40 3.2 Segmentation and Targeting Rationale

Segmentation and targeting are essential building blocks of marketing because they help marketers answer a basic question: Who am I trying to reach?

If you can’t answer this question with a reasonable amount of certainty and detail, your marketing efforts will probably not have much impact. You’ll spend a lot of time and money with little to show for it because you’re not choosing marketing tactics that fit your audience.

However, when you know your target audience, you can make smart decisions about your marketing activities: why they need your product, where and how to get their attention, what to say to generate interest, and what types of offers will attract them.

In this module, first we will focus on why segmentation and targeting are so important. Then we will discuss how to conduct segmentation and targeting and use these tools to guide marketing activity.