If you own an alto, the higher is the probability that you'll land up at Big Bazaar

As part of the retail course we were supposed to study two different formats of retail in the food segment. we chose Big Bazaar and Spar both located in Bangalore which share a similar format.
Both the stores are located in the same trading area consisting of many corporate offices and residential houses with individuals having enough disposable income.
A Retail format has different offering and a value proposition, this value proposition is based on the format type, whether its a convenience store,discount store or a category specialist. depending on this value proposition the process of segmentation is carried.
Ex: If you are a high value retailer offering high discounts then the segment you would be catering would be the value conscious customer who wants to spend his hard earnings but looks for discounts as he buys.Retailer/marketers looks for finding unique characteristics of the target segment to better understand these customers, and this is done by knowing their demographics(personal information like age income,sex,marital status etc) the other way of segmenting is by classifying customers according to their behavior pattern(how they shop,behave,lifestyle etc)

one interesting observation which we made today was that the segments which Big Bazaar and Spar were targeting were completely different. we could identify this by the behavior and lifestyle pattern of the individuals visiting the store.

Spar had customers who were looking for value, now value for a spar customer would be huge variety,availability of national and international brands. and value for big bazaar customer would be the best prices and high saving deals and big bazaar was able to do so with the retail mix it had a collection of in-house brands and minimal services which helped Big Bazaar to push down its costs and pass it on to the customer.
segmentation can be done by studying any similar pattern among the group of customers, we tried segmentation on the basis of their ownership of vehicle. It helped me to understand the customer lifestyle and spending pattern. now if you are wondering what am i saying ? think why a person own's an SUV(huge in size)??? as it enhances his image or helps him project the image of a powerful person. At the spar hypermarket were the powerful sedans and Muscular SUV's zooming in and out contrast to it in the big Bazaar parking there were hatchbacks, the entry level segment cars mainly from the Maruti stable. these are the customers who would be looking for value deals and this could be concluded from their choice of cars. It would be justified saying that both of them cater and satisfy their customer needs and are able to deliver their value proposition

If you are drunk thats business for MERU CABS

Meru cabs, is a leading taxi service provider in India currently operating in all the metros, now the company has its target segment as the corporate clients and the luxury or tourists who visit the city, the company has identified a niche market for its services by identifying the need for people who are over drunk during the weekends, The company provides Taxi services to those who are drunk and are not in a position to drive themselves home, it smartly advertises by placing small notes on the table which have the following statements "If you are not able to read this lines properly its time to call MERU CABS". I was really impressed by the company and its ability to identify new market, In marketing it's all about identifying new markets and serving them efficiently. A niche is a profitable segment, all you need to do is identify the Niche , A niche segment is like a cash cow, you can milk the benefits for a period of time and there are little chances that your competitor copying the idea as the niche segment are less price sensitive compared to other segments and stay loyal to the company who are the first movers in the market.

INNOVATE OR DIE

One size fits all is not true for segmentation, you need to identify the different segments and target/cater to the segment which is the most suitable for your product/service, A single product cannot cater to the all the segments, you need to differentiate and position your Product/service according to what the segment needs, Marketing is all about identifying your target segment and catering to those specific target segments effectively, Companies providing different services generally alter the service or modify the service according to the target segment needs, yesterday while going through my college notice board I saw an advertisement of Safexpress (one of the leading logistics company in India), Campus 2 home was the new service which they were offering to the students who were shifting their luggage after the completion of course,

Product/service: Campus2home,

Service delivered: Shipment of your luggage, belongings from Campus to your location.

Target segment: Top 100 B-schools and other premium institution

Positioning: Hassle free transfer and a one stop solution.

They have tied up with IIM’s and other major colleges for business, in today’s competative world you need to identify the segments or potential segments and design your product/ service accordingly. There are many segments which are untapped in India and there lies a huge scope for marketers to develop their businesses.