Question

Topic: Branding

Segmentation And Strategy Breakpoint.

Posted by Anonymous on 3/24/2004 at 2:07 PM ET 250 Points
I recently read an article in spanish, the right translation would be "marketing nearsight" i think it was originally written in english, but once you read the content i hope you'll know what im talking about.
The point of the article is that it urges marketing executives to develop a positioning strategy that is relevant only to one or two considered segments (the yes-cliet), instead of trying to bring up all characteristics of a certain product or service, and try to make it appeal to all possible consumers, since eventually another company will come with another brand, and position its product according to the critical characteristics considered by a certain segment, and it will happen to all segments until your omni position brand/product/service goes out of business. I understand this idea perfectly, but my question is, if you're working in an emerging market, with a new product, when do you know its the moment to concentrate all your efforts on certain segments? Or in a bigger context: is it possible to ignore this strategy at all in the early stages of the emerging market?
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  • Posted by ReadCopy on 3/25/2004 at 5:55 AM Member
    The number of times I have quoted Myopic Marketing in presentations! (too many to count).

    The answer to your question is simple, the execution of the strategy is much more difficult!

    There is a concept call "Strategic Squares", I was lucky enough to be taught this ages ago, and I have built on it since. The concept is simple ....

    ... draw yourself a 2x2 matrix, now think of your overall marke, and put the leaders name in the top right hand square.
    Now put the names of the followers (IMPORTANT: This is those that really want to be leader) in the top left hand square.
    Now put the names of the companies that are taking small bites from the leaders market in the bottom right hand square, and in the final square put the names of the companies that are not making any effort (these businesses may not survive!)

    Now this is only a generic view of the market ... if you take the example of an ice cream seller! This model can be used to dig deeper into each market ... categorising by ice cream sellers that use stalls or vans, which ones offer a full range of products / by quality (real diary etc).

    The result is that you end up with a picture of the markets you are strong in (and should invest in), the ones that you are weak in (and should move out of).
    NOTE: If you are a market leader, or want to challenge the market leader ... these are expensive strategies to adopt.

    If used correctly its a powerful but extremely simple tool.

    Good Luck
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