Case marketing

1. In order to get a clear understanding of how the market can be segmented for local marketing by One Source Gear, it is imperative to begin by defining what segmentation is. Strydom (2000), defines segmentation as the division of a heterogeneous market into fairly homogeneous subsets or segments of customers who normally have similar needs and likely to respond in a similar way to the market offering. However, segmentation is determined by various factors and in this case, there are different variables that can be used. This is mainly concerned with identifying groups of small areas that have people with similar interests and characteristics.
In most cases, different products are developed on the premise that people with similar interests as well as income levels tend to live in the same areas hence it would be easier to reach them. Hats and caps are perceived differently by different people in the local market. In some cases, they may be perceived as luxury which is a preserve for mainly those who constitute the middle class and the affluent by virtue of their income but just like American popular culture, they are gaining prominence. Benefit segmentation can be used as one variable where One Source Gear can group people on the basis of similar benefits they seek to gain from a product such as low price or quality product. This can be done at the level of educational institutions since they will seek something uniform. Kotler (1999) posits that benefit segmentation deals with characteristics such as personality, attitudes, opinions as well as life styles. Thus, according to Kotler, such segments are indicators though they may not be perfect, of behaviour such as lifestyle, price sensitivity and brand preference.
Another variable that can be used to segment the market by the distributor is occasion segmentation which primarily deals with certain events. This can be done on the level of sporting teams such as soccer or athletics. These are special occasions held during particular periods and the distributors should target such occasions given that they will an impact on the sales made. Another variable that can be utilised when segmenting the market is usage level segmentation which entails grouping people into whether they are heavy, medium, light users or non users of the product. This depends on the level of interests of a particular product by the targeted people in the market. Usually, people with similar usage levels of a particular product display the same behaviour as well as attitude towards it.
2. One target segment of interests is the one comprising of people who like attending sporting events such as soccer events while wearing head gears such as caps. This choice of target segment is very important in that it is comprised of different people from all walks of life and such sporting events are occasional which makes the market attractive. This kind of such events take place quite often and it is easier to reach the target market given that they are held in identifiable areas. The market is attractive given that there always people ready to attend such occasions.
References
Philip Kotler, (1999), Kotler on Marketing: How to create, win and dominate Markets. London. Free press,
Strydom J. (2000), Marketing Management, 4th Edition. CT. Juta & Co. LTD.