In the world of today, when the differences between people are becoming more and more significant and individualism is stressed more often than ever, people have wider choices. In this situation the companies are facing major challenges in serving these more and more demanding customers. To be able even to get the attention of some people, companies need to provide or offer some value. And the value can be delivered only when a company knows what is in the heads of their (potential) customers, i.e. what are their needs, desires, wishes, etc. And that\\\\\\\'s when segmentation comes into play. Efficient segmentation is a key success factor of drawing customer attention and tailoring the offer to this particular customer to satisfy his/her needs. Efficient (and if possible innovative) segmentation is also often a source of competitive advantage, because it is usually based on data that are difficult to obtain for competitors.
The main goal of the paper is twofold: to enlighten what segmentation means and how it is connected to the overall marketing and business strategy and to show real world examples. The paper is divided into two main parts, the first one focusing on theoretical aspects of segmentation and on what lies beneath it. The second part is then focusing on real world situations and examples how various firms from various industries used innovative and modern approaches to segmentation to increase their sales, profit and overall value. |