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East Tennessee State University

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Undergraduate Honors Theses

5-2015

Segmentation Marketing: A Case Study on


Performance Solutions Group, LLC.
Jordan Brian
East Tennessee State University

Follow this and additional works at: http://dc.etsu.edu/honors


Part of the Marketing Commons
Recommended Citation
Brian, Jordan, "Segmentation Marketing: A Case Study on Performance Solutions Group, LLC." (2015). Undergraduate Honors Theses.
Paper 260. http://dc.etsu.edu/honors/260

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SegmentationMarketing:ACaseStudyonPerformanceSolutionsGroup,LLC.

By:
JordanBrian

ThesissubmittedinpartialfulfillmentofHonorsrequirements
EastTennesseeStateUniversity
TheHonorsCollege
UniversityHonorsScholarProgram

__________________________________
JordanBrian

Date

__________________________________
Dr.KellyPriceRhea,ThesisMentor

Date

__________________________________
Dr.JoyWachs,Reader

Date

__________________________________
Mrs.DanaHarrison,Reader
Date

TableofContents

Abstract

LiteratureReview

IntroductiontoSegmentationMarketing
TheSegmentationProcess
SixTypesofSegmentationMarketing

4
5
8

CaseStudy

12

PerformanceSolutionsGroup,LLC.Overview
SegmentationMarketing:WhyItShouldBeImplemented

12
13

Recommendations

15

UseBenefitSegmentationtoMarketSpecificProductstotheCustomer
UseGeographicSegmentationtoMarkettoaSpecificArea
UsePsychographicSegmentationtoMarkettoaSpecificLifestyle

ManagerialImplications

15
16
17

18

ContinuedResearchonTargetMarket
IncreasedMarketingEfforts
MonthlyBudgetChangetoAccountforExtraMarketingMoniesSpent

18
18
19

Conclusion

References

21
22

Abstract
ThispurposeofthisresearchistoshowhowPerformanceSolutionsGroup,LLCcan
effectivelyusesegmentationmarketingbothintheircurrentmarketandinexpansion.Thegoalis
tofindasolutionandsuggestchangesthatshouldbemadetothemarketingteamatPerformance
SolutionsGroup.Thisresearchwascompletedbylookingathowsegmentationmarketingis
usedinbroadindustriescurrentlyandinvestigatinghowPerformanceSolutionsGroupcanuseit
intheircompany.Thiscasestudyshowsthatsegmentationmarketingisaneffectivewayfor
PerformanceSolutionsGrouptomarketitsservices.

LiteratureReview

IntroductiontoSegmentationMarketing
Segmentationmarketingfirstappearedinthe1950s.Asfocusshiftedfrom
manufacturingneedstoconsumerneedsintheearly20thcentury,marketorientedgoalsgrew
throughfirmsofthetime.Thesemarketorientedgoalsmadewayforsegmentationmarketing,
firstintroducedbyWendellSmithin1956.Heregardedmarketsegmentationasviewinga
heterogeneousmarketasanumberofsmallerhomogeneousmarkets,inresponsetodiffering
preferences,attributabletothedesiresofconsumersformoreprecisesatisfactionoftheirvarying
wants(Wedel,2000).
Smithsearlydiscoveryofsegmentationmarketingleadtosegmentationresearchdone
extensivelybyPeterDicksonandJamesGinterin1987.Theyfoundthatmarketsegmentation
andproductdifferentiationmustbecombinedwithdemandfortheproductorserviceinorderfor
themarketingmixtobesuccessfulinthetargetedsegment(Dickson,1987).Today,technology
isallowingcompaniestolookatconsumerbehaviorslikeneverbeforeandallowsmanagersto
usemicromarketingtofocusevencloseronspecificconsumergroups(Wedel,2000).Market
segmentationisdefinedtodayastheprocessofdefiningandsubdividingalargehomogenous
marketintoclearlyidentifiablesegmentshavingsimilarneeds,wants,ordemandcharacteristics
(MarketSegmentation,n.d.).Thisthenallowscompaniestodesignamarketingmixthatattracts
thepotentialcustomersintheselectedsegment.
AgreatexampleofsegmentationmarketingwasthereleaseoftheiPhone5Sandthe
iPhone5Cin2013.Applewasalreadyanimmenselypopularbrandnameinthesmartphone

businessbutwasalsoknownfortheirhighpricedproducts.Inanattempttomarkettopeople
whowerefansofAppleproductsbutwerealsoconsciousabouthowtheyspenttheirmoney,
ApplereleasedtheiPhone5C.ThisiPhonehadthenewestiOStechnologybutwasinaplastic
caseanddidnotofferupgradedfeatures,likethenewestresolutioncamerafeaturedinthe5S
model.Applewantedawaytokeepitscustomerswhowouldpaytheextramoneyforthenewest
phonebutalsowantedtoinfiltrateanewmarketsegmentofpeoplewhowerenotaswillingto
spendtheextramoney(Arora,2013).Theirplanseemedtoworkasconsumerssawthereleaseof
theiPhone6andtheiPhone6+in2014.

TheSegmentationProcess
Thesegmentationprocessconsistsof5steps:strategy,choosingsegmentationmethods,
evaluatingsegmentattractiveness,selectingatargetmarket,andidentifyinganddevelopinga
positionstrategy.Thisprocessleadstothedevelopmentofamarketingmixforthetargetmarket.

Figure1.AnOverviewoftheSegmentationProcess

Thefirststepistoanalyzewhichstrategybestsuitsthecompanyandtheirgoalsfor
marketing.DoraszelskiandDraganska(2006)recognizedthenicheandthefulllinestrategyin
theirpapertitledMarketSegmentationStrategiesofMultiproductFirms.Anichesegmentation
strategyfocusesallmarketingeffortsonasmallportionofthepopulationafullline
segmentationstrategyoffersmanyvariationsofaproducttoappealtomoreofthepopulation.
Thesearejusttwoofthemanydifferentstrategiesacompanycouldusetodevelopmarket
segmentationfortheircompany.
Oncethestrategyisdetermined,thecompanymustlookatthebestmethodfor
segmentingthemarket.Vriens,Wedel,andWilms(1996)investigatedapriorisegmentation,a
methodwhereconsumersareseparatedintogroupsbasedondemographicandsocioeconomic
variablesapriori.Theymentionanothermethodcalledthecomponentialsegmentationmethod
wheregroupsofconsumersarelinkedbycharacteristicsotherthansocioeconomicor
demographicthattheyshare.Themethoduseddependssolelyontheneedsandwantsofthe
company.Afterthesegmentationmethodisdetermined,thecompanymustevaluatethe
attractivenessofthemarkettheyareentering.
Toevaluatemarketattractiveness,marketdemand,competitiveintensityandmarket
accessmustbeassessed.Toassessmarketdemand,size,growthrate,andgrowthpotentialareall
importantfactorswhendecidingifthemarketisattractive.Evenifthemarketdemandlooks
promisingforthefuture,competitiveintensitycanquicklychangetheattractiveness.Amore
attractivemarketintermsofcompetitiveintensityisonethathasfewcompetitorsandsubstitutes
fortheproduct.Oncebothoftheseaspectsareassessed,marketaccessmustbethoroughly
examined.Ifthemarketcannotbepenetrated,themarketisuselesstothecompany.Theremust

beademandfortheproductinthemarketforittobeuseful.Allthreeofthesefactorsmustbe
examinedanddeemedusefulinordertofindthemostattractivemarketforthegoodorservice
beingprovided(Best,2013).
Afterevaluationofmarketattractivenessiscomplete,atargetmarketmustbedefined.To
selectaprofitabletargetmarket,companiesshoulddoextensiveresearchtounderstandwhowill
mostlikelybenefitfromtheirproduct,andthenanalyzethecharacteristicsofthisgroupof
people.Afterthegeneraltargetmarketisassigned,companiescanusetheinformationtocreatea
customerprofile.Customerprofilesareaspecificgroupofcustomercharacteristicsthecompany
believeswillbemostprofitableinthelongrun.Themorespecificthetargetmarketand
customerprofileis,themoreeffectivethemarketingstrategytothisgroupwillbeinthelongrun
(Pakroo,2014).Oncethereisaclearviewofthetargetmarket,apositionstrategymustbe
identifiedanddeveloped.
Positionstrategiesareimportantbecausetheydeterminehowcustomerswillviewthe
productorserviceoffered.First,positionstrategiesrequireresearchintowhatthetargetmarket
findsimportantaswellaswhatcompetitorsoffer.Afterthisinformationisacquired,the
companycandecidewhichpositionwillbethemostbeneficialforboththemandtheircustomers
(MarketPositioningStrategies,n.d.).Oncethesegmentationprocessiscomplete,thecompany
shouldhaveabetterideaofhowtomarkettheirproductorservicetothespecificsegmentthey
aretargeting.

SixTypesofSegmentationMarketing
Marketsegmentationisusedtoclassifyalargemarketbysmallergroupswithsimilar
characteristics.Thissegmentationmakestargetingaspecificaudienceeasierbecausethe
marketercantailortheirmessagetothespecificneedsofthetargetedconsumer(Whatisa
MarketSegment,n.d.).Thisapproachisdifferentfrommassmarketingstrategieswherethe
entiremarketistargeted.Themarketcanbesegmentedinseveralwayshowever,thesixtypes
thispaperwillfocusonarebehavioral,benefit,demographic,geodemographic,geographic,and
psychographic.
Tousebehavioralsegmentation,marketersmustlookatspendingbehavior,consumption,
anddesiredbenefits.Thistypeofsegmentationisamorefocusedformofmarketsegmentation
thatgroupsconsumersbasedonspecificbehavioralpatternstheydisplaywhenmaking
purchasingdecisionsenablingproducerstoadapttheirmarketingapproachtospecificgroups
(BehavioralSegmentation,n.d.).Thisapproachisnormallythemostpowerfulformof
segmentationhowever,itisalsothemostdifficulttoexecutebeneficially,becausetheresearch
involvedinfindingthesebehavioralcharacteristicsistimeconsumingandexpensive.Behavioral
segmentationcombinedwithdemographicorgeographicsegmentationismuchmorepowerful
thanbehavioralsegmentationonly,becauseamoreindepthcustomerprofilecanbecreated
(Ferrell,2005).Whenthemarketcrashedin2008,Hyundaiquicklydeterminedhowtheywould
keeptheircustomerswhosebehaviorwaschanging.Theircustomersbecamemorewaryof
buyingexpensiveitemssoHyundaidevelopedtheHyundaiAssurance.Thecampaignread,
WereintroducingHyundaiAssurancetoshowyouthefaithwehaveinyou.Rightnow,

financeorleaseanynewHyundai,andifinthenextyearyouloseyourincomewellletyou
returnit.ThatstheHyundaiAssurance(Barr,2009).
Benefitsegmentation,ontheotherhand,considersthedifferencesinspecificbenefits
thatdifferentgroupsofconsumerslookforinaproduct(BenefitSegmentation,n.d.).Not
everyoneiswillingtospendmoney,especiallyextramoney,oncertainbenefitsthattheydonot
necessarilyneed.Marketersconsistentlydeterminewhichproductbenefitsmostinteresttheir
potentialconsumers.Lifestylechangeisimportantinthisformofsegmentation,because
sometimescharacteristicsthatconsumersoncefoundimportantmaynolongermattertothem.If
themainbenefitoftheproductchanges,marketersmustalsochangetheirmarketingcampaigns
tofitconsumersnewneeds(Strydom,2007).Nikeisagreatexampleofbenefitsegmentationin
play.Theirconsumersvaryfromprofessionalathletestocasualperformers.Theysegmentthese
marketsbybenefitssoughtandcatertotheneedsofconsumersfromallaspectsofathleticlife
(Shank,2015).
Thenexttypeofmarketsegmentationisdemographicsegmentationwhichsegmentsthe
marketbyage,familysize,race,religion,gender,ethnicity,income,oreducation.Segmenting
themarketdemographicallyhelpscategorizetheneedsofthecompanysconsumers.Twomain
advantagestosegmentthemarketinthiswayare:theinformationneededtoseparatethemarket
bydemographicsiseasilyavailablethroughcensusandotherpopulationsurveysandcustomer
retentionandloyaltyarehigherbecausethecompanycaneasilysatisfytheircustomers(Gigli,
n.d.).Starbucksusesdemographicsegmentationtotheiradvantage.About89%ofallStarbucks
revenuecomesfromtwospecificdemographicagegroups.Thefirstis25to40yearold
professionalswhonormallyhavehighendjobsandareatmanagementlevelorhigherintheir

workplaces.Theothergroupisaged18to24.Starbucksmarketstothissecondagegroupfor
creatingthecoffeehouseswithenjoyableatmospherestohangoutandusingthelatest
technologyandinnovativeideas.Bybreakingthemarketintothesetwospecificgroups,
Starbuckscaneffectivelymarkettobothgroupsseparately(Cachola,2012).
Geodemographicsegmentationissimilartodemographicsegmentationbutcombines
geographicinformation,psychographicinformation,andconsumerbehaviortobetterdetermine
whothecompanyismarketingto.Thisapproachisbasedontheideathatpeopleinthesame
regions,states,cities,andevenneighborhoodshavesimilarbuyinghabitsandareinterestedin
similarproducts(Goss,1995).UsingacomputersystemlikePRIZM(PotentialRatingIndexfor
ZIPMarkets)orACORN(AClassificationofResidentialNeighborhoods)allowsmarketersto
specificallytargetconsumerswiththesamewantsandneeds(Mitchell,1994).Anexampleof
thisstrategyiswhendiscountretailersorgrocerystoresopennewstoresinaneighborhoodwith
ahighlevelofunemploymentorfamiliesdependingonwelfare.
Thenextformofsegmentation,geographicsegmentation,istheoldestformof
segmentationandseparatesconsumersintogeographicregionssuchascities,counties,states,or
regions.Consumersinurbanandsuburbanareastendtohaveverydifferentneedsfromeach
otherandthisallowsmarketerstotargetconsumerswhowillbenefitfromtheirproducts.
However,itcanbearguedthattheinternethascompletelyeliminatedgeographicsegmentation,
makingithardertoachievetheboundariesthatwereonceclearlyseen(Strydom,2007).Agreat
exampleofgeographicsegmentationis,again,Starbucks.Becauseoftheirdemographic
segmentation,thecompanytendstoputcoffeehousesinupscaleareasoftownnearbusiness
officesandaroundcollegecampuses(Cachola,2012).

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Thelastwaytosegmentamarketisthroughpsychographicsegmentationwhichassists
marketers[to]understandthelifestyle,personality,andsocialclasscharacteristicsofthetarget
market(Strydom,2007).Understandinghowconsumersliveassistsmarketersindeveloping
marketingstrategiesthatwillappealtoveryspecificmarketsegmentsthatactandliveinsimilar
ways.Marketerscanassesshowpeoplespendtheirtime,whatintereststhem,orhowthey
consumeproducts.Thisapproachisbecomingmorepopularthanusingthetypicalsegmentation
typesbecausenoteveryonewhohasthesamelifestylelivesinthesamegeographicregion
(Strydom,2007).Forinstance,energydrinkconsumersarenormallyeitherbusinesspeoplewho
worklonghoursorstudentswhoareworkinglateandgettingupearly.Allbusinesspeopleor
studentsdonotliveinthesamearea,soitmakessenseforacompanylikeRedBulltomarketto
thatlifestyleinsteadoftheregionofthecountrytheconsumerlivesin(Segmenting,2013).
Usingsegmentationstrategiescanbeextremelybeneficialtoacompany.Insteadof
marketingtothemassmarket,themarketcanbecategorizedintospecificgroupsthatreactto
specificmarketingstrategies.Becausenoteveryonehasthesameneedsatthesametime,this
strategyallocatescompanysmoneymoreeffectivelybyspendingadvertisingbudgetswherethe
dollarswillreturnthemostprofititinthelongrun.Smallbusinessowners,suchasChadMiller
fromPerformanceSolutionsGroup,LLC.,needtounderstandhowtoeffectivelymarkettheir
businesseswhilespendingnoexcessmoney.LookingcloselyatthetargetmarketofMr.Millers
companywillallowhimtopenetratenewmarketsandexpandincurrentmarketsprofitably.

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CaseStudy
Casestudiesareeffectivewhenaresearcherseekstoansweraquestionaboutaspecific
subjectinsteadofansweringagenericquestiononabroadsubject.Theyarealsohelpfulwhen
decidingwhichprocessesworkbestintherealworld.Acasestudyisusedinthispaperbecause
theresearchquestionansweredisaboutaspecificcompanythatischoosingthebestprocessto
marketproductstobothexistingandpotentialclients.

PerformanceSolutionsGroup,LLC.Overview
PerformanceSolutionsGroup,LLC.(www.performancesolutionsgroup.biz),orPSG,isa
smallleadershipconsultingbusinesslocatedinMountJuliet,Tennesseeandwasfoundedin
2011.Thecompanyfocusesalltrainingsonthecommercialtruckandtirebusiness,astheowner
haspreviouslyworkedinthatindustry.PSGofferssixdifferentproductstogrowsales,build
teams,anddevelopleaders.Theofferingsare
QBQ!QuestionBehindtheQuestion
Personal
AccountabilityTraining,BurkeAssessments,GiANTWorldwideLeadershipModules,Keynote
Events,TelenotesProductivitySystem,andtheLeadershipCoachingDevelopmentProgram.
Thecompanyfounder,ChadMiller,wantstofocusfuturesalesonTelenotesProductivity
SystemandtheLeadershipCoachingDevelopmentProgram,thefocusoftheremainderofthis
paper.
TelenotesProductivitySystem,referredtoassimplyTelenotes,isacustomerrelationship
managementtool(CRM).Insteadofthesalesmantypingnotesattheendoftheday,Telenotes
allowssalespersonstocallintothesystem,speaktheirnotes,andanemployeetranscribesthe
verbalnotesby5AMthenextmorning.Thesalesmancangivecompanynames,contactnames

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andnumbers,andcallnotesthatwillbesavedontheTelenotessystemforeasyaccess.The
sellingpointofthisproductisincreasedsalesproductivitythroughouttheweek.Onaverage,
salespeoplecanmakeroughlyonemoresalescallperday,increasingcustomercontactbyabout
250pointsthroughouttheyear.Currently,Telenotesisthelargestcontributortorevenuefor
PerformanceSolutionsGroup.
TheLeadershipCoachingDevelopmentProgram,orLCDP,isasixmodulecustom
trainingworkshopfocusedondevelopingleadersworthfollowing.Eachmoduleisonedaylong,
onceamonth.Thisprogramgivesleadersofthecompanytoolstotakebacktotheirteamsand
increaseteamwork.Currently,LCDPisthesecondlargestcontributortorevenuefor
PerformanceSolutionsGroup,butMr.Millerwouldlikeforthisproducttobecomethelargest
contributorofcompanyforrevenueoverthenextfewyears.Mr.Milleralsowantstostart
offeringteamretreatswherethissixmoduletrainingistransformedintoaweeklongtrainingfor
leaderstogetawayfromthehustleandbustleofbusinesslifeandbacktothebasicsof
leadership.

SegmentationMarketing:WhyItShouldBeImplemented
PSGispresentlyfacingastuntinnewcustomergrowth.Themajorityoftheircustomers
arereturningclientswhohaveusedoneofPSGsofferingsandhavecomebackforasecondor
third.WordofmouthmarketingistheonlymarketingtechniquethatPSGisimplementingatthis
time.IncreasingortransformingmarketingeffortscouldsignificantlyincreasePSGsclientbase.
UsingsegmentationmarketingwouldallowPSGtospecificallymarkettonewclientstheyhope

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toacquire.Becausetheyalreadyhaveastrongpresenceinthecommercialtruckandtiredealer
industry,itshouldnotbeachallengetoexpandtheirclientbasewithintheircurrentmarket.
Toexpandoutsidetheircurrentmarket,segmentationmarketingwouldallowPSGto
marketdirectlytosmallercompanieswhotheneedtoimproveleadersskills.Thisapproachwill
allowPSGtopenetrateothermarketsegmentswhilestayingfocusedonwhattheyknowbest.
Oncethecompanypenetratestheseothermarketsegments,theirreputationwillbuildfurthering
theirrevenueandclientbase.Ultimately,PSGcansavemarketingdollarsbyusingwordof
mouthmarketingagain.Itwillbevitaltothewellbeingofthecompany,though,touse
segmentationmarketingforanextendedperiodoftime.

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Recommendations
UseBenefitSegmentationtoMarketSpecificProductstotheCustomer
Tosuccessfullyusebenefitsegmentation,PerformanceSolutionsGroupmustanalyze
whichaspectoftheirtrainingsarethemostbeneficialtotheirpotentialcustomers.Oncethe
benefitisfound,PSGcanmarkettheirproductsstronglyinnewmarkets.Thebenefitforboth
TelenotesandtheLeadershipCoachingDevelopmentProgramdifferimmenselyandshouldbe
marketedtothespecificsegmentofpotentialcustomerswhoneedeachindividualbenefit.
TelenotesbiggestbenefitishowmuchtimesalesmensavewhenusingTelenotesCRM.
Thesegmenttowhichthisproductshouldbemarketedisbusysalespeoplewhoforget
appointments,losecontactinformation,anddonothavetimetotypecallnotesattheendofthe
day.Managersofteamslikethiswillmostlikelybewillingtospendextramoneyeachmonthon
Telenotesbecausetheywanttheircompanytohavethebestimageintheindustry.Eliminating
forgottenappointmentsandlostcontactinformationwillputthemaheadoftheircompetitorsin
thelongrun.BenefitsegmentationforTelenoteswillworkbestinafastpaced,competitive
environment,likepharmaceuticalsales,wheresalespeoplearealwayslookingforproductsthat
lessenlosttimeandincreasetheireffectivenessthroughouttheworkday.
TheLCDPsgreatestbenefittotheclientisthecustomizationofthetraining.Team
leaderscantellPSGexactlywhattheyneed,andPSGwillcreatealeadershiptrainingtoconquer
theseissueswithinthecompany.Notallcompaniesarewillingtospendthetimeandmoneyon
genericleadershiptraining,sothecustomizationaspectisimportanttomarkettoPSGsclients.
Thesegmentofthemarketthatwouldbethemostwillingtopayforcustomizedleadership
trainingwouldmostlikelybesmallercompanieswhodonotalreadyhaveleadershiptrainingin

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place.Forexample,largercorporationslikeTargetorProctorandGamblealreadyhave
extensiveleadershiptrainingfortheirmanagers.Eventually,PSGshouldattempttoenterinto
largermarketsandpotentiallyrunleadershiptrainingsforlargercorporations.

UseGeographicSegmentationtoMarkettoaSpecificArea
Geographicsegmentationistheeasiestandoldestformofsegmentationtouse.Usingthis
approachwouldallowPSGtoadvertiseincitiesintheirgeographicregion.Stronglyadvertising
inmetropolitanareasinthesoutheasternUnitedStateslimittravelexpenses.Travelingtocities
likeAtlanta,Charlotte,orGreenevilleislessexpensivebecauseofNashvillescentrallocation
andlowcostplanetickets.PSGismorelikelytogrowinlargercitiesbecausemoresmall
businessesarelocatedthere.OncePSGhasinfiltratedthesethreemajorsoutherncities,the
surroundingareaswillalsobeexposedtothemarketing,bothbyPSGseffortsaswellasword
ofmouthmarketing.Oncethesoutheastisconquered,PSGshouldincreasemarketingeffortsin
themidwesternUnitedStates.
Besidescontrollingtravelingexpenses,geographicsegmentationalsoallowsPSGto
bettermarkettotheircustomersinlargercitiesandsmallertowns.Companiesinlargercitiesare
normallyusedtoafastpacedworkenvironment,butcompaniesinsmallertownsaremorelaid
back.Evaluationofthetypesofworkdayatypicalcompanyineachplaceexperiencesis
essentialinunderstandinghowtomarketTelenotesandLCDPtoconsumersineachmarket.
AlthoughTelenotessellingpointissavedtime,acompanyinasmallertownwithfewer
consumersmaynotbewillingtopaytheextramoneyfortheservice.Acompanyinalargercity
maynotwanttopurchaseLCDPbecausethetrainingwilltaketoomuchtimeoutoftheirbusy

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workdays.Payingattentiontowherethecompanyislocatedandhowtheirdaysarespentis
importantinunderstandingwhichcomponentstoadvertisemoreheavilyincitiesandtowns.

UsePsychographicSegmentationtoMarkettoaSpecificLifestyle
ThelifestyleofconsumersmustbeevaluatedinorderforPSGtoadequatelyuse
psychographicsegmentation.Clientslifestylesmaybesimilar,buthowtomarketTelenotesand
LCDPtospecificlifestylesmaydiffer.Acommondayinthelifeofasalespersonispackedfull
ofsalescalls,meetings,trainingseminars,andadministrativeworkfromthetimetheygettothe
officeuntilthetimetheyleave.ThebenefitsofTelenotesandLCDPhavetoagreewiththis
lifestyletobeprofitableforPSG.Showinghowbothproductscansavethecompanytimeand
moneyinthelongrunwillundoubtedlybeprofitableforPSG.
Telenotescaneasilyattracttheattentionofclientswhohavenotimeforadministrative
workatthebeginningorendoftheday.Telenotesismarketedsothatthesalespersonfeelsthey
havegainedanexecutiveaide.Forbusysalespeople,thisisoneofthemostsurprisingaspectsof
theservicewhichimmediatelyleadsthemtoinquireaboutotherservicesTelenoteshastooffer.
Thelifestyleofthesalespeoplemakesthissellingpointworknomatterwhatbusinesstheyare
in.
Trainingseminarsalsotakevaluabletimefromsalespeople.Sellingthesixmodule
LCDPprogramtoacompanycouldsavesixdaysofsellingtimeinayear.Managerscanlearn
howtoeffortlesslymanagetheirtimeandcommunicateproductivelywiththeirteammembers
whensalesareslower.Inthelongrun,leadershiptrainingsavescompaniestimewhenmanagers
arebetteratplanningandcommunicating.

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ManagerialImplications
Whenmakingtheserecommendations,thebusinessstructurewillalsochangeslightly.The
conclusionsdrawnfromtheaforestatedrecommendationsareasfollows.

ContinuedResearchonTargetMarket
BecausePerformanceSolutionsGrouphasnotshowneffectivemarketingeffortsthisfar
intothelifeofthebusiness,thecompanyshouldmakeeffortstoresearchthetargetmarket.Mr.
MilleratPSGhasageneralideaofwhoheismarketingbutnostatisticaldataisfoundonthis
groupofconsumers.Usingawebsitelikewww.experian.com/hitwise/canallowPSGtonotonly
seehowmanytimesthecompanywebsiteisviewedbutalsostatisticsonexactlywhoviewedthe
website.
Understandingthetargetmarketiscrucialforeffectivesegmentationmarketing.The
companyshouldunderstandwhattheirconsumersfindimportant,whatstageoflifetheir
consumersarein,andwhattheyfindappealinginpotentialpurchases.Thisstepisacrucialpart
ofthemarketingeffortsofPerformanceSolutionsGroup.Researchshouldbeginassoonas
possiblesomarketingeffortscanbeincreased.

IncreasedMarketingEfforts
Fortheaforementionedrecommendationstobeeffective,PerformanceSolutionsGroup
mustincreasetheirmarketingeffortsacrosstheboard.Afterthetargetmarketisunderstood,
wordofmouthmarketingshouldnolongerbetheonlymarketingchannelPSGuses.Marketing
shoulduseonlineadvertisingandadvertisingatnewindustrytradeshows.PSGmustunderstand

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marketingtechniquesthatarenotcurrentlyfamiliar.Afterinstitutingwebsiteadvertisingand
attendingnewindustrytradeshows,theyshouldaddnewmarketingtechniquestofurtherthe
visibilityofthecompany.
Onlineadvertisingisbecomingmorepopularwithnewtechnologyavailabletosmall
businesses.Effectivelyusingsearchengineoptimizationcangreatlyincreasethetraffictothe
PSGwebsite.Withmorepeoplevisitingthewebsite,greaterinterestintheservicesofferedand
evenmorepurchasesshouldresultdirectlyfromthewebsite.PSGcanalsouseGoogleAnalytics
toacquirequantitativedataabouthowthecompanyseffortsarecontributingtointendedgrowth.
Thebestmarketingstrategyisappearingatnewindustrytradeshows.PSGhasalready
participatedintradeshowsinthecommercialtruckandtireindustrybutshouldinvestigatetrade
showsforotherindustriesthathavethespecifiedtargetmarket.Tradeshowsforpharmaceutical
salesrepresentativeswouldbeanidealplaceforPSGtomovenext.Atthesetradeshows,PSG
shouldhaveaboothadvertisingbothTelenotesandtheLeadershipCoachingDevelopment
Program.Bringingmanagerstotheboothwillincreasepotentialconsumersandexpandthe
currentconsumermarket.

MonthlyBudgetChangetoAccountforExtraMarketingMoniesSpent
Currently,PSGdoesnothaveabudgetsetasideformarketingbecausecurrentlytheyare
engagedinlittlemarketing.Withanincreaseinmarketingefforts,asignificantincreasein
marketingdollarswillneedtobespent.PSGshouldtakeintoaccountspecificchannelstheywill
useandbudgetforeachchannel.ThefirsttwochannelsPSGshouldfundaresearchengine

19

optimizationandtradeshowadvertising.Oncethesetwochannelsareinfiltratedandmore
revenueisflowingintothebusiness,themarketingbudgetshouldbeincreasedagain.
PerformanceSolutionsGroupshoulddecideexactlyhowmanypeopletheywishtoreach
throughsearchengineoptimizationandquantifythenumberbyjoiningGoogleAnalytics.
CheckingthedataonGoogleAnalyticsattheendofeverytwoweekswillallowPSGtoidentify
theareasthatneedadditionalwork.Thisapproachcouldalsoresultinacompletewebsite
redesignwhichshouldbebudgetedforattheendofthefirstyearafterdataarecollected.
Tradeshowadvertisingshouldhaveitsownbudgetbecausethisrequiresupfrontcoststo
designagenericboothforadvertisementatalltradeshows.Foreachindividualtradeshow,PSG
shouldcustomizetheboothinawaythatappealstothatspecificindustry.Travelcostswillalso
beincurredaswellastargetmarketresearchcostssoPSGfullyunderstandsboththecurrent
marketandthefuturemarkets.
Increasingthemarketingbudgetwillbeanextraexpenseforthecurrentfinancialperiod.
However,inthelongrun,theupfrontexpensesshouldberecoveredbytheadditionalrevenue
generatedbynewclients.Ifnoincreaseinrevenueisseen,themarketingbudgetshouldbe
reducedandmarketingstrategiesreevaluatedtoimprovemarketingtotheendconsumer.

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Conclusion
Segmentationmarketingisaneffectivewayforcompaniestomarkettheirproductsor
services.BecausePerformanceSolutionsGroup,LLCcurrentlyhasnomarketingplanforthe
futureofitscompany,segmentationmarketingcouldtargetspecificgroupsofconsumerslikely
tobuyitsmostpopularproducts.Benefit,geographic,andpsychographicaretherecommended
typesofsegmentationPerformanceSolutionsGroupuseinitially.Afterthesestrategiesare
successfullyimplemented,PerformanceSolutionsGroupcouldfocusonotherareasordifferent
targetmarkets.Forthisproposaltowork,PerformanceSolutionsGroupwillhavetoincrease
theiroverallmarketingefforts,budgetmoneyfortheseincreasedefforts,andcontinueresearch
ontheirtargetmarkets.PerformanceSolutionsGroupcouldbecomeamoreprofitablecompany
ifsegmentationmarketingwasimplemented.

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References

Arora,N.(2013,October20).Apple'sMarketSegmentationDifficultiesWithTheNewiPhones.
RetrievedFebruary18,2015,fromhttp://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/10/20/
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