Knowing who you are targeting and how to get their attention is critical for any marketing effort. Without knowing this, your buyer personas, advertisements and inbound content will all lead your marketing campaign astray. That is why you need to do market segment analysis. Here is how you should go about this:
1. Figure out which metrics you need to check out in the first place
You can't segment your market -- let alone analyze a market segment -- without a set of facts that tell you what you need to do. To that end, you will need to figure out what metrics you will need to obtain in the first place. What metrics you will need will vary depending on what your company offers; most of them will be demographics. If you sell luxury products, for example, then income will be a huge factor for you to consider when segmenting your market.
2. Do your own research
How do you figure out who fits into your target demographic for your market segment analysis? You will have to do some initial research to figure out who you are targeting, based on the metrics you want to consider. This doesn't mean that you have to go door to door and ask everyone in town about themselves. Instead, you can hire the services of a professional market research firm to do the legwork for you.
3. Do a survey or two
Your independent market research data only tells you who the people who fit your basic metrics are, you need to find out what they want and need. No amount of long-distance market research can determine this. You need to do actual consumer behavior surveys. In addition to finding out their purchasing habits, you should also determine the best ways to market to them. Surveys can be done via just about any channel, including in person, over the phone and even online. As with general market research, you can outsource the survey process yourself.
4. Organize your data
You didn't just gather all of that consumer data so that it could sit around uselessly in a random folder on your computer. If it is going to be useful, you need to organize it in a way that makes it usable. Enter all of the data into a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel and combine it in a way that makes it useful.
5. Analyze your data
Even well-organized data is worthless if you don't take steps to make sense out of it. That is why the next step in your market segment analysis process is to analyze the data that you have acquired. Figure out how it impacts you ability to connect with your consumers both via your products and via marketing. As you analyze this data, you will begin to identify how different groups of people fit into more readily identifiable market segments.
6. Use your data
As the final step in the market segment analysis process, you need to adjust the focus of your marketing campaign based on the analysis of your market segment data. This should start by creating a market segment for each group that you've identified, and adjusting your marketing approach accordingly.
You should continually use market segment analysis to improve your ability to serve your customers' needs
Market segment analysis is a powerful tool for the long-term health of your marketing campaign. It will allow you to deliver products and marketing materials in a way that will engage, entice and serve the needs of your consumers. To learn more about how to improve your marketing campaign, contact us.