案例---国际市场7细分.docVIP

International Segmentation I. Case Study: Market segmentation is about subdividing a market into groups of consumers, each of which needs a separate marketing mix for maximum exploitation. The individual customer groups are likely to respond in markedly difference in response, the better is the segmentation differential. Essentially, the segmentation exercise must identify customer characteristics that correlate closely with buying intentions. There are a number of reasons why segmenting a market is helpful, among them the following: *It helps the firm to evaluate the positions of competitors and environmental opportunities. *It develops a focus for product positioning and market strategies. *It assists in identifying and allocating scarce marketing resources. *It enables managers to fine-tune the marketing plan. In international marketing, the task is to identify segments of particular country-markets that will react profitably to separate marketing treatments across international borders. Naturally, this gives the MNC the option of addressing a small segment over a number of international markets which, individually, would not give a satisfactory return. The segmentation process itself can be carried out with a broad focus using differentiating parameters like political system, economic system, level of development, religion, language, geographical location and climate. It can be done with a narrower focus using psychographic variables including attitudes of potential customers, lifestyles and personality characteristics. Alternatively, narrow-focus segmentation can make use of behavioral factors like brand loyalty, choice of channel, benefits sought, and sensitivity to variations in product, price and quality. Intelligent market segmentation has led to the development of international luxury brands like Dunhill and Gucci. In terms of actually carrying out the international segmentation exercise, Asheghian and Ebrahimi (1990) have suggested three important criteri