Segmentation and Targeting

Powered by Harvard Business Education materials, this module introduces two integral parts of any marketing strategy: segmentation and targeting and features topics such as demand space segmentation and segmentation based on multiple consumer channels and touchpoints. It also expands on how segmentation and targeting can heavily impact an organization’s product offerings and corporate structure. The module covers methods and techniques that enable businesses to unleash a full range of potential customers and the distinction between them. Furthermore, this module discusses how a company judges the potential of each market segment, selects the segments worth pursuing, and designs marketing programs to serve them.

The module includes two interactive illustrations instigating the learners to think critically about segmentation and targeting. The first, “Segmenting the Dog Food Market,” shows how successfully marketing a product consumed by dogs depends on first understanding and segmenting their owners. The second, “Segmenting the Market for Early Pregnancy Test Devices,” shows how the most important category for segmentation is not demographic or geographic but concerned instead with consumer psychology and motivation. The module also includes a six-part video mini-case study on how GE Healthcare developed and applied segmentation for its Imaging Systems business.