Marketing Made Simple

3	Consumer and organisationalbuyer behaviour

3.1 Introduction

This chapter examines customers in terms of their purchasing behaviour and how we can most effectively divide them into distinct purchasing groups.

Market segmentation is defined as:

The process of breaking down the total market for a product or service into distinct sub-groups or segments, where each segment might represent a distinct target market to be reached with a distinctive marketing mix.

To improve opportunities for success in a competitive marketplace, marketers must focus their efforts on clearly defined market targets. The intention is to select those groups of customers that the company is best able to serve so that competitive pressure is minimised. The sequential ...