced as far as the technology is concerned and ultimate driving experience, which appropriately aligns the brand with their positioning strategy.

Market share: Market share of the brand stands at 2.62%.

Mercedes-Benz

Segmentation: Mercedes Benz falls in the luxury automobile category, thus while segmenting the market the brand mainly focuses upon the consumers living in urban metropolitan cities. It mainly caters to youth and medieval people.

Targeting: The target market of Mercedes Benz includes middle-aged high income or rich people. Spouses of rich men and youths also fall under their target market. In the past few years, the brand has also included wealthy farmers in their target market.

Positioning: The brand position itself asa highly reliable, luxurious and safe automobile. It focuses upon promoting the style of the cars and design, rather than the speed.

Unique Selling Proposition: The USP adopted by Mercedes Benz is to provide top-notch and premium automobile service. The tagline of the brand is “Lead by Technology”.

Mercedes Benz provides its customers with a car that rarely has any comparison when it comes to style and design. The cars are well-engineered and stylish, all at the same time. The positioning of the brand appropriately aligns with the brand name.

Market share: Mercedes-Benzhas a market share of 2.94%.

Ford

Segmentation: Ford considers people living in metropolitan cities and big cities mainly. It isn’t as luxury as BMW or Mercedes-Benz, rather it is more on the affordable side of the scale. It takes into consideration both male and female buyers.

Targeting: The brand mainly targets people from the middle class and upper-middle-class with a decent income. It also caters to young people in their youth who come across strong.

Positioning: The brand positions itself as strong and tough. A 2017 slogan by the brand, “Built Ford Tough” referring to the line of trucks, manufactured by the company, also portrays that the brand wants to be known for being tough.

Unique Selling Proposition: The brand is quite famous for being one of the oldest automobile manufacturing brands across the world, it provides a wide range of variety that. However, the brand prefers to be perceived as strong. Just as the tagline suggests, “Built Tough”.

One of the world’s oldest automobile manufacturing company is known for its built quality. The brand properly justifiably aligns with its positioning strategy.

Market share: Market share of the brand is 5.59%.

Smartphone

Apple

Segmentation: Apple is a brand that comes across as a status symbol. It segments the market into smaller groups of people aged between 22 to 55, modernists who are open to change. The main focus of the brand is to build its customer base even stronger.

Targeting: Given the fact that Apple products are pretty expensive, they target a consumer base with medium to high income. Their main target is youngsters who are appreciative of change.

Positioning: Since its former days Apple has been rolling out products that stand out from the crowd for its epic design and great quality. The brand prefers to be perceived for its simplicity.

Unique Selling Proposition: Apple does not want to be directly compared to its competitors. Apple wants to come across unique and different. In simpler words, Apple believes in offering characteristics in that its competitors do not offer at the time of its introduction.

Apple indeed is known for its unique design, out of the box characteristics and simplicity. As their tagline suggests, “Think different”, the brand has successfully aligned its brand positioning strategies with the brand name.

Market share: Apple’s market share is the highest, compared to its competitors. Its market share stands at 46%

Samsung

Segmentation: Samsung has become a household name due to justified reasons. While segmenting the market it takes into consideration everyone starting from a person living in a rural village to an urban city, diversity in demographic and psychographic segmentation is also discernible. It caters an audience between the age group of 16 to 60+.

Targeting: The brand targets a large market with its huge range of products. The brand has something for everyone, in its box. It caters to a daily wage worker, similarly, it targets a youth, a medieval person with a steady income and industry leaders.

Positioning: Samsung positions itself as a synonym to quality. It depends upon margin from mid to high-end segments and is more focused upon providing a wider care network, and great quality in an affordable range.

Unique Selling Proposition: The unique selling proposition adopted by Samsung considers quality, of course, coupled with high technology product at an affordable price. As their tagline suggests, “Inspire the World, Create the Future”.

Samsung is prone towards providing high technology, quality product at an affordable price, which justifiably aligns with its positioning strategy.

Market share: Samsung’s market share stands at 25%, next to Apple.

LG

Segmentation: LG segments the market based upon geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural segmentation and caters to a large group regardless of gender, income etc.

Targeting: Even though LG electronics practices a mass marketing strategy, LG mobiles follow more youth-centric target marketing.

Positioning: LG positions itself as a high-end technological brand that has a variant array to offer to its customers.

Unique Selling Proposition: The product portfolio of the brand is innovative as far as technology is concerned and it also focuses upon great product designs.

LG has been successful to align its brand name with its positioning strategy. LG products come with high tech technology and the design surely reflects upon the tagline of the brand “Life’s Good”.

Market share: Followed by Apple and Samsung, LG has a 12% market share.

Cosmetics

Lakme

Segmentation: Lakme is a cosmetic brand, therefore needless to say that it mostly segments the market into smaller groups of females aged 20 to 50+.

Targeting: Lakme’s target audiences are office goer females who belong from middle class or upper-middle class. Beauty professionals also fall under its target consumer.

Positioning: Lakme positions itself as a cosmetic brand that is skin-friendly, lasts for long hours and best fit for office goers.

Unique Selling Proposition: Lakme is an Indian brand that mostly caters to the needs of Indian consumers. Therefore, it has adopted a proposition that refers to well-researched products, best suited for Indian skin type.

Lakme is all about the reinvention of beauty and beauty products. Just as the tagline of the brand suggests, “Lakme Reinvent”. Needless to say, the brand positioning strategy properly aligns with the brand’s name.

Market share: Lakme has a leading market share of 17.7%, in the Indian market.

L’Oréal

Segmentation: The cosmetic brand segments the market based upon age group and ethnicity. It caters to a larger section of female consumers aged 25 years or more.

Targeting: The target market of L’Oréal consists of women from the middle class and upper-middle class. It takes into consideration different ethnicity since it is a global brand. It focuses on segmented marketing.

Positioning: L’Oréal positions itself as a high-class brand that brings out nothing but quality products.

Unique Selling Proposition: L’Oréal focuses upon constant research to bring out nothing but the best for its consumers and caters to a massive consumer base throughout the world, regardless of diversity in culture.

The brand successfully aligns with its positioning strategy as its great quality product appeals to a massive number of consumers throughout the world.

Market share: L’Oréal has a market share of 25.8%.

Maybelline

Segmentation: Maybelline New York is one of the top global cosmetic brands. It segments the market into 16 to 35+ years old female consumers.

Targeting: The brand targets a larger section including teenagers to mid-age office goers. It mainly caters to women of the middle class and upper-middle class.

Positioning: Maybelline positions itself as a cosmetic company that caters to the need of a diverse group of consumers with high quality and affordable product.

Unique Selling Proposition: The USP adopted by this brand is a large variety of products at a very competitive price.

The brand caters to a large group of consumers across 90 countries in the world. The products manufactured are pretty good in quality and comparatively inexpensive than other competitive brands. Henceforth, it can be said that the brand justifiably aligns with its positioning strategies.Market share: Maybelline possesses a market share of 12%.