Market segmentation can be defined as the process of dividing a market into district subsets of consumers with common needs or characteristics and selecting one or more segments to target with a district marketing mix. Before the widespread acceptance of market segmentation, the prevailing way of doing business with consumers was through mass marketing- that is offering the same product and marketing mix to all consumers.
The strategy of segmentation allows producers to avoid head on competition in the market place by differentiating their offerings, not only on the basis of price but also through styling packaging, promotional appeal method of distribution and superior service marketers have found that the cost of consumer segmentation research shorter production runs and differentiated promotional campaigns are usually more than offset by increased sales. In most cases, consumers readily accept the pass-through cost increase for products that more closely satisfy their specific needs.
