Market Segmentation

Market Segmentation
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Abstract
A market segment can be defined as a group of individuals that tend to be relatively homogeneous with similar product/service needs, motivation and purchase behavior among other factors. Various factors normally influence buyers to purchase certain goods/services. Some of these factors may be employed to segment the buyers. A firm will normally use various segmentation criteria or bases to classify the buyers and create real value for them. The paper is about the bases that a clinic may use to segment the female market. Female members of the family normally face health challenges that are influenced by various factors such as demographic factors, psychographic factors, and geographic factors among others. Women who are associated with unique aspects of these factors normally come to look for medical services due to their unique needs and resources. However, from the marketer’s perspective, there are often sufficient similarities between individual people to warrant classifying them into segments.
Keywords: Segmentation, ethnicity, income level, female market
Market Segmentation
The clinic may segment the female market based on age, income level, and ethnicity. Considering age, the segmentation could be old, middle-aged and young. For instance, for those aged 45-65 years, the clinic should ensure the coverage of those diseases prevalent in the age group such as obesity, arthritis, and hypertension among others.

The segments for income could be high income, middle and low-income earners. Income can be used as a segmentation variable since it shows the purchasing power of a group of women. It may partially reflect social classes, occupation, and educational levels. For instance, higher educational levels normally lead to better-paying jobs as well as greater status. The segments based on ethnicity could be black, white, Hispanic and Asian. Times are changing with the society getting more diverse. Most women will need a doctor or a hospital that will not discriminate against one’s ethnicity. If the office can speak the woman’s language and understand her cultures, then she is likely to feel more comfortable than in a different situation.
In countries like the US, the demographics are constantly changing. When this happens, the “product component” of the marketing mix may also change in line with the segmentation base. For instance, based on the age, the clinic may broaden its customer base by appealing to multiple generations for it not to lose the market share in the event of a demographic change. Considering ethnicity, Hispanic Americans is the fastest growing minority in the US (Berkowitz, 2010). Firms are currently going to great lengths to appeal to this group. For instance, Kaiser Permanente, a health provider in California runs television ads informing members of this segment that the hospital can request Spanish-speaking nurses, physicians, operators while translators are available in all of its clinics.
Reference
Berkowitz, E. N. (2010). Essentials of health-care marketing (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.