Even the most successful retail companies agree that the ‘one size fits all approach is no longer a viable option to survive in today’s exceedingly competitive marketplace. As such, they are using techniques such as retail market segmentation to stay ahead of the game. However, often the lack of preparation or faults in implementation of a retail market segmentation strategy is where companies fail, and this is just the beginning for any retailer looking to segment their audience and better target the most valuable consumers. With over 15 years of experience in engaging retailers in successful retail market segmentation analysis and implementations, experts at Infiniti Research have identified four retail market segmentation mistakes that companies often make and also suggests how to avoid them.
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Why do retail market segmentation strategies fail?
Defining segments too broadly
Segmenting the customer segments too broadly is one of the most common retail market segmentation mistakes that most companies make. This will consequently make them fall short to a competitor who targets more narrowly. Retailers can successfully create narrow segments by analyzing their customer accounts, website visits, and transaction history. By doing so, companies can better target customers. For instance, a customer who may be frequently purchasing a particular product and may be interested in a new and improved version of the product that the company is planning to launch. Although this might be challenging to achieve at the moment, but it would be more feasible when over time more and more data is gathered.
Not aligning business by market segments
Successful retailers tend to create market-focused teams or segments which later gets organized into a market-focused business model. This allows the customer communications and transactions to be more targeted, consequently, making the business more streamlined. Businesses who refrain from doing so are more likely to find their retail market segmentation strategy fail.
By segmenting your customers into different, narrow subcategories, you’ll create more targeted experiences for them that result in better marketing and a better ROI from your marketing efforts. Get in touch with our experts to know how we help our clients achieve this.
Managing segments locally
Some businesses that operate in a smaller market currently tend to set up their retail market segmentation strategy to only apply to their local or regional organization. Although this may work well at present, in the long run when the business grows there are chances that the retailer will get blindsided by a more dynamic global economy.
Unclear retail market segmentation results
An effective retail market segmentation analysis should provide the company with a strategic direction to move forward. Furthermore, it should also provide a clear idea of which markets are the most viable to target. If a retail market segmentation research does not meet these requirements, then it is an indicator of a failed approach. So, before beginning, get your research team together and clearly define their goals and the information you’re aiming to get.
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