【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 sumer to make too many choices, can backfire on marketers as it can overly plicate and stress consumers—for example, the design of a new home can be both a rewarding and stressful experience。 the intended owner(s) is(are) asked to make literally hundreds of decisions about size, floor plans, colors, and options throughout the process. Not plicating a consumer’s life, through mass production and mass marketing of products can create a viable marketing niche for panies. Con: People are consumers and with the plethora of product and service choices available to solve their problems today, a firm must produce individual and customized products to pete. Basic human needs and wants can be delivered to the consumer by a wide range of choices. Technology has given the consumer the power and ability to interact with manufacturers in producing the exact product, with the exact features, and at the target price desired. Consumers are better educated and better informed than previous generations. Consumers are also more sophisticated than ever before. These increases in information, technology, and sophistication are causing firms to respond to the consumers’ wishes for individuality. Accepting the concept of “individuality” in the production of goods and services is the only option for many firms. Individuality and the service that that concept demands can lead to a “supplierconsumer” relationship that can and will build strong brand preferences. Those firms who choose not to pete or fail to pete in these arenas run the risk of falling behind petition and in experiencing the subsequent losses in market share and profits. MARKETING DISCUSSION—Descriptive Versus Behavioral Market Segmentation SchemesThink of various product categories. How would you classify yourself in terms of the various segmentation schemes? How would marketing be more or lesseffective for you depending on the segment involved? How would you contrast demographic versus behavioral segment schemes? Which ones do you think would be most effective for marketers trying to sell to you? Suggested Response:Each student’s answer will vary depending upon the product chosen. However, all answers should contain some of the following terms. Niche markets Local marketing Customerization marketing Geographic segmentation Age and lifecycle stage Life stage Gender Ine Generation Social class Psychographic segments (VALS) Behavioral variables Usage rates Buyerreadiness stages Loyalty statusMARKETING SPOTLIGHT—HSBCDiscussion Questions1) What have been the key success factors for HSBC?a. Advertising campaigns that illustrate HSBC’s local connection to the countries and markets that they are doing business. b. HSBC’s success rests on its ability to understand the local markets and niche markets in the countries that they reside.2) Where is HSBC vulnerable?a. It must continue to understand the local market and to continue to make the “connection” with local munities.3) What should they watch out for?a. Rapid changes to their target markets (demographic changes, psychological changes, etc.) in the local and national levels.4) What remendations would you make to HSBC’s senior marketing executives going forward? a. Do not get placent or overly fortable with their successes. Avoid being “big” for “bigness sake.” 5) What should they be sure to do with their marketing? a. Continue to capitalize on niche markets, local connections to the munities, and continue to investigate the marketing forces of their markets on an individual basis. Do not try to create “generalizations” for the sake of internal efficiencies. DETAILED CHAPTER OUTLINEMarkets are not homogeneous. A pany needs to identify which market segments it can serve effectively. Such decisions require a keen understanding of consumer behavior and careful strategic thinking. To pete more effectively panies are now embracing target marketing. Effective target marketing requires that marketers: Identify and profile distinct groups of buyers who differ in their needs and preferences. Select one or more market segments to enter. For each target market, establish and municate the distinctive benefit(s) of the pany’s market offering.Levels of Market Segmentation The starting point for discussing segmentation is mass marketing. In mass marketing, the seller engages in the mass production, mass distribution, and mass promotion of one product for all buyers.A) The argument for mass marketing is that it creates the largest potential market, which leads, to the lowest costs that in turn can lead to lower prices or higher margins.Segment Marketing A market segment consists of a group of customers who share a similar set of needs and wants.A) The marketer does not create the segments.B) The marketer’s task is to identify the segments and decide which one(s) to target. C) A flexible market offering consists of two parts:1) A naked solution containing the product and service elements that all segment member’s value.2) Discretionary options that some segment member’s value.D) Market segments can be defined in many different ways:a. One way to carve up a market is to identify preference segments.b. Homogeneous preferences.c. Diffused preferences.d. Clustered preferences. Figures (a), (b), and (c) show the differences. Review Key Definitions here: mass market, flexible market offering, naked solutions, and discretionary optionsNiche Marketing A niche is a more narrowly defined customer group seeking a distinctive mix of benefits. Marketers usually identify niches by dividing a segment into subsegments.A) Niche marketers presumably understand their customers’ needs so well that the customers willingly pay a premium. B) Globalization has facilitated niche marketing.C) The low cost of setting up shop on the Inter