Igor Sodre Hair Color, Body Shape, Family Members, Father, Mother, Brother, Sister, Marriage and Affairs

efficiently if they can act on those differences. A business that tries to offer a single undifferentiated product with generic marketing support will always lose out to more nimble competitors who have specific targets and know how to serve them. We often work for health plans. In the Medicare Part D world for instance, health plans are struggling to make sense out of new regulations while meeting very tight deadlines. But todayÆs difficulties are going to give way to a market where segmentation will be of great benefit because mass marketing will not work. Which Segment? It is obvious that all competitors cannot target the same segment and succeed. A common mistake is to assume that you must focus on the "heavy buyers" who, in reality, are often not the most profitable group. For example, a consulting firm may decide to forego targeting Fortune 500Ö firms that are fiercely contested by the Big Four accounting/consulting firms and instead pursue middle market firms. "Sub prime" lenders and credit card companies know exactly who their prospects are, and do not bother advertising in Money magazine or funding public television shows. Part D players may find market niches among seniors with, for example, private Medigap policies and specific interests or needs that the plan can address. For health plans, market segmentation is not common. Part of this is due to health plan cultures developed to serve large employer-based health plans and retirees. But Medicare Part D is an unprecedented public-private effort to create a consumer market. And Medicare's Part D program is just one element of a far reaching effort to use private health plans to control Medicare expenses. We believe the market understanding developed through segmentation will serve in a variety of ways. Identifying and targeting one or a few segments instead of the entire market allows the firm to use its resources more effectively. Market segmentation means products and messages more aligned with the needs of selected consumers. Researching Segments Some type of systematic research is required as a foundation for market segmentation. Most often, this research entails a sample survey which should be done by research experts. Segmentation research addresses a set of fundamental questions: 1. How many segments are there? 2. How large is each segment? 3. How do you define the segments? 4. How do you describe the segments? Segments are typically defined by dimensions such as: ò Behaviorùsuch