Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

Segmentation

Segmentation is a significant part of the marketing strategy. It allows the company to define particular market segments. Budva and Mullen claim that “international segmentation may help resolve the long-standing debate about standardization versus adoption” (1209). This means that there are some unresolved issues associated with global segregation. There are two recognizable market segments for flat-screen TVs. The first definite market segment is young adults with high income that prefer to buy a product from an established brand, and they do not make their purchases spontaneously. Also, the product they choose must have excellent functionality, and they prefer to use those functions to the fullest. Similarly, another distinct market segment is adults that are easily impressed by the outstanding design of a product. The opinion of friends is critical for such customers, and they love to adopt trends.

Target Market

Every company must select and focus on the particular target market. The determination of the target group is one of the biggest problems (Huang, Zong and Yao 452). The first market segment can be called “thinkers” according to VALS types. This target market would be extremely profitable and would lead to the growth of Samsung because of its enormous segment size. There are many competitors, but a company may get an advantage thanks to the unique functionality of a product. Also, distribution channels are available, and the company already has an established brand name. The company has enough resources to focus on this market, and it perfectly fits the current marketing strategy. This segment is growing at an incredibly fast rate. However, it is price competitive, and Samsung should consider possible changes to the pricing policies.

Target Market Strategy

It is imperative to select a target market strategy that would lead to the most profit. Managers must decide on which markets to target (Malhotra, Sivakumar and PengCheng 652). Samsung should not concentrate all the resources on “thinkers” because it would be a mistake from the marketing point of view. It is a huge multi-national corporation so it can take advantage of its connections and distribution channels to gain profit from multiple market segments, and multi-segment marketing is the best choice in this case. The company should not focus on niche marketing because it produces flat-screen TVs that satisfy the needs of multiple target markets at once. Samsung should focus on developing an optimal range of product models to maximize the profit.

Positioning

A company must place a product in an advantageous market position. Lei and Moon claim that “decisions on product positioning and design are crucial for managers to meet diverse customer needs and achieve the firm’s goals” (82). This means that this part of marketing should not be overlooked because it is essential for the overall marketing strategy of a company. According to the perception map, Samsung flat-screen TVs are perceived by the new target market as products of the highest quality but also the most expensive. The quality of Panasonic products is not as high as the quality of those by Samsung, but they are also significantly cheaper. VIZIO products are relatively inexpensive, but the quality is crucial for this target market. Panasonic is the biggest competitor for Samsung because the quality gap is relatively small, and the lower price is always a huge advantage. The company should keep the same market position, but changes to pricing policies should also be considered to compete against Panasonic.

Works Cited

Budeva, Desislava, and Michael R. Mullen. “International market segmentation.” European Journal of Marketing 48.7/8 (2014): 1209-1238.

Huang, Jiajin, Ning Zhong, and Yiyu Yao. “A Unified framework of targeted marketing using customer preferences.” Computational Intelligence 30.3 (2014).

Lei, Ningrong, and Seung Ki Moon. “A Decision Support System for market-driven product positioning and design.” Decision Support Systems 69 (2015): 82-91

Malhotra, Shavin, K. Sivakumar, and PengCheng Zhu. “Distance factors and target market selection: the moderating effect of market potential.” International Marketing Review 26.6 (2009): 651-673.